Pub. 6 2017 Issue 8

l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s 8 S UE WAS NOT HAPPY. “We sit in these meetings for two hours and leave with more busy work—even though we have barely made progress on the work we were supposed to complete last month. Every day we slip a little farther behind. The only way things get done, is if there is an emergency. That’s the way we focus.” I asked Sue if she had a solution, she said, “Nope. If I did, I would not be working here, I would be famous.” Sue was right. The experience of “task saturation” is widespread, and it is particularly brutal for mid-managers who feel caught in a vice, taking care of the crisis-of-the-day—while still trying to move strategic projects forward. Sue is smart, Sue cares about her job, and Sue is burning out. And here is the really sad thing, it is going to get much, much worse. For bank leaders, the dominant feeling is exasperation. “We made commitments, we’ve invested the money, and it feels like we can’t get in front of the wave.” “What’s important (and what isn’t) changes minute to minute. Something as normal as a system update can send us spinning for a week—to say nothing of Board meetings or audits.” If these feelings ring a bell with you, you are in very good company. In our recent book Slammed: Succeeding in a World of Too Busy, Carmen Voilleque and I dive into the slow- motion-constant-crises that arise from an unrelenting and unsatisfying work experience. When we looked closely at “Slammed” workplaces, we saw just about everything spiraling out of control. You know the checklist: Low morale, high turnover, nasty politics, confusion, waste, and a steadily degrading service experience. The solution to this “doom loop” is easier than you’d think, although it is a bit counter-intuitive. Let’s go back to Sue for a minute. During our interview with this rising-star manager we asked if she needed “more time” or if she would prefer to “work less.” She was insulted by both suggestions. “We are ready to work hard, but it can’t be about pushing a rock up the hill every day.” The way to break the Slammed cycle is not to work less, it is to work with purpose. Now hang on—before you roll your eyes. Here are three real-world, no- nonsense tips to break the cycle of task saturation in your bank. Dominate the basics. The great curse of the digital age is the relentless promise of transformation, efficiency and security with the next new technology. It creates the false belief that the work we are doing now will suddenly become unneeded—when in fact the foundational elements of banking are changing very little. It’s still about risk management, efficiency, service, and value—for the customer and the shareholder. Sue put it nicely when she said, “We discovered how little people understood the basics of lending when we implemented an automated loan origination system. An automatic transmission doesn’t make a lot of difference if you don’t know how to drive.” Speed depends on control and stability—and control and stability come from reliably delivering By Randy Harrington Ph.D., CEO of Extreme Arts & Sciences TRYING TO MAKE CHANGE? EXASPERATED? YOU’RE NOT ALONE… NEW LESSONS IN DIGITAL LEADERSHIP FOR THE KANSAS BANKERS ASSOCIATION