“I can’t do it” or “We can’t do it” are often the four most frustrating words a leaders brain will ever process. Lately, it seems that this phrase has hit almost epidemic proportions. It has gotten to the point now where it is almost a surprise when you hear that something “can” be done
Why?
Saying, “can’t” is much safer than saying “won’t”. Think about the last time your told you boss, “I won’t do that”. Odds are that ended poorly. However saying “can’t” implies there are factors outside of our individual control that make it not possible to carry out a particular task.
Humans are a resourceful bunch and there really are very few things we “can’t” do. On the other hand there are a lot of things we “wont” do. Lets take running a marathon for example. Currently I “can’t” run a marathon, however with proper training, diet, motivation (i.e. work) odds are I could run one eventually. However, because of the effort involved, I “won’t” be running one anytime soon.
Translate this to your team. Tired of getting the reflexive “can’t” every time you ask someone to take on a new project. What about your idea for doing something a different, potentially better, way? That’s a great big “can’t” waiting to happen.
You need to drill down to what’s behind the “can’t”. Are there barriers as a leader you need to help remove? Is the “can’t” related to the amount of perceived effort required to accomplish the task? Or is it a good old fashioned “won’t” masquerading as a “can’t”?