The Same Adjustment Twice
Third time making the same correction? Stop correcting and look upstream.
Friday · Leadership Brief
Hi everyone,
This week’s leadership brief is about what it means when you keep fixing the same thing.
Anyone who’s run equipment knows this rule. If you’re making the same adjustment on the same machine for the third time, stop adjusting. One of three things is true. The problem starts before the point you’re adjusting. You’re turning the wrong knob. Or something is broken that no adjustment will fix.
People work the same way.
If you’re having the same coaching conversation with the same person for the third time, the conversation probably isn’t the problem. Look upstream. Did they get trained on this, or did they pick it up by watching someone else? Is the tool, the schedule, or the handoff before them setting them up to miss? Is the expectation written down anywhere, or does it live in your head?
And if different people keep making the same miss, stop coaching individuals altogether. That’s a system talking.
Sometimes, after all that, it really is the person. That happens. But you only earn that conclusion after you’ve checked the source.
Repeat corrections feel like leadership because they’re active. A lot of the time, they’re just a leader getting good at managing a problem instead of solving it.
This week, write down the one correction you’ve made most often this month. Then trace it back one step. What happens right before the miss?
Stop turning the same knob. Go find the source.
Lead well,
Marc Bradburry II
Big Bearded Ginger
