Get over it. It’s okay to ask children for their ideas. They will eventually (say, by age seven) know more than you do about all things electronic. Take comfort in the knowledge that you don’t have to be omniscient or even “semiscient.” You’ve been around. You bring home the bacon and cook it. You’ve been potty-trained for years. Don’t worry. You already have enough power and credibility to guilt-trip your kids.
Look at the Six Sources of Influence
Let’s assume that after observing someone who has failed to live up to a promise, you carefully diagnose the situation. It’s clear that the other person is motivated but can’t do what he or she has been asked. You stop, pause long enough to stifle your ingrained impulse to jump in with your best and smartest recommendation, and say, “You’re closest to the problem. What do you think needs to be done?”
Having asked for the other person’s view, it’s time for us to return to our diagnostic tool. We need to think through jointly which of the potential sources is at play. We need to listen to the other person’s recommendations and then do our best to partner with that person in thinking through the root causes.
This can be tricky. When it comes to motivating others, any single source can overcome all the detractors. You may hate doing your job, your friends may make fun of you for doing it, and your family may offer no support whatsoever, but you need the money. You’re motivated. When it comes to motivation, one source is all it takes.
With ability, the opposite is true. Any single barrier can trump all the enabling forces. You know what to do and have the right materials to do it, but your coworker hasn’t done his or her part. You’re missing only one element, but you’re dead in the water. When it comes to ability, since a single factor can stop all the other forces in the universe that have joined together to make it possible to do what’s required, you’d better be good at exploring all possible detractors. Otherwise you could be minutes away from a severe disappointment. You, along with the other person, had better be good at exploring all the existing as well as all the potential ability barriers.
Brainstorm Ability Barriers
Let’s assume that the other person is willing to look at the various forces that are making it hard to do what’s required. But he or she is not completely aware of all the forces at play. The two of you will have to brainstorm the underlying causes. And if you want to do that, you need to be good at dealing with ability barriers that stem from personal, social, and structural factors.
Personal
Brainstorming personal ability issues can be tricky. As we suggested earlier, people often mask their inability. They’d rather point to other barriers than say they can’t do something, particularly if the task is a basic part of the job. Make it safe for the other person to talk about personal challenges. Calmly ask about his or her comfort with doing the job, knowledge levels, and other skill factors. Keep the conversation upbeat.
Social
The enabling or disabling role others play is typically easier to discuss. This is about what other people are or are not doing, and so it can be less threatening. Nevertheless, when the people you’re talking with worry about “ratting” on their colleagues, they may cover up for their friends by blaming other factors. Once again, make it safe to talk about colleagues and coworkers. Don’t use a “find-the-guilty” tone. This isn’t about blame or retribution; it’s about finding and removing ability barriers.
Structural
The role the physical world plays in the problem is generally the easiest to discuss. People willingly point fingers at the things the company is doing to make their life more difficult — if they remember to think about them. Remember, human beings often forget the role of things in preventing them from achieving what they want to do. People also accept the physical world around them as a given, something that can’t be changed: “Things have always been this way.” Kick-start people’s thinking. Ask about everything from systems, to work layout, to policies and procedures.
Three More Hints
As you jointly brainstorm ability barriers, don’t forget to ask yourself the following three questions as the discussion winds down.
• Will this person keep facing the problem? When you are removing ability blocks, you must ensure that the problem won’t keep resurfacing. Coming up with a one-time fix is hardly the preferred solution. For instance, the person doesn’t have the materials needed. Making a phone call to secure the material solves the immediate problem but doesn’t answer the question “Will this problem occur again, and why?”
• Will others have similar problems? This companion question explores the need for extending the solution to others. For example, a person doesn’t know how to do the job. The two of you come up with a development plan. Will others need a similar plan, or is the problem unique to that person?
• Have we identified all the root causes? The ultimate question, of course, is “Have you brought to the surface all the forces, fixing them once and for all?” For instance, the person needs to take a software course. Why didn’t the existing course help? The teacher was ineffective? Why was that? Japanese executives encourage leaders to ask why five times. We suggest that you probe until you’ve dealt with all the elements once and for all.
Advise Where Necessary
Our goal has been to collaborate with the other person in bringing to the surface and resolving ability blocks. We don’t want to rush into solutions too quickly or force our ideas onto others. Besides, as we’ve argued all along, the people closest to a problem are likely to see more barriers than anyone else can. Nevertheless, there are times when people do need help. They can’t see the barriers that have them stymied. In this case, it is our job to teach and advise, to point out stumbling blocks. In short, our job is to make invisible barriers more visible.
Think Physical Features
What kinds of barriers are most likely to remain a mystery to people? As we suggested earlier, most people have a hard time seeing organizational or environmental factors. The “things” around us are often static to the point of becoming invisible. Left to our own devices, we’d be the frog that boils to death in the pot because we miss the fact that the heat around us is increasing. We have a hard time noticing subtle forces such as the design of the environment, the availability of tools and technology, the chain of command, and policies and procedures.
For instance, your increasingly estranged relationship with your teenage son may be affected by the fact that he moved into the basement. Now the two of you bump into each other only in and around the vicinity of the refrigerator. Since you’re on a diet and he no longer frequents the family room, you hardly see each other anymore. Be sure the natural flow of the physical world supports your social goals. Think “things.” Help others see the impact of the physical world.
As far as work goes, it can be helpful to encourage people to identify the various bureaucratic forces that are preventing them from doing what needs to be done. With time and constant exposure, people start to accept rules, policies, and regulations as a given. They start treating them like commandments or laws of nature. Soon these highly constraining walls of bureaucracy become invisible.