Statistics show that 99% of all golfers agree that sandbagging is the worst way golfers manipulate the game of golf. If you don’t know a sandbagger in the group, then it is most likely you and you represent the 1%.
It’s difficult to cheat during a round of golf, but sandbaggers cheat the system over the course of several rounds to gain their advantage. We could go on and on about sandbagging in the game of golf, but we won’t.
Unfortunately, sandbagging doesn’t stop on the golf course. This practice presents itself in the workplace and no one likes sandbaggers in the office any more than they do on the course. In fact, if you are sandbagging at the office, you’re cheating your team and the company.
We’re here to help you avoid becoming the sandbagger at work.
Stop Procrastinating
Putting off until tomorrow what could be done today may be good for you, but it is causing a strain on your coworkers and your company. While your decision to delay a project might reduce your stress and allows you to take a breather, there are likely other people counting on you to get your responsibilities done so they can move forward with their own work.
Over time, if you become a habitual procrastinator, your coworkers will pick up the slack to make sure the work gets done and done well. For example, your coworkers will start to put cushions in their deadlines to account for your procrastination. Your supervisor might start to give important projects to other team members because you don’t deliver.
Stop procrastinating at work. Start hustling today and start getting stuff done (GSD). If you wait until tomorrow, someone will pass you by today.
Waiting Until Next Quarter
This one is similar to procrastinating, but different because you are actually meeting the established goals and objectives set forth for a particular period of time. These goals could be in the form of sales quotas, deadlines, revenue targets, etc.
Now you have a choice to make, you can either sandbag and push all effort and production to the next quarter or you can keep pushing to achieve more. By definition, if you slack off and push your production and effort to the next quarter, you’ve become a sandbagger. Resist this urge and continue to produce at your capability and capacity regardless of whether or not you’ve met your goal.
Stepping Up Close to Your Annual Review
Your annual performance evaluation is two months away. You’ve had a solid year, but you’ve slacked off a few times throughout the course of the year. To make up for it, you’ve decided you are going to start showing up early and staying late a few days a week. You might even pick up additional shifts. You’ve stepped up your game. The truth is, your boss has been there and done this and knows all of these tricks and then some.
Instead of turning up the volume two months prior to your annual performance review, give it your best consistently throughout the year. If you don’t, your sandbagging will haunt you during your annual review.
Although you might get away with a little sandbagging from time-to-time, you aren’t fooling anyone you work with. This issue boils down to giving it your best on each and every shot regardless of the circumstances. When you don’t give it your best, you cheat yourself, your coworkers and quite frankly everyone involved.
So in short, be a player/worker people talk about after the round or a meeting in a positive way and not the kind that people wish harm on in the parking lot.