Let’s face it, there’s much about the world of work for many that is monotonous or at least fairly routine. It’s easy in many roles to get lulled into the rhythms and routines of days, weeks and months. Wake-up, dress, get on the train, drink coffee, meet, talk, write, plan, meet some more and run to catch the express train home. Rinse and repeat.
Monotony and routine are the natural born killers of creativity and innovation. Like weeds invading a spring lawn here in the Midwest, these twin killers quickly overwhelm the healthy pursuit of better, new and different.
Good leaders like good gardeners take preventive measures to minimize the opportunity for monotony and routine to take root. However, even the best lawn-maestros know that there will be some encroachment of unwanted pests and other destructive forces. Being ever vigilant, they are on the lookout for the first signs of trouble and stand ready to spring into action.
7 Signs that Monotony and Routine are Infecting and Impacting Your Team:
1. Cue the nonverbal cues: people that are engaged, excited and inspired show it in many ways. Their pace is quick, their voices strong and upbeat and their eyes and faces show interest and animation. Learn to pay attention to the body language of your team members…these cues rarely lie.
2. Accountability fades into acceptance. High performance teams impose their own self-policing mechanisms for performance. When a team member fails to meet team standards or to live up to team values, the group takes action and requires accountability. When this self-correcting system is not visible…and when poor or incomplete performance is grudgingly tolerated, you can reasonably guess that monotony and routine have taken root.
3. Fire watching becomes a cultural hobby. I’ve seen this many times in tired environments. Problems are treated like a fire burning in a wastepaper basket while people just sit there watching it. “Yep, that looks like a fire,” says one person. “How can we be certain that is a fire?” asks another. “Maybe the boss wanted a fire in that can,” intones another. “Yeah, you’re right. We better not touch it. Besides, I don’t think we’re responsible for fires,” adds the next. If fires are springing up and burning out of control without anyone take action, something is wrong.
4. There’s a lot of fighting and no playing. Great groups know how to fight and play well together. Tired, frustrated, bored groups just fight and then bicker about each other. Be sensitive to the bicker o-meter in your organization and if it starts heading in the wrong direction, it’s time to take action.
6. Beware when failure is met with resignation and acceptance instead of a healthy frustration supported by a redoubling of efforts. Engaged people and teams fight failure with energy and creativity.
7. Be concerned when new initiatives and goals are met with a swirl of nothing. Tired and cynical teams (symptoms of monotony and routine) tend to choose an ignore strategy for new initiatives, confident in the understanding that with a long enough period of inaction, the initiatives usually fade into the ether of other management blah blah. This passive-aggressive behavior is more common than you might think and is a definite indicator that you’ve got team trouble.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
Recognition is the first step on the road to recovery. Good managers and leaders do more than judge team performance by the numbers in a report. They tune in to the attitudes, behaviors and the myriad of other clues that indicate that monotony and routine have taken up residence. And then they take action.
Of course, great leaders don’t wait for the visible signs…they are active every day in implementing preventive measures to make certain that monotony and routine don’t have a chance to grab hold and take root. (If you’re looking for some ideas, I suggest reviewing some of the recent Leadership Caffeine posts here at Management Excellence.)
Isn’t it time that you stamped out Monotony and Routine in your workplace?
It is inevitable that some monotonous work is important and must be done. How would you suggest handling this as a manager?
I have been instructed to perform monotonous tasks and the request is always prefaced with “I’m sorry, I know this is horrible, but can you please ….” I graciously accept, but this doesn’t make things any better.
That is definitely part of work and life. The issue for everyone is not to let the routine become the norm and to dictate the overall energy level. Even executives fall into this trap, where you would not expect monotony and routine to be issues. My guidance as mentioned in the post is included in a healthy number of prior leadership caffeine posts, including those of the past few weeks. -Art
The first action leaders take is to recognize that they created the conditions under which monotony and routine have taken hold, and they accept responsibility for partnering with others to create different conditions under which creativity and innovation can thrive. The problem is not those crappy folks, the problem is my crappy system. Thanks, Art! Bret
Very Deming-esque of you, Bret! Thanks!! -Art
Art,
There are times I thing a little monotony can be a good thing. As an engineer I worked on several projects with strict deadlines, were creativity was a must. Upon completion of the projects I found it nice to have a small break from the chaos to regroup and take care of the smaller less visible problems in and around my desk. I think that a good leader should allow small lapses into monotony without letting it become a routine. My manager did a great job of balancing the load that he put on me so I wouldn’t get burnt out from either stress or boredom.
Thanks for the post,
Ira
Ira, I absolutely agree with the concept of down-time. There’s a section in my book, Practical Lessons in Leadership, devoted to “managing the game clock,” and you will find us in strong agreement. My issue is more with the nature of work and the on-going work environment or atmosphere. Thanks so much for reading and for sharing your thoughtful comments! -Art
Art,
I find it helpful to combat monotony and routine by remembering to bring my team’s focus down from 50,000 feet and back to ground level where natural variation is always present. While it’s good to see things from a higher perspective, remaining at that level can create the illusion that change isn’t occurring and individual efforts are worthless.
-Brandon
Brandon, I like the approach. A popular workshop component that I teach is “Adjusting your Altitude,” which challenges leaders and employees to learn how to move up and down for many good reasons. Thanks for commenting. -Art
Great post as always, Art! Monotony and routine are commonplace even in high-energy, fast-paced environments. Part of it is in our nature: we are made to adapt well. Once adapted, those things that used to be exciting tend to be invisible. Finding a new twist is necessary to get that buzz again. If everyone is striving to be where they best contribute or most learn at work, there is no room for monotony. There is no management excellence standing still!
Dear Art,
If performance numbers are good, what’s wrong with monotony and routine? The work of a perfectly tuned engine of Porsche or Ferrari is probably the most monotonous thing in the world. In fact when it stops to be monotonous, then it is sign of a trouble. When the group’s work seems to be monotonous, it means that the manager has done his job very well and can sit back and relax (figuratively speaking, of course). Anyone knows what to do, and does it like clockwork. Is it really necessary to keep that flame in team members’ eyes burning?…
Art,
These are good indicators for monotony and routine. I’ve been in organizations where fire watching and a lot of fighting occurred but no play. New initiatives to resolve problems were enthusiastic at first but no action or progress was made to correct the issues. The ideas just sort of faded away. There was clearly a system issue within that organization. Needless to say you’re cues are definitely things that have occurred in my past experience. Thanks for sharing!
The leaders of a company are responsible for encouraging creativity and innovation. If this is not part of the system in the company often times employees become bored and disengaged. As soon as a few employees fall victim to these things others will soon follow.
I beleive that employees need to have fun when they can at work. As long as the work gets done you need to have fun with it. Alot of leaders are so serious all day every day. People having fun, while creating new ideas at work creates a snow ball effect of inspiration and engagement.