I love reading USA Today’s “Snapshots.”  They are quick little bits of information that stop and make you think.  One that caught me was titled “When is Waiting Most Frustrating?”  43% of people responding answered “Awaiting approvals at the workplace.”

We are a rushed society doing everything at breakneck speeds.  We want everything now, and and our bosses and peers want everything yesterday.  So why is it we are made to wait when we need approval?  Is the approval process inhibiting enthusiasm and engagement?  Is the length of time to wait for an approval sending the message that “you or what you need isn’t important?”

I remember one place where I worked where traveling 50% of the time was a requirement for my job.  In fact, the only way to do the job was to get on a plane.  I taught seminars in client locations and held conferences 10 times a year across the country.  Yet even though the travel was required to do the job, I had to go through a requisition process that required no less than 5 approval signatures.  4 of those people were wasting their time with redundant activity.  Worse, I had to follow up with each level to make sure it was getting passed on to the next level.  So much of my time was wasted as well.  I can certainly understand wanting a second set of eyes to make sure I was going to St. Cloud, Minnesota and not St. Croix, Virgin Islands.  But after that, the messages are things like “we don’t trust you” “we’re inefficient” “what you are doing is unimportant so we can take as long as necessary for approval.”

Take a look at your workplace.  Where can you eliminate people waiting unnecessarily long?