Page 183 - End Procrastination Now Get it Done with a Proven Psychological Approach

Applying Techniques to Address Procrastination in the Workplace 147

focus on issues, such as providing information on sales projections
for their territories and completing sales reports.
Sarah was ambitious. A management job represented a step
up in status and a higher salary. However, her new role brought to
the surface multiple areas of difficulties that required her to func-
tion differently from the way she was prepared to function. Pro-
crastination surfaced in every way, and Sarah eventually couldn’t
get out of the hole she dug for herself. Her procrastination was a
signal that she was in the wrong job. She went back to sales. She
dealt exclusively with key accounts. She returned to her old form
of operating like an efficiency superstar because she was back op-
erating in an area where she could influence the outcome. Once
again, she created an excellent track record.
Ed did an excellent job as a chief of staff for a state senator. His
career profile suggested that this was a viable career direction. He
also had the temperament, interests, and skills to function effec-
tively as an elected public official.
The senator decided against running for reelection. As a re-
ward for his good services, the senator cleared the way for Ed to
get a job managing a homeless shelter.
Once he was on the job, Ed did quite well in managing his
relationships with local politicians. He enjoyed the exchanges and
camaraderie. However, that was not his primary job function. Key
managerial aspects of his job proved to be trouble spots.
Ed disliked dealing with union matters. He soon created con-
tention between himself and union officials with his personnel
policies and practices. He often violated the collective bargaining
agreement and had a growing list of arbitrations to attend.
His deteriorating relationship with the union resulted in the
union members following his instructions to the letter. This led to a
slowdown, and the buses did not run on schedule. In a thin-skinned
and defensive way, Ed sloughed off consumer complaints about the
declining quality of services and maintenance. Lacking knowledge
of the operation, he relied on his subordinates to manage the day-to-