My mother was a busy and probably overwhelmed farm wife with four young children, gardens, canning, fixing three meals a day from scratch, the list goes on.  When the linoleum in the kitchen was replaced, her major concern was that it hid the dirt.  A neighbor (also a farm wife and busy mother) bought new carpet that would absorb moisture and dirt.  It worked great until it had to be pulled up and replaced.  What a stinky mess that turned out to be!  My grandmother, on the other hand, always had light floors in her home because she wanted to see the dirt and get rid of it.

There are managers who fit in these two camps:

Some managers are “re-active”, they just want the surface to look okay.  As long as the work is getting done, they don’t care about underlying issues until problems are so out-of-control that it’s doing damage to the business.  They ignore the dirt.

The “pro-active” manager will keep abreast of what’s going on with her team, be it personnel, logistics, or any other aspects of her department.  This means asking questions, observing, listening and responding to her team.  She notices and reacts to what’s in the corners.

As you look around your organization, do your managers ignore the dirt or deal with it?  Experience tells us it’s far better to clean something when it needs to be cleaned rather than wait until it starts reeking.

The road is easier together,