How do I deal with other people dropping the ball when I give it my all?

How do I deal with other people dropping the ball when I give it my all?

Hi, I’m Janet Granger, answering the question: “How do I deal with other people dropping the ball when I’m giving it my all?” 

The person who asked this question gave a lot more detail on this, so let me share what he wrote: 

“I’ve often found that I can provide helpful work and that I can improve the customers or my own company’s performance, only to never see those recommendations get implemented and as a result nothing changes or gets better. How do I deal with this?”

And by “this” I assume he means the frustration of knowing that you can make a difference, move the business forward, do great things, only to be shut down before you can even begin. 

I really liked this question because I think it touched on years of frustration that I had when I would make recommendations. I would do pilot tests, and see that a project would work, only to be shut down because of a reorg in the organization. So even though the pilot was a great success they decided not to roll it out. 

What I’d like to talk about, in answering this question, is our educational system, here in the United States. It doesn’t set us up, as we move forward – into the working world – to help us feel good about what we do. Let me explain what I mean by this. 

We spend the first 18-22 years of our lives in school and we’re constantly “graded.” We want to “get a good grade” in a course, or on a paper, or in a test. And all of our effort goes into this work. And then we feel judged by the grade we get back. Unfortunately, a lot of how we have defined our own success is based on what those grades are. 

What I would like to recommend is that we stop thinking that way. 

We stop being emotionally tied to “that grade,” those results. Whether or not the company actually does what you’ve recommended. 

What I’d like to offer here is that, really, your value and your worth is in the process of solving the problem. 

Thinking creatively. 

Coming up with a solution. 

Being part of a team that works together (if you’re on a team) to come up with this solution.

Creating a pilot or something else that you believe will work. 

Even if it’s not tried – or it doesn’t go through – or a client doesn’t take your recommendations. 

This question reminded me of an old joke about a plumber. A plumber was called in to a manufacturing facility where they had a problem with the plumbing. He walks in, walks around the system, looks around in this big warehouse. He eventually walks over to one pipe and bangs the pipe with his wrench and, Voila! The problem is fixed and everything’s working. 

He hands his client a bill for $500, and the client looks at him and says, “What? Are you nuts? You spent 10 minutes here! That’s not worth $500!”  At which point the plumber looks at him and says, “Well, with all of my experience, I know exactly where to look and what to do and where to solve the problem – banging on this pipe – so yeah, that’s worth $500.” 

The reason I share this is, I want you to shift your “sense of worth” from the end result to the process of solving the problem. 

Being part of a team, or coming up with that solution, you’re the plumber. That’s where you get your worth and self-value. I recommend that you separate yourself from the results, because you have no control over that.

You have no control, once you let it go, and you make that recommendation. You have no control over what happens next. And the fact that you did the work, and you got to that point –  that’s your value. That’s your worth. 

Remember that what you have gone through, what you’ve done, being part of the team, that’s where your value is. 

Sometimes you’ll be listened to, and sometimes you won’t. So don’t hang your hat on something that’s totally outside of your control – because what’s really important is what you contributed. 

I’ve found that, as a team member, I have to be very careful about picking my battles and where I’m going to fall on my sword for something. You do that, too. 

Value the process – and maybe you don’t fall on your sword – or you’re very choosy about the battles that you pick, in terms of being emotionally tied to a process that you have no control over. 

The best organizations, and managers, will be the ones who recognize your value, your team’s value, your team’s work. Let go of caring about the ones that don’t and appreciate the value you bring to the solution. 

I’m Janet Granger, answering the question: “How do I deal with other people dropping the ball when I’m giving it my all?”