Paying attention

Often I am faced with situations that clients themselves didn’t create, but that were created for them.   But they are responsible for managing themselves and others through them.  Example.  The other day I was talking with an individual about a situation in their company where some people knew alot more about the upcoming changes than others.  When I asked her what the reason for that was she said she didn’t know.  And then she added, “I’m sure they have their reasons.”

Really? 

In my mind this is a perfect example of a higher level person not paying attention.  I bet they don’t have any reason for not telling everyone the same information.  I bet they simply weren’t paying attention: to the havoc it would wreak on those not “in the know”, on the affect it might have on morale, on the division’s between the haves (of information) and the have nots (of information) and how that might affect their productivity.

This is often the case.  The change isn’t a big deal to the person at the top so they minimize the potential impact on the levels below.  They just don’t pay attention to what could happen becaus they can’t imagine anyone caring that much (because they don’t). 

It would take some critical thinking and some courage to go back to that person and raise these issues.  I would submit that it would be worth it.  And don’t ever assume that someone “has their reasons”.  Nine times out of ten they don’t.  Not out of malice or negative intention, but because they simply aren’t paying attention.