A warm welcome to my ten part series of articles on my thoughts on corporate self-discipline.
I am delighted to share my thoughts in answer to the questions sometimes asked on how to manage or navigate certain situations or challenges in our journey in the corporate world.
It all boils down to a single word: DISCIPLINE, which I will elaborate using each letter of the word in my ten articles.
Today we shall look at the word, “Diligence” as a tenet of Discipline.
I will begin by quoting Mr. Vusi Thembekwayo in one of his recent posts where he speaks to things for which there is no substitute, and I am in total agreement . He says “paying attention to detail, getting the work done and being impeccable” are non-negotiable items if you desire success in your business.
Diligence is defined as “careful and persistent work or effort, conscientiousness, assiduousness…”. All very loaded statements or words, as the case may be.
Diligence must be one of the core values of any disciplined person or organization as it defines how one delivers on their role. Many a time we tend to gloss over fine detail in the hope that the recipient of our work does not notice or forgives us. This may have ghastly consequences when the recipient is one that has embraced diligence as a core value and has made it part of their work ethic. The messaging in work that has been delivered in a tardy manner is that the author may not have been diligent in their preparation. They were not careful and persistent in their effort.
Have you at some time felt that you were being perceived as pedantic when you insist, even quietly, that the work that has been presented for your endorsement does not make the grade for you because the numbering and headings are all over the place and there is no logical progression in the presentation? Those are some of the tests on your value of diligence and you must counter it with …diligence! Persist in your plight to make things better and employ the best practice approaches to achieving that goal. One of the things that works for me is a discussion around why it is important for diligence to be demonstrated in assignment delivery so that colleagues can buy into the benefits of compliance and see the risks associated with non-compliance. Another is to give colleagues an opportunity to justify their work and approach so that you can together identify gaps and work together to seal them. Sometimes, this may require that you participate as the person endorsing the work so that you are seen as a “doer” as well!
Prior exercise of diligence is a huge part of the confidence that one will have in presenting their work and posturing themselves to anticipate any requests for clarifications as well as defending it. In short, you sleep at night, having exercised diligence in your work!
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