I am intrigued by the way we speak about the ‘hard’ and “soft” issues in business. There is often legitimacy implied to the 'hard' and illegitimacy to the 'soft'. I wonder, is this valid?
What we mean is that hard issues are tangible and measurable and soft issues are intangible and inferred. As a result, we gain reassurance from the measurable, and reservations from the unmeasurable.
Strategies, plans, outcomes, deliverables, structure, policies, procedures and processes, feel full of substance and form. Alternatively, culture, relationships, motivation, influence, empowerment & inspiration feel nebulous. We find the concrete things more legitimate. Yet, the abstract has a profound influence on results.
Although we may have a very clear decision on the facts before us, when we consider the influences of relationships and motivations, our decision suddenly becomes much more complex. We may still, however, choose to ignore or diminish the ‘soft’ issues and push through the ‘hard’ decision, and then confronted, even surprised, with the reaction, that follows. On the other hand, it may be the other way around. The ‘hard’ and the ‘soft’ are equally important. They are interdependent. Our challenge is to make judgments considering both.
Having a task focus brings out the emphasis on the ‘hard’ issues. It is action oriented and therefore good at generating activity and evidence of progress. However, this can be a trap. Not all activity is constructive. We can create illusions of effectiveness, particularly if people are acting out of compliance or submission. This sets leaders up to take more control, make people dependent on them for decisions, slows processes down and increases the demands on them causing overwork.
‘Soft’ issues do not always present immediately. They can be festering under the surface and building into something substantial without us realising it. In the drive for creating a result, we may damage relationships, erode people’s motivation, weaken their levels of engagement and create a culture that is disempowering and leads to either dependency, lack of commitment or worse, resentment.
We can miss the connection that the tactics we use cause the diminishing returns, or costly complications, that arise. Other times, we identify the causes and now need to invest in a demanding process of change to create a healthier, sustainable performance culture.
Having a relationship focus will bring out the emphasis on the ‘soft’ issues. This embraces understanding of what makes people tick, their value and how to leverage it, plus how to get people working together effectively. It is not about making people feel good. It is about understanding what enables people to perform at their best and activating that. E.g., some people need tough agendas and big stretches in order to achieve, others need stepping-stones and positive reinforcement or a combination of both.
If overdone the relationship orientation can just as easily result in disempowerment and dependency by giving other people too much importance and in the process making others, yourself or tasks relatively unimportant.
Initially there is apparent harmony and co-operation. However, if the task focus is lacking, responsibility diffused, we avoid confronting situations, value is lost, discernment is minimal, and people become overcommitted. There is a rising sense of overwhelm at the demands, often resulting in powerlessness of some and an over-inflated sense of power in others, bringing out their roguish tendencies.
We see this in action in many corporate dramas. Conflicts arise over the polarisation of these two points of view, the destructive elements of task versus the relationship. If you can hear the language of victims and perpetrators, you are likely to find the destructive excesses of both. The solution lies in the constructive integration of both facing the facts and dealing with the relationship issues.
Our reactions to situations and circumstances bring out the best or worst in us. We can become captive to them. Think of when it is easier to blame others rather than own the responsibility that is ours in the circumstances. We seek solutions that make us feel better rather than achieve our desired result. We avoid dealing with what might challenge us personally and create something else to put our energy into and shift the focus.
Try this: Identify examples that apply to you. Think of each situation as a both/and rather than either/or. I invite you to step up to the challenge of more sophisticated responses.
How do I deepen a relationship when I am holding someone accountable?
When collaborating, how do I take a stand for something important I can see and others cannot in a way that gives them choice to accept or reject the value I am offering?
How do I set challenging targets and enable people feel empowered to achieve them, despite their reservations?
Finding the constructive aspects of both the task and relationship focus and integrating them produces leveraged outcomes. It creates a momentum in the business. If you are experiencing struggle, resistance and opposition, you have out them out of balance with some destructive elements. Whenever you experience a sense of flow, of things moving forward effortlessly, you know you have them in constructive balance.
A 400% measured improvement in effectiveness by addressing the soft issues affecting hard results. Ask me about it!
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