When It’s Only Hands And Feet
Article | Accountability Insights
Whenever people put nothing more than their “Hands and feet” into their work, expectations go unmet, morale declines, and results plummet. For example, one of our clients, an energy company, recently suffered from the effects of a “Hands and feet” incident. Working on an offshore natural gas compression station, a work crew neglected safety protocols while doing “Hot” work in a confined space. Heat sensors that should have been turned off before proceeding immediately set off alarms and shut down the entire operation for two hours. The flow of natural gas came to an abrupt halt. Producers feeding the compression station were shut down and customers waiting on-shore for the natural gas were shut out as excess natural gas at the compression station was released into the atmosphere. It was a costly mistake with lasting negative effects that could have been easily prevented if the work crew had brought their “Hearts and minds,” not just their “Hands and feet,” to the job.
Consider the following telltale signs that might indicate a lack of “Hearts and minds” commitment in your organization or along your Expectations Chain:
| “Hands and Feet” | “Hearts and Minds” |
| People are more tactical in the way they work. | People are both strategic and tactical in their approach to the job. |
| People make sure they complete the task at hand, sometimes even when it does not make sense to do so. | People make sure they get the desired result, increasing the amount of personal effort to meet the need. |
| People easily fall into the “Tell me what to do” mode. | People don’t solely wait for instructions, but show initiative. |
| People demonstrate less creativity in solving problems. | People get energized by solving problems creatively. |
| People typically don’t speak up because it’s not worth the effort. | People push back if something does not make sense to them. |
| People define success by the amount of time and effort they expend. | People define success by the results they get. |
| People are not “Into” their jobs and lack fulfillment. | People are engaged in their work and find their jobs highly satisfying. |
Of course, you don’t always need a “Hearts and minds” effort from everyone in everything you do, but you do need to engender a high level of commitment and ownership from everyone along your Expectations Chain when you absolutely need to deliver on key expectations.
To learn more about how to engage both the “Hands and feet” and “Hearts and minds” of your people, we invite you to join the Accountability Community by visiting www.partnersinleadership.com
Expectations Chain, and Accountability Community are registered trademarks of Partners In Leadership Inc.