Often people end the day feeling that they have not completed their tasks satisfactorily because they have spent much of the time “putting out fires.” This is just one of mode of leadership that can cause inefficiency and chaos in a company. Sound familiar?
When fires are continually being put out, it is because there is no planning and no clear definition of the company’s goals and objectives. This means that everything often has to be improvised and that generates chaos. It also means employees are unable to focus on what is really important for the company. When it is the leader who acts as a firefighter, this can create even bigger problems for the team as a whole. Therefore, It is essential to solve this dangerous mode and put into place a clear definition of roles, responsibilities and priorities. It is an exercise of rigor and self-discipline.
How can you stop fostering a culture of firefighting?
- Make time to map out a plan based on annual goals and objectives and allocate the company budget accordingly.
- Communicate the plan to the team to ensure each team member is clear on where the company is going, thereby reducing the number of “fires” and generating motivation and a sense of belonging to the group.
- Clearly define the responsibilities of each position and the associated performance measures.
- Create simple protocols for all phases of the value chain so that each employee knows their main obligations, resulting in a significantly reduced need to act in a firefighter mode.
- Make quarterly plans to set smart goals for each job in the short term so that each person reconfirms their priorities on a regular basis.
- Educate people on proper time management, teaching them to place on their agendas the tasks that really add value to their roles and therefore to the company. This can help employees form positive habits, effectively use their time, avoid unproductive tasks and, above all, move past the interruptions and duplications that these fires generate.
By following the recommendations above, tasks will cease to be as urgent because they have previously been defined, planned and assigned. As a result, the emergencies that are symptomatic of firefighter mode are reduced, generating greater productivity and minimizing stress.
Source: Jose Luis Gonzalez Rodriguez via Forbes