Grand corporate strategies rarely ever fail because of bad ideas. They fail due to “small” unaddressed daily operational leaks and internal friction. The more staff you have, the bigger the chance that you have internal friction that is costing you time—and time is money.
So, what is the real cost?
THE FOUR HIDDEN DRIVERS OF WASTED REVENUE
- Time: McKinsey, a global consulting firm, found that corporate employees spend 20% of their time looking for information or waiting. If 500 employees each lose just 1 hour a week to friction at R500/hour, that equates to R13 million wasted a year.
- Talent Bleed: Your best staff members spend their day bogged down in admin and politics instead of building constructive systems. The high performers who could help you navigate tough times are the ones who leave first out of pure frustration.
- Bad Decisions: No right-minded person wants to make a decision that could cost them their job, so everyone goes into “SAFE MODE.” People think, “I would rather make sure I keep my job than make a crucial decision that might risk it.”
- Culture Problems: When people stop trusting each other in a team, you enter a downward spiral. Meetings about meetings become the norm, and morale drops. When someone says, “That is not in my KPI,” you know the writing is on the wall. That is the moment when people stop helping across teams for the greater good of the collective—and ultimately, for the greater good of the company.
NIPPING FRICTION IN THE BUD
So, how do you turn things around when you start seeing the signs of friction?
If you watched Chasing the Sun, you might have seen a snapshot of what a decisive reaction looks like. Rassie Erasmus picked up that there was friction between some of the senior players in the team. He called the whole group together and called out the senior players directly in front of everyone. He told them that nobody was bigger than the team, and they had to sort their differences out or he would send them home.
The biggest takeaway for me is that friction must be nipped in the bud as soon as it is detected. Getting staff members into a room to thrash out small irritations or differences is crucial.
PUTTING THE TEAM ABOVE EGO
These days, I feel that people can be super emotional and leaders feel they dare not upset anyone or they will leave. But the crux of the matter is simple: no team can operate at 100% capacity if there is friction among team members.
The team and its interests are far more important than any individual. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that individuals are pulled into line the moment friction appears. In a sport like rugby, there is a serious amount of testosterone in every room, which makes it even more vital to address friction as soon as it rears its head.
GET IN TOUCH
If you would like to get in touch with me about my key note presentation, Debunking Motivation, please send an email to corne@cornekrige.com. Visit my website to review my speaker sheet for more info. I also share my story on my social media pages on Facebook and LinkedIn.