Stop Tailgating & Brake Checking at Work

Imagine you’re driving down the road in the passing lane, already exceeding the speed limit, when you see somebody following very close.  The tailgater’s message is clear: “I need to get somewhere and I need to get there quicker than you are going”.  Some people in this situation might “brake check” the tailgater – they slam on their breaks to send their own message.  The  brake checker’s message is equally strong: “Watch out!  If you follow too close, you may cause an accident and it will be clearly your fault.”

Does this sound familiar to disagreements at the office?  Two people are working on a project and it appears both are trying to get to the same destination.  Yet one person demands greater risks for quicker results.  This happens a lot, especially in organizations where near-term results and quarterly goals are prioritized over sustainability.  As a result, employees are often competing for who can get the job done quicker and not necessarily who gets there with the best balance of risk and reward.  Both the Brake Checker and the Tailgater have better options to serve their company.

The Brake Checker

The brake checker usually is the one that starts off in front.  They have everyone aligned, driving in the same direction. Yet it becomes apparent the objective is not pursued quickly enough for someone in the organization.  As a result, at least one individual, looking for quicker results, pushes for greater risks and speed.  There are a couple of options the current leader has:

Brake Check: The leader could do the risky tactic and slam on the brakes.  In other words, they could threaten everyone, insisting that anything they try to move quicker could  cause horrible results.  Yet, in doing so the leader puts their own credibility at risk for not considering alternatives.  The key is not to allow confrontation to exceed collaboration.

Slow Down: Instead of slamming on the brakes, the current leader could caution the contesting follower by carefully explaining the situation and risks to the organization. Instead of utilizing alarmism, a temporary slow down to carefully examine risks in all options ensures everyone understands the risks in speeding up the team.

Pull Over: Finally, if the leader has explained the risks they face, explained why she is not comfortable speeding up and still the tailgaters come with support from behind (and above), there is the option of pulling over to let the tailgater lead.  As a servant to the organization, you must make sure you’ve made your concerns clear and detailed the risks the organization faces.  Yet if the organization understands the risks and you are not comfortable accepting that level of risk, then the best way to serve, may be turn over the keys to the car.

The Tailgater

The tailgater is interested in going the same direction but is willing to take greater risks to get there faster.  They may  feel there is a better way , believe the current leader is not taking enough risks or may be for pursuing their personal ego strokes.  The tailgater may seek fame and want to be recognized for speeding up success at any cost.  Regardless of their reason, the tailgater creates risk for both individuals and the organization as a whole, in order to achieve their results.  There are also better options for the tailgater.

Flash Headlights: The tailgater could flash their headlights from a safe distance.   By sending the message to the current leader and those around them, without threatening, the follower and team can collaborate on alternative options for quicker results.  This would also call attention to the concerns from leadership, alert everyone that the current follower feels greater risks are acceptable and yet not endanger everyone around them.

Pass on Right: There may be other options to help the team get to their destination more quickly.  When the opportunity presents itself, the follower could pass on the right.  In business, the follower may be able to lead a critical piece of the project that does not threaten the organization’s overall success.  In so doing, the follower could be charged with carrying a specific load where greater risk is acceptable.

So the next time you’re driving on the road or leading a project and you feel the current leader is not taking enough risks or moving too slowly, remember you have many options to support faster progress.  Similarly, if you’re dealing with critics and followers that demand greater risks in the name of speed, understand their reasoning and respond appropriately.  Whichever role you play in the traffic friction, remember there are many options you have to best serve the organization with the optimal balance of risk and reward.

1. Best Friends At Work
Who still believes that work is impersonal? When was it necessary to ensure that your business contacts are not also friends? Need we remind some organizations of the Gallup Organization’s findings from their study of high performing organizations:

Gallup… observed that employees who report having a best friend at work were¹:

• 43% more likely to report having received praise or recognition for their work in the last seven days.
• 37% more likely to report that someone at work encourages their development
• 35% more likely to report coworker commitment to quality.
• 28% more likely to report that in the last six months, someone at work has talked to them about their progress
• 27% more likely to report that the mission of their company makes them feel their job is important
• 27% more likely to report that their opinions seem to count at work.
• 21% more likely to report that at work, they have the opportunity to do what they do best every day.

2. Companies Don’t Buy & Sell, People Do
When it comes to major agreements and long term commitments, people do not simply buy something from a company. Instead, they build partnerships and gain understanding from those partners about that company and their products. Then, business partners create mutually beneficial, value generating agreements together. The net result, after years of success on both ends of those deals is a stronger relationship, often extending into friendships. Those friendships can generate trust and efficiency which transcends employers, creates stronger networks and brings value to the next company by which either partner is employed. No longer does a person bring only their experience and skills to a company that hires them, but they bring the skills, experience and trust of their network as well.

3. Who Do You Want in Your Foxhole?
When times get tough, who do you want in your foxhole with you? Someone you only know based on their numbers, contracts, functional requirements and other formalities? Do you really think such an individual will stick their neck out for you or go that extra mile, unless the compensation is there? Or, do you want someone you’ve known well, whose family you know by name and whose favorite charity you supported last year? If nothing else, it helps to know your business partner’s spouse will yell at them if they screw up a deal they committed to you on.

4. Innovation
Structured, internal, corporate innovation alone is too constrained for today’s global economy. Innovation does not work well in a vacuum. The more creative outlets and inlets you provide your entire staff, the greater the chance they will discover breakthrough innovations. As your staff listens to their friends complain about how the products your competitors make, fail to meet their needs, they will better understand the implications of your engineering, research & development. The more your teams hear their contacts mention the need for someone to invent a solution to xyz problem, the greater the chance your company will create and solve that new market problem.

5. Mass Dialogue
Never before in history, has the opportunity for mass dialogue existed in such a manner as what social media provides. Print media creates mass, one way communication. Television does the same. Static website are no better. Previous communications technologies equate to shouting at your customers. With social media, feedback mechanisms like rated reviews, number of views and frequency of comments provide a means by which leaders can proactively hear the unified voice that is their consumer mass. This creates, in essence, a platform by which leaders can carry on a mass dialogue, like never before.

Dark Side
Don’t get me wrong, their are risks inherent to social media as well. Yes, your employee could reveal some deep, dark, corporate secret. Or, someone claiming to speak on your organization’s behalf may slip and act unprofessionally in a business forum. There may even be a greater volume of technical risks, such as computer viruses, worms and social engineering in these mediums. However, the solution to these risks are the same they’ve always been: education, training, policy and appropriate network security. The solution is not cutting off your company from opportunities for fear of the unknown.

In the end, as technical leaders in your organization, it is up to you to set the expectations of the company with regard to innovative opportunities. This evolution in communication technology is no different. The next time you debate blocking the latest social media site, consider, instead, joining the site and putting your great staff to task in finding the right way to keep that channel open for the corporation to leverage all benefits, without exposing you to the usual risks.

1. http://gmj.gallup.com/content/511/Item-10-Best-Friend-Work.aspx July 10, 2009.