Pulling is the new pushing
| This past Sunday I was waiting for the bus and noticed an advertisement that caught my attention. A varied assortment of coffee capsules with 40% off. I got up, scanned the QR code and swiftly closed the purchase. This got me thinking; would I have bought the capsules if a salesperson would have persuaded me over the phone? Most likely not. And this is because there is a fundamental difference between pushing and pulling. When someone pulls is making his own choices and is in complete control of his acts and thoughts. Pushing, on the contrary, leads to distrust and lack of motivation. This phenomenon can also be observed in the workplace. “You have There is a graphical manner to quickly visualize these concepts. Imagine a game in which three individuals must transfer as many balls as possible between two buckets with the condition that each ball must be touched by all six hands before it can be dropped off in the receiving bucket. In the first situation, the manager is feeding the balls to the team, one at a time. Once the first ball has been placed in the bucket, the manager feeds (pushes) the second ball, and so forth. In a second situation, in which the manager does not intervene, the team quickly realizes that they can handle more than one ball at a time. In this setting, the team picks new balls at their convenience, in a self-organized manner. You can rapidly figure out which situation yields the highest output of collected balls. In conclusion, a team – or an individual – that pulls his work will be not just more motivated, but also more efficient (more with less). The virtuous circle is then closed; higher motivation leads to higher output, which leads to even higher motivation, and so on. To wrap it up: think of a company’s vision. Is it something that should be decided on the top floor of the HQ office and trickle down to the rest of the organization? Or should it be a joint inclusive effort from all the workforce? Stephen Covey wrote that he once was in a hotel in which he felt extremely well treated. Every single employee went out of his way to ensure that he had an unforgettable stay. Upon checking out he asked a member of the staff how they managed to keep up such a great service. As Stephen suspected, every single hotel employee participated in defining the hotel’s vision. A valuable reminder that pulling – in this case, a company’s vision – can lead to long-term win-win states. |
to do A (because I say so)”. Pushing work in this manner leads to unsatisfied and unmotivated individuals, a win/lose situation. The manager might get his people to complete the assigned work, but it will cost him dearly. Burn-outs and sick leaves will climb and thereby increase the working environment toxicity. On the contrary, when an individual pulls work he feels motivated and delivers results that often exceed expectations. A win-win setting is created. In this situation, the manager works alongside the team and ensures that they have all the required tools and knowledge to carry out the work. And he also removes any impediments the team may encounter along the way… (where have I heard that before?).Life Goes On: making the best out of Self-Isolation
| One third of world's population is confined. The impact of this pandemic on the economy is yet to be seen, but most economists picture a more than likely recession looming our way. On the positive side, everyone agrees that - it may take more or less time - but we will come out of this situat Contact old friends and expand professional network That cousin you were planning to call but it was never a good time, that old friend from university you promised to WhatsApp but never found a good reason to do so, that colleague from your previous employer with whom you got along so well but that you have not seen again after switching companies... Now it is a fantastic opportunity to reach out to them. In terms of professional network, it is a good practice to build it when it is not needed, so for when it is needed is then already too late. Explore LinkedIn and reach out to individuals or companies that might play a role in your present and future. Pick up hobbies or procrastinated activities Reading books (educational, novels, essays, etc.), watching TV shows or series that were sitting on the on the to-watch list for months, picking up hobbies to which not much attention could be paid due to the lack of time (painting, reading, playing an instrument, etc.)... All of these, and many more depending on the personal circumstances, will favor an efficient use of time - plus something will be learned. Like essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow". Take in introspective look at yourself... and plan ahead This is by far the most difficult exercise since it requires diving in the inner soul of each individual. Similarly to a scrum retrospective at the end of each sprint, the same principle could apply to life. At certain time intervals, it is a good practice to look back and assess whether we have managed to fulfill the goals that we have set for ourselves. Are we where we wanted to be? And more importantly, to reflect on the direction forward. Someone once said "If you do not know where you are going, any road will get you there”. Reflecting on an apparently simple question such as "What do I want out of life?" allows the introspective process to begin. This pandemic is causing mankind to put the way we live under the magnifying glass. The positive impact on the pollution levels, for example, is making mankind reflect on whether we could live in a more sustainable manner and what we would sacrifice in our life style to accomplish this. If mankind is doing this exercise, why not also us individually? Stay safe everyone. |
ion. As long as it is possible, most people are doing remote working which allows saving time on a daily basis (in the U.S., the average, one-way commute time is 26 minutes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau). How can this time be used to create additional value? The following list presents a few options. I look forward to hearing more from you in the comments section below.
