t there. As organizations adapt to changing market demands and implement new procedures, this situation is increasingly problematic. A glaring example is the senior employee who delivers profitable work but leaves a wrecked relationship with the other stakeholders – internal and external. The company professes to value integrity and caring, long-term relationships, but it does nothing when this person “does what it takes” to make money and trashes relationships.

Another manager may be great at producing work. However, he is stifling growth and initiative by his “my way or the highway” style. Yet the company says it values creativity and development of subordinates. In both cases, each employee has their own way of doing things and they do deliver results, but the means and methods are counter to the organization’s priorities and goals. This situa

Wouldn’t it be great if your employees displayed easy to read and easy to understand signs? These signs would indicate how they are reacting to your new program or what they are thinking about your actions as a leader.

Just like traffic signs give us information, employees provide signs that give us information too. But employees are often subtle and hard to interpret, or we are not tuned in to looking for the signals, so we miss them. Let’s look at some of the signs your employees might be displaying. Your ability to tune in to these messages and adjust your activity will lead to success as you reach toward your objectives.

SPEED LIMIT 70
This is a good sign to see. Your employees are fully on board with your program or plan and actively support it. They understand the mission and are aligned with it. When asked to explain what the leader is trying to accomplish, they respond in the proper fashion, almost as if it were their own plan. At 70 mph there is still time to react to sudden dangers, to make mid-course corrections, and to interact with other stakeholders. This sign is characterized by a unity of purpose, a dedication to the mission, a sense of urgency, and a willingness to be creative.

Don’t confuse this sign with a situation in which there is no speed limit at all. While we want our employees to be productive, moving full speed ahead, they must know what they are working toward and, when possible, have a hand in crafting the vision.

STOP When your employees give you the stop sign, you have simply gone too far too fast and they are unable to follow you for now. They need something to be able to continue. You need to determine what that something is. They cannot or will not continue until you adjust what you are doing. This adjustment is difficult. First, you have to recognize that they are showing the stop sign, then you have to figure out why. Often that means you must take time to ask questions, a skill in itself, to get their input. In some cases, they may need a simple clarification, but in other cases, they may not agree with your course of action and you will need to persuade them to adopt what you want to do. In some cases, they may require training, while in others, they may need simple reassurance. The best way to get them moving depends on the reason they indicated for you to stop in the first place. A big mistake leaders make is not even seeing the stop sign. A bigger mistake is ignoring it, if seen, since the leader thinks the current course is best and that the employees will follow soon enough. To ignore the stop sign invites danger.

YIELD
Slow down; you are moving too fast. Your employees are not at a standstill here, but they are unable to fully support you. This sign means it’s time for active listening on your part. Again, you need to question people and react accordingly to get them up to speed. There can be several reasons for this sign. It is often seen in the downsized, fast-track world of today. “Yield” on the road means there are things coming together and you need to give way to the others to avoid a collision. In organizations, this potential collision can come from multiple agendas and multiple priorities.

DETOUR
This sign says the employees are working their own plan and — although they support the ultimate goal you have articulated (a successful project) — they are not using the means and methods you want to use to get there. As organizations adapt to changing market demands and implement new procedures, this situation is increasingly problematic. A glaring example is the senior employee who delivers profitable work but leaves a wrecked relationship with the other stakeholders – internal and external. The company professes to value integrity and caring, long-term relationships, but it does nothing when this person “does what it takes” to make money and trashes relationships.

Another manager may be great at producing work. However, he is stifling growth and initiative by his “my way or the highway” style. Yet the company says it values creativity and development of subordinates. In both cases, each employee has their own way of doing things and they do deliver results, but the means and methods are counter to the organization’s priorities and goals. This situat

r is trying to accomplish, they respond in the proper fashion, almost as if it were their own plan. At 70 mph there is still time to react to sudden dangers, to make mid-course corrections, and to interact with other stakeholders. This sign is characterized by a unity of purpose, a dedication to the mission, a sense of urgency, and a willingness to be creative.

Don’t confuse this sign with a situation in which there is no speed limit at all. While we want our employees to be productive, moving full speed ahead, they must know what they are working toward and, when possible, have a hand in crafting the vision.

STOP When your employees give you the stop sign, you have simply gone too far too fast and they are unable to follow you for now. They need something to be able to continue. You need to determine what that something is. They cannot or will not continue until you adjust what you are doing. This adjustment is difficult. First, you have to recognize that they are showing the stop sign, then you have to figure out why. Often that means you must take time to ask questions, a skill in itself, to get their input. In some cases, they may need a simple clarification, but in other cases, they may not agree with your course of action and you will need to persuade them to adopt what you want to do. In some cases, they may require training, while in others, they may need simple reassurance. The best way to get them moving depends on the reason they indicated for you to stop in the first place. A big mistake leaders make is not even seeing the stop sign. A bigger mistake is ignoring it, if seen, since the leader thinks the current course is best and that the employees will follow soon enough. To ignore the stop sign invites danger.

YIELD
Slow down; you are moving too fast. Your employees are not at a standstill here, but they are unable to fully support you. This sign means it’s time for active listening on your part. Again, you need to question people and react accordingly to get them up to speed. There can be several reasons for this sign. It is often seen in the downsized, fast-track world of today. “Yield” on the road means there are things coming together and you need to give way to the others to avoid a collision. In organizations, this potential collision can come from multiple agendas and multiple priorities.

DETOUR
This sign says the employees are working their own plan and — although they support the ultimate goal you have articulated (a successful project) — they are not using the means and methods you want to use to get there. As organizations adapt to changing market demands and implement new procedures, this situation is increasingly problematic. A glaring example is the senior employee who delivers profitable work but leaves a wrecked relationship with the other stakeholders – internal and external. The company professes to value integrity and caring, long-term relationships, but it does nothing when this person “does what it takes” to make money and trashes relationships.

Another manager may be great at producing work. However, he is stifling growth and initiative by his “my way or the highway” style. Yet the company says it values creativity and development of subordinates. In both cases, each employee has their own way of doing things and they do deliver results, but the means and methods are counter to the organization’s priorities and goals. This situa

l not continue until you adjust what you are doing. This adjustment is difficult. First, you have to recognize that they are showing the stop sign, then you have to figure out why. Often that means you must take time to ask questions, a skill in itself, to get their input. In some cases, they may need a simple clarification, but in other cases, they may not agree with your course of action and you will need to persuade them to adopt what you want to do. In some cases, they may require training, while in others, they may need simple reassurance. The best way to get them moving depends on the reason they indicated for you to stop in the first place. A big mistake leaders make is not even seeing the stop sign. A bigger mistake is ignoring it, if seen, since the leader thinks the current course is best and that the employees will follow soon enough. To ignore the stop sign invites danger.

YIELD
Slow down; you are moving too fast. Your employees are not at a standstill here, but they are unable to fully support you. This sign means it’s time for active listening on your part. Again, you need to question people and react accordingly to get them up to speed. There can be several reasons for this sign. It is often seen in the downsized, fast-track world of today. “Yield” on the road means there are things coming together and you need to give way to the others to avoid a collision. In organizations, this potential collision can come from multiple agendas and multiple priorities.

DETOUR
This sign says the employees are working their own plan and — although they support the ultimate goal you have articulated (a successful project) — they are not using the means and methods you want to use to get there. As organizations adapt to changing market demands and implement new procedures, this situation is increasingly problematic. A glaring example is the senior employee who delivers profitable work but leaves a wrecked relationship with the other stakeholders – internal and external. The company professes to value integrity and caring, long-term relationships, but it does nothing when this person “does what it takes” to make money and trashes relationships.

Another manager may be great at producing work. However, he is stifling growth and initiative by his “my way or the highway” style. Yet the company says it values creativity and development of subordinates. In both cases, each employee has their own way of doing things and they do deliver results, but the means and methods are counter to the organization’s priorities and goals. This situa

the stop sign invites danger.

YIELD
Slow down; you are moving too fast. Your employees are not at a standstill here, but they are unable to fully support you. This sign means it’s time for active listening on your part. Again, you need to question people and react accordingly to get them up to speed. There can be several reasons for this sign. It is often seen in the downsized, fast-track world of today. “Yield” on the road means there are things coming together and you need to give way to the others to avoid a collision. In organizations, this potential collision can come from multiple agendas and multiple priorities.

DETOUR
This sign says the employees are working their own plan and — although they support the ultimate goal you have articulated (a successful project) — they are not using the means and methods you want to use to get there. As organizations adapt to changing market demands and implement new procedures, this situation is increasingly problematic. A glaring example is the senior employee who delivers profitable work but leaves a wrecked relationship with the other stakeholders – internal and external. The company professes to value integrity and caring, long-term relationships, but it does nothing when this person “does what it takes” to make money and trashes relationships.

Another manager may be great at producing work. However, he is stifling growth and initiative by his “my way or the highway” style. Yet the company says it values creativity and development of subordinates. In both cases, each employee has their own way of doing things and they do deliver results, but the means and methods are counter to the organization’s priorities and goals. This situa

t there. As organizations adapt to changing market demands and implement new procedures, this situation is increasingly problematic. A glaring example is the senior employee who delivers profitable work but leaves a wrecked relationship with the other stakeholders – internal and external. The company professes to value integrity and caring, long-term relationships, but it does nothing when this person “does what it takes” to make money and trashes relationships.

Another manager may be great at producing work. However, he is stifling growth and initiative by his “my way or the highway” style. Yet the company says it values creativity and development of subordinates. In both cases, each employee has their own way of doing things and they do deliver results, but the means and methods are counter to the organization’s priorities and goals. This situation is one of the toughest a leader faces. Left alone, this conflict between values and procedures damages the credibility of the organization.

ROAD CLOSED
This is different from a stop sign. In the case of the stop sign, they are ready to move forward once you educate, clarify, or explain your intent. The road closed sign is more akin to outright insubordination and refusal to cooperate. This problem may evolve from the detour situation when an employee fails to heed your advice, exhortations, and counseling. In other cases, people may refuse to change because they do not feel you are committed to your path and will give up in a few months anyway, and then they can get back to mediocrity as usual. Unfortunately, this may happen with a small number of people.

EXIT RAMP SIGNS
These are the big green signs with the white arrows. They tell you the next move you have to make to stay on course. In business, these signs come from people who support you and what you are trying to accomplish and want to make it better. They are on board with the means and methods and even the general direction you are taking. However, they have ideas, suggestions, and contributions to make that will ease the trip and make it better for you and your organization.

For example, three months after implementing a new system to make the handoff between sales and operations better, a line supervisor comes to you and offers some thoughts on how to improve what you have already done. The exit ramp sign is a great signal because it sends a message of commitment, interest, and understanding of the mission. However, some leaders ignore this sign because they view a modification to their plan as an admission that it was lacking in the first place. This misguided and shortsighted behavior by leaders often leads to the detour and road closed sign from the people being led.

RAILROAD CROSSING
Danger ahead; you are doing something that is about to lead to a train wreck. Like the exit sign, the employees have information, but in this case, they are not sharing it with you and they will allow you to head right onto the tracks and crash. This sign is shown most often when the leader has previously diminished his or her credibility or refused to listen. Failure to heed this sign results in fairly large consequences. The least consequence is that somebody quits or is fired. Larger consequences include damaged reputation, unsuccessful projects, liquidated damages, claims, and litigation.

HISTORICAL MARKER
These are the signs tucked on the side of the road that you notice in the corner of your eye. Sometimes we stop to read one because we have time, and there it is. Other times, we stop because we are looking for a special one. Although they are not official traffic signs, they do serve a useful purpose for the traveler. These signs tell us the history of the area we are traveling in. They give us context and a sense of perspective. In business, this sign is displayed in two basic ways. First, it is displayed by the people being led — it just appears. In the second way, we ask for it.

For example, the new executive is overseeing a fairly large and complex project that is similar to other projects he has done. However, it is in a location he has never worked. As initial planning is completed and implementation begins, a manager who has recent experience with a similar project in the same city recognize