In our last blog Improving workplace productivity, step 1: Recognising interference we looked at the different constraints within the workplace that stop individuals and teams being as productive as they can be.

We talked about how this interference can be either organisational or self-imposed, and discussed the importance of recognising interference as the first step to improving productivity.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at how important it is not just to identify these barriers, but to understand just how interference affects productivity.

Regardless of whether the constraints to productivity are organisational or self-imposed, all forms of interference have the same effect. Here are just some examples of how interference affects productivity:

• It slows down our rate of work, which causes frustration
• It causes us to repeat work tasks and processes, leading to inefficiency and wasted effort
• It creates mistakes, meaning that valuable resources need to be used to rectify the mistakes
• It causes us to avoid doing things, which means that potential deadlines can be missed and work is not completed on time
• It creates stress, which can ultimately result in absenteeism
• It causes a feeling of isolation and anxiety about doing the right thing, which means that we don’t achieve our best result
• It can lead to poor decision-making, lack of clarity and ambiguity, all of which means that we don’t actually complete the work required to the standard that was asked of us
• It causes tensions and protective behaviour by individuals within teams, leading to disagreements or arguments, and people avoiding responsibility and not taking ownership
• It creates the need for more supervision or management of tasks and people, which means that the amount of management time and resource increases
• It can become a talking point among individuals and teams, rapidly turning into moaning, fault finding and finger pointing – during which time less work is actually being done
• It can create a perception of unfairness when a person or team doesn’t seem to ‘suffer from’ the same interferences as another person or team, which in turn creates gossip, rumour and a culture of blame

Thinking Focus works with organisations to identify and remove barriers to productivity, helping teams and business units achieve their potential. Read more here about our approach to unlocking productivity.

When your people are not being as productive as they could be, it can be frustrating and sometimes puzzling, both for you and for them. The potential is there but the performance is falling short – and you have no idea why.

At Thinking Focus, we sometimes find it helpful to refer to the things that stop us achieving our potential as interference. In the book ‘The Inner Game of Tennis’ the author Timothy Gallwey proposed that performance (Pe) is equal to potential (Po) minus interference (I), or Pe = Po – I. We use this equation to help individuals and teams to get an idea of just how much interference is getting in the way. As potential is always 100%, if you think you’re only performing at 70% of this, then interference levels equate to 30%.

We believe that removing interference enables people to think and work differently, gives them purpose and helps them enjoy their job. All of which leads to higher productivity, smooth transitions during times of change, and sustainable results.

The first step to removing interference is to recognise it. So, what exactly is it? In the work place, it can fall into one of two categories: organisational or self-imposed.

Organisational interference

This covers any constraints to productivity that come from the organisation itself, and which slow down and sometimes even stop work processes.

Examples of organisational interference are:

• Outdated processes, that could be improved or replaced
• Legacy IT systems that don’t connect or integrate with each other
• Silo working – isolated or non-collaborative work teams
• Assumed rules or ways of working
• Inconsistent leadership and management
• Internal politics, due to hierarchies or individual power-play
• Unhelpful competition between departments

Self-imposed interference

This refers to internal constraints that an individual puts on themselves and which prevents them from being as productive as they could be. Each person has different elements of self-imposed interference, and some have more than others.

Examples of self-imposed interference are:

• Attitude, belief and mindset
• Assumptions about how we work or are expected to work
• Waiting for permission to do things
• Expecting to be told what to do and how to do it
• Lack of confidence, low self-esteem, and self-doubt

Thinking Focus helps teams and business units become more productive by identifying and removing interference. Read more here about our approach to unlocking productivity.

Like this? Why not take a look at our next blog, Improving workplace productivity, step 2: Recognising how interference affects productivity, for more on this subject.