I was riding my bicycle the other day, when I was passed by a group of 3 or 4 cars. The first 3 went pretty wide around me, giving me a comfortable space, allowing me to relax. The 4th passed more tightly, not close enough to cause me to bail out but close enough for me to take notice. It got me thinking back to some previous thoughts I had while on the highway. Cars, trucks and motorcycles traveling 65, 70, 75 and even 80 miles per hour within 3-6 feet of each other. Move to a 2 lane highway and you will have cars passing in opposite directions at 60 miles per hour!! That, right there, is putting a lot of trust in a total stranger!!
Why does this system work? Well, it does, at least most of the time. People sail down the road, approaching another vehicle from behind, move to the left lane and pass without giving it a thought. You do it, I do it. It’s just how it works and we feel perfectly ok doing it. But what if that car you are approaching is swerving from lane to lane erratically, without signaling, varying their speed? How do you feel about passing that one now; one hand on the wheel, the other holding your coffee?
The road system works because it produces predictability. when we are driving down the highway, lines divide the lanes, so a car’s path is predictable. An exit allows cars to leave the road, an on-ramp lets them enter. When you approach a green light, you can predict that the cross traffic will stop at a red. The speed limit gives you an idea how fast the car approaching is going allowing you to make decisions like “I’m ok to pull out” or “I can pass.” It is when people go outside the boundaries (expectations) that it doesn’t work. When their actions aren’t predictable. Picture a car driving the wrong way on a one way street. You might even think “What is that idiot doing?” Unpredictable. And if they were approaching you, you would likely pull over and pause for them to pass before resuming your travels.
As a leader/supervisor/boss, you are going to be more successful if you are predictable. If your employees know your routine, they will be able to adjust and adapt to help maintain stability. If they know that a particular behavior elicits a normal response, they can work to stay in bounds. It’s when the boss comes in and has changed his/her expectations from yesterday (loss of predictability) that there is a problem. When the crew comes in expecting “A” but “B” shows up that we have to slow down and adapt. Predictability improves employee performance by reducing the amount of time we play “catch up.”
Imagine you are driving in your car behind me as I pedal as fast as I my little legs will go. Traffic is light but too much for you to just pull into the oncoming lane to pass easily. You have to tighten up to the centerline to get past me while letting cars pass the opposite direction. Not too big a deal. But, image that I am swerving right to left, left to right, moving off the fog line 3 or 4 feet. How does that make you feel about passing in the same lane?
Predictability comes from expectations, communication and consistency. This doesn’t mean that you have to have predetermined plans for everything you do in your daily job. But they should see that “when X, the response will be Y”. It’s probably most important to be predictable in how you respond to crisis, failures, mistakes and such. If your employees know that you will be cool, calm and an advocate for them when they make mistakes, they will be more open about admitting errors.
Communication to everyone, consistently of what is coming will help improve predictability. A routine for daily tasks will also help. Beyond that, build a plan, share THE SAME message with all your teammate and then update them if there are changes. Having an initial plan to work from helps make the day more effective and improves efficiency of your people.
No one likes to work for that guy/gal that you have to wait and see how they are when they arrive at work. “What are we going to get today?” Is no way to spend the day. Don’t be that boss.
