CATEGORY: MOTIVATION, TEAMWORK, LEADERSHIP
TITLE: Suffering in Silos Silently

Suffering In Silos SilentlY. (SISSY)
This is one of the biggest things we fight.
We are 23 locations. We have 1,620 teammates.
In a given day, each one of you will encounter things, factors, conditions that are frustrating or are hassles. When those things occur, we respond to them in a variety of ways, but the responses are usually arrayed in one of two strategies: (1) we act to fix them, or (2) we choose to suffer through them.
I watched Larry Draughn on our corporate team share an approach he takes to solving issues. He calls it a spider chart. He gathers a team around him. He puts the problem on a whiteboard or flip chart. He begins to brainstorm a long list of the causes of the problem on one side of the issue and then creates a list of potential solutions on the other side of the issue.
In this discussion, you could see a transformation in the group. The combination of listing the causes and potential solutions energized the room. The group began to think and to speak with the possibilities of getting this issue resolved. The confidence level increased. The questions got better. The avenues to pursue became clearer. What was causing frustration began to dissipate. The energy to solve it began to grow.
Frequently, we keep our frustrations to ourselves.
No one cares, we say to ourselves.
Nothing can change, we say to ourselves.
This sucks, we say to ourselves.
I don’t know why someone doesn’t fix this, we say to ourselves.
That’s Suffering In Silos SilentlY. And if you’re the one doing it, it makes you a SISSY.
I don’t know about you, but on the playing field being called or being known as a SISSY was a call to action. It meant I had to step up. Maybe fight back. Try harder. Join the team and work hard to change the course of things.
It takes courage to raise an issue. It takes initiative to be part of the solution. It takes leadership to corral a team and get them to consider with you. It takes intention to follow up on those concerns and resolve them.
But, at the end of the day, being a SISSY sometimes happens. Suffering alone in your own messy silo. Harboring a negative attitude fueled by frustration causes us to slip backward.
Taking action to change that circumstance will lead us to a better place. It’s happening to the world.
Experiencing frustration is a cue. When you feel frustrated, it’s time to take a step, bring the issue to the attention of others, gather a team to discuss the causes/solutions and create a plan to act on and do it.
Frustrations will occur. However, it shouldn’t be a continuous state.
* Howe Q. Wallace, CEO, PalletOne