Stay In Your Lane (WT789)

Stay In Your Lane (WT789)

Blog

by Shirley Dalton | 8 Aug, 2025 | Blog, Business, Teamwork

WT 789 Stay in your lane

The past few weeks I’ve been working onsite with a client on a major project.

Parking is tricky, so Ross has been driving me to and from the premises.

Sitting in the passenger seat, I found myself clinging to the seat.

“God! Look out! They’re coming over.”

“I know!” replied Ross.

This didn’t happen on just one occasion.

It seems to be a daily occurrence.

What happened to people’s ability to drive and stay in their lanes?

Are they on the phone?

Are they reading a text message?

Hopefully, they’re not trying to watch a youtube training, like the guy in Melbourne this week who got fined for “driving whilst distracted”.

Anyway, as we navigated our way to work, I reflected on the metaphor.

At work, it’s also important to stay in your lane.

The clearer your role descriptions are, the easier it is for people to stick to their lane.

Unless, of course, they happen to be people who can’t help themselves and have to do everyone else’s job except their own.

You know the ones. They exist in every business.

In our leadership experience participants complete an activity where they work with a team member to build a business.  This activity requires them to separate their roles, stick in their lanes and trust their team member to do their job.

It’s amazing to see the reaction when participants realise how much they CAN actually trust their team mate to do the work and that in fact, they MUST TRUST them because they can’t win if they try and do everything themselves.

Your mission this week is to reflect on your role.

Are you staying in your lane, or are you veering off into someone else’s lane?

If you don’t trust others to do their job, ask yourself how come?

If they’re really not capable, are they unable or unwilling? If unable, do they need more training?

And if they are capable, then maybe you need to look at yourself and get out of the way and let them do their job.

P.S.  Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thought delivered directly to their inbox.

Go to https://shirleydalton.com/Weekly-Thoughts.

My Beautiful Bookcases (WT677)

My Beautiful Bookcases (WT677)

Blog

by Shirley Dalton | 16 Jun, 2023 | Blog, Mindset, Teamwork

WT 677 My beautiful bookcase

Firstly, congratulations to Joanne Danckwardt. Joanne is the lucky winner of The Loyal Lieutenant Masterclass Series to celebrate our 13 years of Weekly Thoughts.

Secondly, thank you for your beautiful messages last week. I appreciate and enjoy receiving your feedback.

Now to this week’s thought – my beautiful bookcases.

Well, they will be when they’re finished.

There’s a couple of messages to this week:

  1. How to lose a customer
  2. The power of teamwork
  3. A lesson in patience
  4. The beauty of craftsmanship

When I packed up my books before we went travelling, I had 500. I think that number has now grown to over 600, so you can imagine my excitement when Ross said he would make me some bookcases. Finally, I could unpack the 14+ boxes of books.

I was over the moon, until he took me to the plywood shop and showed me what they would be made of.

Besides that, we arrived at the shop at 12:15pm on a Saturday and they closed at 12:30pm. The salesperson was totally disinterested and kept looking at the clock, until finally I asked, “Did we come at the wrong time?”

“Yes”, he replied. “I’m about to start packing up in 5 minutes.”

I convinced Ross to look elsewhere and we went to Bunnings.

“Oooooh, look at this wood Ross”, I motioned for him to cover over.

It was beautiful wood and was on sale.

We figured out how much we needed, a total of 39 pieces and don’t forget the varnish or the backing plywood.

Clapping my hands together, I thought we would get them made over the rest of the weekend. I have to say my patience was tested. When I want something done, I want it done. How about you?

Two weeks later and they are still in construction, despite both of us working on them consistently.  Ross cut the boards to size and sanded and I painted. It was great to work together and we got so much more done by teaming up and doing the work we each enjoyed and were good at.

It was also tempting to rush and rationalise a poor job, “it’s only a bookcase and it will be covered in books”.

Whilst we still have a way to go, I am sooooo happy to see them come together. The bookcases (3 of them) are being made with love and look amazing. I can’t wait to get my books out, (my babies) and display them on my beautiful bookcases.

How about you? Have you got a special piece of furniture or something you’ve made or had made for you? How about working as a team?  What does that feel like for you?

P.S. Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience starts Thursday 3rd August. Save $1,000. Early bird discount ends 30th June. Thursdays, 3rd, 17th, 24th and 31st August. Find out more here https://shirleydalton.com/leading-yourself-leading-others-may2020/.

P.P. S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

I Took One For The Team (WT669)

I Took One For The Team (WT669)

Blog

by Shirley Dalton | 21 Apr, 2023 | Blog, Teamwork

WT 669 I took one for the team

What does that saying mean?

“I took one for the team.”

To me it’s about working as a team and using the strengths of each team member

OR

stepping up when a team member needs help

OR

doing something that needs to be done when another team member doesn’t want to do it.

Tick, tick, tick.

I took one for the team this week.

We had seen evidence that we had rodents in the house.

Yuk!

We put baits out. We set a trap.

The evidence seemed to stop.

No noises in the ceiling and no gifts on the architraves or window sills and no smell. Yet!

Ross showed me where there had been yukky little gifts left on the shelf in the garage.

As I stood surveying the area, I spotted it.

My stomach churned.

A dead rattus rattus on the garage floor. Erk!

Thank God it was in the garage and not in the walls.

“You have to get rid of it, Ross”, I demanded.

“Erk. No. Yuk”, said Ross, arms and legs flapping.

I left it a few hours.

“You’ve got to get rid of it Ross. It will stink. We can’t leave it there.”

Again, arms and legs flapping, face contorted.

“I’ll do it later”, he grimaced.

Later came. Still the rat was on the garage floor.

We had dinner guests arriving.

“I can’t get it now”, he said.

“Grrrrr! Well we have to get rid of it first thing in the morning”, I replied.

The sun came up.

“Come on Ross. I’ll help you. I’ll hold the bag. Get some gloves.”

Arms and legs flap again.

That’s when I realised I was going to have to be the one to pick it up and get rid of it.

Now my arms and legs were flapping.

I got the gloves.

I got the clip lock bags – 2 of them.

Ross got the garbage bag.

I picked it up by the tail, hoping to God, it wouldn’t break off.

I put it in the bags, gagging as I did so.

We didn’t know what to do with it, so we put it in the garbage.

No smell inside, but OMG the smell outside on garbage day.

Anyway, it’s gone.

The bin has been bleached.

The smell has gone and I took one for the team.

Sometimes you just have to step up and do what none of you want to do.

How about you? When was the last time you took one for the team or are you grateful that one of your team took one for you?

P.S. Invite your friends to get the Weekly Thoughts delivered directly to their inbox. Go to https://shirleydalton.com/weekly-thoughts.

Pin It on Pinterest