Connecting the DOTS
I suppose this is just an urban myth, but I always heard that dentists have the highest suicide rate, because their job essentially entails causing other people, albeit temporary, discomfort. But after driving back and forth to Chicago on Wednesday, I suspect that being a Department of Transportation Road Construction Executive has to be worse. The level of discomfort that I suffered through trying to get to and from Schaumburg made me long for a dentist’s chair and some Novocain!
But wait! There MAY be a reason why you never hear about suicides among DOT executives and planners. Sure, it could be because they are all murdered before they get the chance to “off themselves.” But I think a more likely explanation is that THEY ARE NOWHERE NEAR THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION SITE and have no idea what kind of suffering they are causing. Dentists, God bless them, are at least present for most of your pain.
That got me thinking about how leaders stay connected to the folks in the trenches who are doing real work. And more likely, how they justify staying disconnected. I think every DOT official should have to spend 3-6 hours each week at a construction site, gauging progress, lane closures, the reaction of drivers, the traffic backups and the associated waste of precious fuels.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand the need for road maintenance. But it’s too easy to draw up a Visio diagram of your “strategic plan” that shows you’re going to close 2 lanes of I-294 right at the intersection of I-290 for 8 months and believe you’re making things happen.
How about you? What do you do to stay connected to your equivalent of your road crews? Sit in your office and look at progress dashboards, satisfied with the little bars that are slightly bigger than last week? Ask ONLY your direct reports “how things are going??”
Are you willing to go find the guy or gal who holds the STOP/SLOW sign at a lane closure, inviting the wrath of everyone sitting still, baking in their cars, and take their shift for an hour?
If not, you just might be part of the mentality that lets Tony Hayward, the BP CEO, respond to a congressional question today by saying, “I was not part of that decision.” Really???
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Management Straight Talk 
June 18, 2010 at 10:36 am
Personally, I think they, instead of being at the construction site, should have to spend 6 hours driving back and forth through it.
June 20, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Managers can ask their “road crew” how things are going and truly mean it. I often get funny looks when people ask me “hi, how’s it going”, and I reply “not bad”. An executive walking past me in a hallway shouldn’t ask me how things are going unless they are truly willing to listen to what I have to say. Often time, I know people don’t have the time to listen or are not in a position to affect change of a given situation, hence my reply. We need to ask our road crew how things are going and be ready to meet them where they are and truly listen. Geesh, I have a thought or two on the topic, don’t I?
June 20, 2010 at 8:37 pm
excellent point, ann! i guess part of the reason i chose ‘road crews’ as an example is because i worry that some leaders who don’t pass their teams routinely in the halls will never get the chance to ask “how’s it goin?” You said it – we have to “meet them where they are!”