Trevor E. S. Smith | ‘I am uncomfortable at work!’

“I have been given a job that includes so many responsibilities that I am not sure where to start. The instructions are sketchy and leadership is inaccessible. It is like I have been thrown in the deep end and told to swim to the goal.”

For some individuals this is frustrating and stressful.

Calvin (C-style | reserved | task-oriented | systems | structure)

“I feel pressured to take on more tasks than can be managed effectively.

“When I am asked to handle an unrealistic number of tasks, I am faced with the risk of making mistakes. I like to give each task my undivided attention so that I can perform it to the best of my ability.”

 

What styles are most comfortable with broad-ranged, loosely defined jobs?

Irene (I-style | outgoing | people-oriented | variety | creativity | innovation | flexibility)

“I am very comfortable operating on the right side of the Extended DISC Diamond. I crave the freedom to chart my own course. I get a rush of excitement from dealing with the unexpected and take pride in my ability to think on my feet. I enjoy formulating solutions on the run.

“I do not fear making errors. I figure that if I can constantly keep three or four extra things in play, I should not be concerned if one goes off track occasionally.

“By operating at the limits, I extend them and expand my capacity.”

How can Calvin (and you) cope more effectively?

Adopt the mindset of a circus juggler at practice

This is designed to get you to be willing to make mistakes in the interest of increasing your capacity.

You may be disappointed when an object falls, but you continue in the knowledge that with practice you will get better. You keep the overriding goal in mind and you refuse to be deterred by occasional mishaps.

As with the juggler, recognise the fact that an object will fall at some point

You learn that your performance is not judged so much on the basis of whether odd objects fall. The lasting assessment relates to your capacity to attain great heights. The marvel of competently keeping large numbers of objects in play is what really counts.

The key for you is that when you are forced to juggle, you remain unflustered and perform as if you were born to those circumstances.

 

Consider another perspective

Imagine you have been asked to plan and implement a major event.

It may not be feasible to have your regular tasks reassigned. Some things that you normally do very well may not get your full attention. Your tradition of attentiveness and excellence in those areas may be threatened.

That situation is not unlike the broad-ranged role scenario. Some activities will have to be performed with less than the level of attention that you would ideally like to give them.

Another concrete example

You are in a programme of study and you are scheduled to sit two exams on the same day. Work and other pressures have kept you from adequately preparing for one of the exams.

The natural inclination may be to focus your attention on doing well on the one exam for which you are fully prepared.

You should reflect on the fact that the ‘Did Not Sit’ result you will get is intellectually dishonest. In the real world, where opportunities may come only once, you may be better off working towards an 80%-20% result as against a 100%-Did Not Sit one.

 

Focus on the overarching results, not on the performance of a specific task

The accumulated impact is the deciding factor. Giving less than your desired attention to any one area may still make a significant contribution to achieving the overall objectives.

Divided attention

One strategy is to recall that the juggler does, in fact, give his undivided attention to each individual object at different points in time, even for a split second. You have to devise a strategy that requires that you pay only enough attention to any one task so as to keep it going effectively until you can return to it.

ACTION

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- Trevor E. S. Smith/Success with People Academy. We guide the development of high-performance teams. We are interpersonal relations, group dynamics, and performance-enhancement specialists. We provide learning and productivity-enhancement technology solutions. We offer behavioural assessments from Extended DISC on the revolutionary FinxS Platform and e-Competency Frameworks in our SPIKE solution. Email: info@successwithpeople.org.