The funny thing about change is that management wants all the change, but doesn’t want to change themselves.
The biggest hurdles to improvement are management. This is not referencing how to do things better to the front-line . . . it is management by itself. The problem is in the mirror.
Recent events have allowed me to take inventory of management hurdles. So let’s take a look:
Politics. To survive large bureaucratic service organizations (all of them), you have to look good all the time. A silver-tongue (another word for BS) goes a long way when compared to knowledge. “Didn’t he say that well” does not overcome the lack of facts and evidence in the communication.
Navigating the politics has usually gotten folks in management positions. Inevitably why we have so many dopes in management. Looking good does not mean performing well. In fact, it is a red flag.
Me, get my hands dirty? Closely related to the political hurdle are management that prefer the comfort of their office or being away from the office. Meetings can kill lots of time too. Asking management to be in the work to get knowledge and/or evidence usually gets that deer in the headlight look – who me? The higher up, the more difficult as the egos are bigger.
It begs the question, did people get into management because they didn’t want to do real work? The shuffling of papers and dictates from the mountain do not really help create value, they create more waste.
The management factory. All those people that management hires to help with the politics and looking good. You hear words and phrases like “best practice,” “governance” and “plans.” Scores of people hired to help build the plans and others ensure that the front-line is following their mandates. All add no value and waste precious resources.
The front-line folks are either frustrated by or aspire to be in the management factory. Because creating value for customers just isn’t cool. Making front-line employees do stupid things is much more fun. Costly, but fun.
Hierarchy. No one and I mean no one talks to the boss until all the boxes are ticked. A front-line employee reaching out to a CEO or an executive is not allowed. There is an open door policy, but of course all the boxes must be ticked. You will grow old navigating the hierarchy. If you are lucky enough you may be granted 5 minutes with the big cheese as long as you keep to the script.
All of these things create dysfunctional organizations. As pathetic as they are, they are in all organizations in varying degrees.
Tripp Babbitt is a speaker, blogger and consultant to service industry (private and public). His organization helps executives find a better way to make the work work. Read his articles at Quality Digest and his column for CustomermanagementIQ.com. Learn more about the 95 Method for service organizations. Reach him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TriBabbittor LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/trippbabbitt.
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