Why won’t my employee just do what I ask???

Have you ever been confused or frustrated that your employee or direct report won’t simply do what you asked them to do? Why do you have to keep asking them to complete a seemingly simple task?

Speaking from personal experience, I can be one of those employees who can get ‘stuck’ and not move forward on a project. I want to move forward, trust me, I do! But, even more so, because I have the need for a lot of information when completing a task, I want to make sure that it is done right and that I get the perfect outcome. I have the High Conformity trait! If you ask me to do something, I want to know as much as you will tell me about the project. What are the expectations? What is the timeline for completion? What should the finished project look like? Where can I find answers to questions that I have? You can never give me too much information! I love information and details, I want it all, it helps me make sure that I can get the right outcome!

Often, the answer to why people get stuck is based in behavior! When working with owners and managers, we constantly give coaching tips for how they can best support their employees based on their behaviors, what they need to be most successful. If we aren’t giving our employees the support they need behaviorally, we can’t expect them to outperform and excel!

So, if you are my manager, or a co-worker asking for help on a project, I really do want to help you, I want to do the best job for you and for our company that I can! But, if we are going to work well together, please give me specifics; please keep the lines of communication open so that I can come to you with questions, so I don’t get stuck. Then, we both win – I move forward on projects, and you can be assured that I will do everything in my power to get you the right output!

Do you have someone on your team who is getting “stuck”? Who isn’t doing what you ask? Do they need different support from you to accomplish their tasks?