The Manager - 137 - Irrational People
Monday 3rd May 2021 - Irrational People
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Hi,
I hope all is well and you are looking forward to the week ahead. Today is a Bank Holiday in the UK, which means a nice relaxing day off. I shall be spending it with the boys, probably going for a walk, or shooting some photos in the Countryside.
This week I've been contemplating why so many people in business behave so badly and irrationally. And why, when they move companies, or you meet them outside of work, they seem so different.
Irrational people are everywhere. Every organisation appears to have them. They behave inconsistently. They can be hard to work with. They can be backstabbing. They can be rude. They can be single minded. They can be aggressive. They can be mean. They can be obtuse.
But they probably aren’t like that outside of work.
Heck, if you picked some of these people up and moved them to a different company, they’d probably display very different behaviours. Sure, some people are consistently irrational and mean but I believe the majority of people are simply responding to the system they work in.
Don’t take their behaviour towards you personally (easier said than done). Try not to let their behaviour inform your opinions of them as people. Focus just on their behaviours and try not to paint them as a person, based on how they behave at work.
It's all the system
The system of work often governs behaviours. If you’re in the business of changing cultures (behaviours) or you’re trying to move people to a new way of working, consider the following systemic areas first.
There is little point in meeting people’s irrational and poor behaviours head on, if you suspect they’re actually a decent person deep down. Focus instead on what is causing these behaviours.
This list is not exhaustive, nor is it comprehensive. I plan on doing videos and posts on some of these items throughout the year, ensuring I dig deep and explain how to shift the systems, which in turn, should shift behaviours.
Perks and Rank
Start-ups that share equity plans and options/shares carefully between their people, often avoid many of the irrational behaviours that larger companies suffer from.
Everyone has a stake in making the business succeed. Everyone is reliant on everyone else.
The trouble is, as these companies grow, they move from “everyone having a stake” to a “perks and rank” model of rewards and incentives. It moves from wanting the change the world to gaining that exit.
Execs and investors lure experienced people with high salaries, big teams and large promises.
When people are working under a perks and rank model of incentives, they often shoot down others. They spend their time “playing” more politics than is needed. People start trying to get promoted rather than doing the right thing. They do whatever it takes to stay the course and get the exit, than doing the right things.
The job titles and perks become more than the work itself. They pander to those with “power”. Business becomes rigid. Less risks are taken. After all, who would want to lose their rank and perks by doing something innovative that might fail?
Instead of doing the right work (which may be hard, long and prone to failure), they play it safe. They do what they think needs doing to move through the ladder. There is no stake for everyone anymore. It becomes elitist and insular. It can become entirely about relationships at the expense of doing the right work.
In these kinds of incentives systems, sane and rational people start behaving in ways you would never have expected. Almost every startup I have worked with has struggled with this change. As they move from doing something worthwhile to "doing something worthwhile with a return for the investors", they shift models. Not everyone can have lots of options and shares anymore. There aren't enough to go around. Not everyone can have the glorious exit they may have been promised - a return on the investment for the big cash investors is more important. For those that remain privately held, it can still be a struggle staying as a company where everyone has a "stake", but they certainly stand more chance of it.
The solution – align incentives, invest in good management and ensure clarity over what is expected. Remove single power bases and ensure people are promoted based on merit of work rather than merely “knowing” the right people. You can never eradicate “preferential” treatment entirely, so focus on relationships but also focus on finding some way to measure merit and good work.
Lack of clarity
When people have no idea what role they play and who is responsible for what, then people’s behaviours can really morph. People clamour for control; they can start talking badly about others as they lack the knowledge of what people actually do. People can start picking up work that is beyond them, that is not what they should be doing and work that is actually other peoples.
Conflict increases as people struggle to cope with the confusion and misdirection. I see this so often, it’s comical. But it’s not funny for people in the mix – it’s tiring and stressful. Lack of clarity is a sap on energy and attention – and it turns rational people into shadows of their former self.
This is a systemic issue if ever there was one. Lack of direction and communication often start at the top – and it just gets worse throughout the business.
Lack of feedback
The system of management and HR is really important. Are people given feedback and nudged towards the right behaviours? Is poor behaviour dealt with?
I worked in one organisation where 80% of the team were low and poor performers but management couldn’t bring themselves to deal with it, so they simply hired more people. It created so much animosity that even the high performers behaviours started to morph as distrust, frustration and annoyance set in. HR didn’t help either – as they offered no guidance, training or support for managers. Not all managers are good at what they do – and HR should support them in dealing with low performers. Consistent performance management across the business is needed.
The structure of the work and processes
I worked in a company where the managers simply didn’t care about the system of work. Work didn’t flow. It got stuck often and managers did nothing about the systemic issues that were preventing people from doing good work. They just fired and hired people because stuff wasn't getting shipped.
After about 6 months of this I pointed out that they had good people, then they fired them, then they hired more good people and these good people still got the same results. The system governs success and behaviours. Sure, really good people with the support of managers and leaders can change the system. But if you ever find that new people coming in get the same results as those they replace – you have a major systemic problem. Fix the system first.
Blame culture
It’s not uncommon to see and hear people blaming other departments. The anger increases, as does the frustration. A blame culture emerges as people struggle to understand why the work they are doing is so hard to complete.
Failures are rampant and re-work is the nature of the day. The problem with this is that those other people who are being blamed are likely working in a system that stops them doing the right thing. Blaming them is pointless. Understanding their constraints, challenges and systemic issues is the best approach and then working with them to help them overcome them.
And also consider this. When you or your team are blaming others and throwing stones, who is doing that about you?
Poor decision making
Leaders and managers have a habit of making decisions several steps removed from the work. This is bad enough in itself but to make these distant decisions and then not follow the trail to the outcomes, is neglect.
Decisions made away from the work can have disastrous effect on people. If you want to understand why people are behaving irrationally and behaviours are poor, take a good look at how and when decisions are made and the impact those decisions have on the system of work, and the people in it.
Good managers follow their decision to understand the consequences. Poor managers make a decision then get on with their day.
Poor role modelling
Everyone in the business is affected by the system of work and that includes leaders. Their behaviours can morph and shift just like everyone else’s. When leaders and managers start displaying irrational behaviours you have a lot of trouble ahead.
They are role models. People will mimic them. People will copy what they do. People will see that it’s ok to shout, be aggressive, be demanding and treat people poorly. Others will be infected.
Managers and leaders must try to respond with clarity and calmness. They must try to understand the systemic constraints. They must try to remain calm when problems arise. Easier said than done. The best way to deal with this is to learn how to control your natural impulses and reactions, then realise that everyone is watching you. How would you want others to respond? Respond like that.
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The system of work governs how people behave. If the behaviours are one-offs, deal with them directly with that person. When the behaviours are more widespread and consistently poor - you likely have a systemic problem at large.
And if you're not in the business of shifting behaviours or changing companies - remind yourself often to check your behaviours. Are they starting to become irrational at work? Why is that? And what can you do to hold the high bar and be a role model of positive, inclusive, careful, calm and kind behaviours? The world needs more of these.
Rob..
Interesting articles
1. Good article (with evidence) that returning to the office is not so simple.
2. Team agility is the key to success. Many of us have been saying this for years.
3. The Furlough schemes have been a lifeline to many people and businesses. But why are there far more women on furlough than men?
4. Why taking things away seems to be the key to effective problem solving.
5. Anonymous acts of kindness. What are they and what the stoics thought about them.
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Rob..