When everyone knows what to do, why is it not getting done? The Manager.
Cultivated Management Newsletter - Edition 26
Hi,
Hope you are having a great weekend and looking forward to the week ahead.
It's been an odd week for me. My 4 year old son broke his leg last weekend and so I've spent the week back and forth to the hospital with him and wheeling him around in his wheelchair. Interesting week to say the least. It is incredible though how the goodness comes out in others when you really need their help. And he loves zipping around in his chair - he's milking it a little to be fair - he's acting like Royalty. To be fair - I would too :)
Anyhow, on to this week's topic.
One of the things I see often when I work with companies is that many of the people in the organisation already know what the problems are that need fixing. I quip that as a consultant all I am really telling people is what they already know. It just comes with a price tag and an external voice - this somehow translates in to action. But I've pondered why, if people already know what he problems are, do they not do anything about them?
The answer - Management.
It seems that management are the main blockers to positive change.
Initiatives, ideas, improvement projects and many other aspects of making the work better seem to get stuck at management. And this is why consultancy tends to work well - because the consultants are often giving the management teams the strategy and plans needed to improve the work. As management are given advice from an external source costing the company money - they tend to implement it. Even though they may already know what to do, and almost certainly have people in their teams telling them this stuff already.
The same goes for wider and cross-team initiatives - there is likely an exec somewhere who already knows what to do - and has people telling them what to do , and they aren't doing it.
So why is this?
A few reasons as far as I can tell - and this is why I encourage managers to study what the problems are and overcome them - even if the problem is in fact, yourself.
Politics - whether we like it or not when we have more than about 2 people working in a team or organisation we get politics. Poor political behaviours can throttle productivity.
Overcome poor political behaviour by learning how to use the "influence" or "power" that you have to overcome genuine business problems. And even if you don't have any "Role Power" we all have the potential for "Relationship Power" (It's what we cover in the Communication Workshop - see below).
Some people say "don't play politics" but that's stupid advice - there are always politics - and by choosing not to "play" you're choosing not to be part of making the business better - and ironically, not "playing politics" is in fact a form of "playing politics".
Ego - It gets in our own way a lot of the time, it can seriously affect an organisations ability to get anything done.
Try to avoid yours getting in the way of genuine business improvement, by asking yourself whether you're blocking change and if so, why?
Appreciate also, that every time the business gets better there is an opportunity for you to get better, and for your results to go in the direction you need them to, and this is better for your own ego than fighting change.
Lack of problem analysis, or relying on rumour to make change - this happens a lot. Someone's opinion is used to drive business strategy with little to no data to support it.
Sometimes the data, when captured, is the opposite of the opinion, but politics and power can override rational decision making.
My advice is to keep studying what your real problems are and gain both numerical (quantitative) data and opinions and thoughts (qualitative) information.
Present it clearly, seek buy-in from others, engage with others in the gathering of the information and keep it simple.
Lack of energy - let's face it, some companies are just devoid of genuine leadership encouraging and supporting people to make change.
Energy for change is non-existent.
People are happy with the status-quo and this leads to apathy. New people may try to make change, but the cynics will bring them down eventually.
To overcome this, it requires strong managers and leaders to go forth and make the problems so interesting that talented people jump up and down to help solve them. That's the job of a Cultivated Manager and leader.
There are plenty more reasons why companies don't implement the change they know needs to happen. Loads more. But in my experience it's usually because of weak management.
If you're a manager and you have work that needs improving, and you know what needs to be done, don't wait for the management consultants to come in.
Study the work, ask questions, gain knowledge, create a simple strategy for making change, gain support and buy-in (especially from the very people who will do the change work) and communicate with clarity. This is what I do as a consultant. It works. I think, that if you can overcome the above, and put together a simple plan, and find the right people to support you - you will make the change you wish to make.
Good luck.
Until next time
Rob..
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