I love the song “Let it Go.” I’ve never seen the movie Frozen; but, I have to say that the message, like so many in ‘kids’ movies, is so relevant to adults. Now, I realize that many people who have kids have a negative visceral reaction to the song these days—likely due to having listened to it over 1,000 times—but hear me out on this one.
I was working with a client recently, having just completed the study phase of an engagement, and we were reviewing the summary conclusions and some of the deeper survey data. At one point during the conversation, her head popped up, and she remarked at how many of the comments from employees were rooted in things that happened in the company months, if not years ago; that people seemed stuck on things that had been addressed long ago. While there are many layers to this specific situation (had the issues been thoroughly addressed? Has communication flowed properly through the firm, so everyone is on the same page about improvements? Has leadership gone to the frontlines to see things through the eyes of the people doing the work?), what our client expressed is something we hear from many of our clients: legacy issues persist and drag down the energy and productivity in an organization.
Here are some common symptoms that would let you know you and/or your organization may need to “Let it Go:”
• Like the client described above, team members focus on issues that used to exist, but have since been remedied
• Team members speak in generalities about issues, but don’t have any specific examples (“I can’t get anything done around here,” or “Every time I try to get an issue resolved, I can’t get any answers”)
• Team members get spun up/focused on things completely out of their control, and lose time on those issues, as opposed to focusing on what they CAN do, and what needs to be done to accomplish the organizational goals
• Team members focus on the behavior of others in the organization (“Can you believe (s)he…” or “How come (s)he never…”), as opposed to focusing on their own outcomes, and positively impacting business results through their own mentality and actions
In the above examples, you probably also understand that there are many issues at play, including: communication, personal mindset, organizational alignment, performance management, to name a few. All of those elements are critical in creating a high performing organization. What may be most important, though, is what each individual brings to her life every day in the area of MINDSET.
• Is each person coming to work every day with a focus on MOVING FORWARD, OWNING her mindset and actions, and POSITIVELY INFLUENCING others?
• Do people get weighed down and tangled in the STORIES and MEANING connected to what happens (can you believe (s)he did…(s)he doesn’t/isn’t…)? As humans, we are great storytellers, and often create meaning where none really exists—it is all INVENTED, and we typically INVENT negative spin—why is that? Let’s really just focus on what actually happened, learn from it, and move forward.
• Do coworkers and leaders actively call people out when they are spinning stories, as opposed to moving forward (the ‘calling out’ would happen in 1:1 settings and in a positive, supportive fashion)?
The point is this—we’ve got thriving businesses to grow. We’ve got massive impact to make on our communities. We’ve got employees to serve, so they can achieve their personal and professional goals. Get focused. Be resolved. Focus on what matters—learning, growing and moving forward.
LET IT GO.
