While I try to be patient and calm, the thing that sets my blood to high pressure is clogging the fast lane.

When I’m in a line which is led by a driver with miles of open highway ahead of them, my temper is threatened.

I imagine getting a semi-truck horn so I can give them a blast which would jolt them.

Or, perhaps, easing up beside them and purposefully edging them to a stop in the shoulder lane so that I could explain fast lane dynamics to them.

Or, maybe just push a button and have machine guns pop out of the hood, so I could provide a hot lead paint job to their tale.

It peeves me. Maybe you can tell.

As I was driving, it occurred to me that we encounter delays in the fast lane at work.

People with unreliable attendance habits slow up the fast lane. If you are the one who consistently is a few minutes late when the shift begins or are habitually late returning from breaks, you are slowing the fast lane.

People who aren’t diligent with information sharing clog the fast lane. It’s not lean to have to be reminded of an information need or to be sloppy with deadlines. It’s not lean to have to resend information because it was illegible or incomplete.

Indecision clogs the fast lane. Many times progress is delayed or conditions fester as a decision is awaited. Decisions delayed have a way of piling up. It creates a traffic jam. In fact, pace of decision making drives the pace of the fast lane.

Many times a tension exists in an organization. You can feel it, but it’s hard to pinpoint. It’s just there and it creates the aggression, similar to a quiet road rage. It isn’t healthy.

When you feel that tension, check out the things clogging the fast lane.

Healthy teams indicate respect for each other by showing up, hitting deadlines and aiding progress through decisions.