Most of the time there are no burning buildings, no natural disasters, no kittens stuck in trees. So, what does a Firefighter do with their downtime? They prepare. They train their bodies for strength and endurance, they maintain equipment, they inform the public on fire safety, they continually improve their skills and knowledge, create procedural routines, manage stress, relax, socialize, build team unity and surely many other things.
They do all the mind and body prep work necessary so that if the fire bell rings, they can move with purpose, the team assembled quickly and smoothly, equipment at the ready. Upon entering into an extreme and unpredictable environment, trained habits and routines fire so that they remain cool and collected, efficient and effective as they risk life in order to save life. And we respect them the world over for it.
A key manager quits, a competitor innovates ahead, a large customer is lost, an employee strike is called, the economy struggles. In today's erratic business environment there is a trend towards keeping fires ablaze with each new day bringing with it an emergency for which no one seems prepared. This creates a flurry of action aimed at dousing the flames just as another spot fire rages to life.
Often, workplaces are secretive, stressed, competitive, disjointed and distrustful environments where, in times of uncertainty, the lack of preparation causes further confusion, communication break-down, in-fighting and loss of effectiveness.
In the short-term, motivation drops, job satisfaction falls away, sick leave rises, quality of work slips and the bottom line is affected. In the long-term, these factors lead to --- A key employee quitting, a competitor innovating ahead, a large customer lost, employee strikes and economic struggles. A group energized by fear leads to more experiences to fear.
In many companies, the maintenance of their most important asset, the people, is generally kept to a minimum. Training, skill improvement, stress management, working culture, team atmosphere and individual health are pushed into background processes to save resources. Sometimes it seems, getting training and support is a bonus, implemented as an incentive program to motivate or a reward for good work rather than improved performance,
If a workplace is run like a fire station, development takes the forefront as people are continually trained according to their role plus encouraged to continually self-develop further or in their teams. Improvements, planning and investments are therefore made to minimize and ease the times of uncertainty and take full advantage of opportunities in any climate. A stable atmosphere is created to work, develop, test, play, interact and support - one that develops into something more comparable to a family unit than a business.
And when unpredictability does erupt - fast, focused and unified movements are made, with actions seen risky and fear-filled by the unprepared, are calm and calculated decisions for the trained.
Most in this world do very little prep work.
In a decentralized environment where action and responsibility is on the individual, who's job is it to prepare, train, learn, grow, maintain, practice and build the community? It is difficult to be self-sufficient if always looking to a leader for answers.
Many people like lighting fires here, very few have the skills or will to douse them.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
View this post on Steeve, an AI-powered Steem interface