Pascal Wyse has a column called Wyse Words in The Guardian Weekend Magazine. His word this week-end was ‘Nadaday‘.
“This appears to be a really dynamic working day – full of progress and Post-Its and high fives. But mysteriously, despite the blizzard of productivity, when you add it up, the net result is that you have achieved absolutely nothing. Had you stayed in the toilet all day, you would be in a better position.”
So how do you avoid having too many Nadadays?
If you are having too many – what should you do about it?
What if you simply have a Nadajob?
Nadadays happen when people work for ‘compensation’. When they sell their time and effort for a salary.
When people are working to create value, and make a difference to the world then Nadadays are rare. Unless we manage them poorly – fail to acknowledge and respect their motivation and treat them as just another of our wage slaves.
Unfortunately this happens a lot in even the most purpose led organisations – when we manage the system, the process and the outputs – forgetting that it is ALL ABOUT PEOPLE!
When I work with ‘purpose led’ organisations whether in the first, second or third sectors the biggest opportunity I see for performance improvement is for managers to talk more often with staff about why this work matters – to them. What is the difference that they are trying to make – and how can the organisation help them.
Once this type of conversation becomes routine, frequent and genuine then amazing things happen to culture and performance.