Toe the Line

I hate rules. I generally feel that they exist solely for the purpose of my knowing exactly how far I can wander from the “required ideal” before actually getting into trouble. I understand their purpose. I understand that without them, chaos and eventual collapse would ensue. In an organization, rules exist for the same reason they exist in government and in a family – to control and predict. Rules are designed to control behaviors, with the inevitable GOAL of controlling outcomes. For example, if I require employees to arrive and be at their desks by 8am, it’s not because I get a charge out of looking out at 8:01am to see desks full of bodies working away for the company – at least it shouldn’t be. It is because I hope that if everyone begins promptly on time, I will get the most productivity and therefore the highest yield on the salaries I am paying those employees. Arriving on time (behavior) should ideally result in a higher profit margin (outcome). Managers get REALLY EXCITED at the prospect of being able to impact and control outcomes. If they think they have a system which will allow them to control and predict their outcomes, productivity and numbers…it’s VERY difficult to resist the temptation to establish a suffocating rule culture that is completely counterproductive to their end goal: growth and progress.

Don’t get me wrong – we need rules. Boundaries are a healthy thing in every area of life. I don’t like them but I don’t think we can afford to jettison them completely. The problem occurs when lose our ability to think and make decisions apart from a consultation of the rules. Too many rules constrict creativity, immobilize innovation and prevent progress BY DEFINITION. If you always do things, solve problems, complete processes according to the same rules; you will never break out of that box you have so carefully (and with the best of intentions) crafted for those you lead.

Here’s my alternative proposition: state the goal you’re trying to accomplish and allow those on your team to come up with their own strategy of how they will contribute and work toward that goal. Here’s where all the managers freak out…there’s no control in this approach other than holding people accountable to the methods THEY have chosen to get over the finish line. Of course, these methods must be reasonable and realistic – but they don’t always have to be the same. Here’s the other result of this approach: ownership. When someone makes their own plan on how to contribute, they will inevitably work with more intensity, more passion and more responsibility than if they are just following someone else’s plan. And if their own plan doesn’t work, it’s their responsibility to revamp and try again.

Break a few of your own rules – the unnecessary ones. Let your people loose. Untie their hands and see what happens. You may be pleasantly surprised with the result.

Lean Forward,

Bekka