Positive Discontent: How to Intervene Before Things Fall Apart
While he was on vacation, one manager’s team lost momentum. We discussed how to intervene before things fall apart.
I gave him two phrases for reflection, protecting gains and positive discontent. “Protecting gains feels defensive,” he said. “It leads to stagnation. But positive discontent works.”
Positive discontent:
Positive discontent is celebrating gains and working to improve.
Gains are platforms, not resting places.
Let celebration stand on its own.
Don’t devalue improvement by immediately saying, “Great job. How can you do better next time?” It’s ok to enjoy wins. Work on improvement this afternoon.
Wins are defeats unless they’re followed by, “What’s next?”
Intervene before things fall apart:
“What doesn’t get done when you’re on vacation?” I asked. He clarified a five-step process to teach managers.
#1. Be discontent when results decline.
Give your team an opportunity to acknowledge drop off. As long as people fail responsibly, declining results are learning moments, not punishment points.
When you punish responsible failure people stop trying.
#2. Establish trigger points.
Catch the drop off before it’s catastrophic by establishing a red-flag-moment, a point when you intervene.
He said, “When I’m here, I’m the eye in the sky. I have a goal for each team. When performance drops below that goal, I step in.”
#3. Ask each manager to establish a red-flag-moment.
What’s the metric?
Know when to step in before stepping in is necessary.
#4. Plan three interventions.
Ask managers, “What will you do when the red flag goes up?” Share some of your own strategies, if they get stuck. Be specific. Develop three options.
#5. Follow up.
- What did you try?
- How did it work?
- What did you learn?
- What will you do next time?
Positive discontent – When skills improve, expand the scope and raise the standard.
What does positive discontent look like to you?
How might managers maintain momentum?
In my leadership journey the “when” is often more difficult than the “what” of taking an action. My younger self was more urgent, my older self more likely to wait – frankly I think the younger self was wiser!
“It feels like we’re trending in the wrong direction” has become a phrase I use. It seems to allow constructive discussion, while still pointing to a need to change.
Thanks Ken. Great suggestion. Knowing when to step in is often more difficult than knowing how to step in. You don’t want to meddle or micro-manage.
If you step in sooner then do it in a way that doesn’t feel like an accusation.
In my leadership journey when it comes to interventions, I tend to look at process and routines to help with guidance on positive or negative trends. Focusing on what did we learn and how can we improve/ become more efficient with continued eye on quality performance. I like the definition of “red-flag moment” or “metrics” and establishing thresholds to help guide when intervention is necessary!
Thanks Tony. Anytime we can eliminate ambiguity we are doing a good thing.
I think the biggest challenge of leadership is the ability to walk away from the job and trust the people who work for you will continue successfully and productively as if you were present because you have properly prepared and effectively led them. I attended a leadership class (around 1991) where the instructor asked “How many of you could leave this class right now, get on an airplane, and go to Hawaii for one week all expenses paid without making a phone call to work to let them know anything other than you’ll be gone?” I don’t think anyone raised their hand out of 40 and I recall looking to the colleague sitting next to me and saying “Damn!” It was probably one of the most memorable leadership lessons I’ve learned with respect to leadership development of my people and preparing my people for my anticipated or unanticipated absence. Thanks, Dan.