On the subject of organizational decay, a perennial problem that seems entrenched in many organizations it the problem of “office politics”.  It is probably difficult to find a single definition for office politics, but it usually describes the complex social maneuverings by individuals and groups within an organization for the purpose of achieving greater success, power and recognition over the rest.  Or more simply, the unholy union of the “me first” and “whatever it takes to climb the ladder” kind of thinking. 

Although it is easy to dismiss this as symptomatic of human nature in general and therefore unsolvable, I believe there are possible solutions to alleviate the problem and good reasons for any organization to do so. 

Office politics create distrust within the organization, diverts attention and resources from things that matter and favors the politically astute over the truly competent.  Of course, some amount of competition within any organization is healthy in driving progress, but left unchecked, politics become an insiduous poison that distracts the organization from its mission and may lead to an outflow of talent. 

Some ideas to check politics within an organization.

1. Create transparency; the more opaque the organizations processes, system of reward and recognition, visibility of the connection between activities and outcome,  the more fertile the ground for politics and in-fighting.  When employees cannot clearly link personal productive work with reward and recognition, they are more likely to measure their own success relatively to someone else in the organization and more likely to engage in political games to create this relative position of superiority.   Furthermore, senior management are likely to be duped by “stories” in the absence of reliable and verifiable facts.    

2. Create joint KPIs.  When employees only have individual KPIs, there is little reason to collaborate with their peers.  One ups-manship is the rule of the game and ”trust no one” is the mantra of the day.  Even in organizations where the work is usually done alone, create some space for joint KPIs to encourage co-workers to communicate and collaborate.  The result will be a more cohesive and trusting culture as ”help others = help myself” becomes embedded in the organization’s DNA.

3. Appoint “headmasters”.  When it is clear that several groups or divisions could gain significantly from collaboration, ensure that there is a higher body or “headmaster”, that is independent of any affiliation, that is appointed to supervised the activities of the various groups/divisions.  The rule of the “headmaster” is to facilitate collaboration, coordinate execution of joint projects and enforce some good old-fashion discipline if anyone is found playing political games instead of working.  The absence of a direct ”headmaster”, usually means that groups/divisions can put on a superficial united front for the senior management but remain stuck in power struggles at the back.

Do you have any experience with office politics that you would like to share?

Have you ever been on a team that seems to be on a never-ending downward spiral?   For some reason, the team underperforms initially, then the good people leave; the team falls into a deeper funk and the doom loop continues?  We can draw similar parallels from companies.  A product fails in the market, some customers migrate to competitors, the company tries to keep up profits by cutting marketing or product features, more customers leave and so on… Here are my thoughts about some tactical short term solutions to “doom loops” and how you can jump-start your team or company back to life.

1. Recognize and admit that you are on a doom loop.

2. Get rid of naysayers in the team who offer no solution.

3.  Focus on your core competence.  80/20 rule applies.

4. Most importantly, work quickly to achieve some quick wins.  This is critical to morale and key to escaping the doom loop.  Small successes breed confidence, confidence attracts talent and commitment, talent and commitment create successes. 

Finally, remember that it is just as important to trumpet your small successes as it is to actually achieve it.  Sun Tze’s Art of War dictates that an army without morale is certain to fall before the first sword is drawn.  It is not enough to succeed, but for stakeholders, both internal and external, to know and perceive that you are succeeding. 

 

I thought I should begin my first post on the topic of leadership.  People I know always seem to have mixed feelings about the term “leadership”.  What does it really mean, and does it truly matter? 

Perhaps it may be easier to contemplate the opposite, what happens in the absence of leadership?  In some circumstances, especially within small, tight circles, teams can actually function perfectly well without a designated leader.  This is true when almost everyone in the team is self-motivated, accepts accountability for the outcome and strives towards a similar goal.  Sometimes, there almost seems to be an ”electrifying chemistry” within a team, that acts like an invisible hand, directing and coordinating work in such an efficient manner that a leader can seem truly superfluous. 

However, such small, well-coordinated teams are probably the exception rather than the norm.  The challenge is how to maintain this coordination and single-mindedness as the team expands and more diverse personalities are added to the mix.  Past a certain point, teams and organizations can only sustain their success with strong leadership.

How do we tell when leadership is absent in an organization?  I will list 7 most serious tell-tale signs that the corner office is becoming irrelevant.

1.  Everyone knows there is a problem but nobody is willing to confront it.

2.  Everyone has a different view on what should be done and works separately to achieve their own objectives.

3.  People become comfortable with compromising, middle-of-the-road solutions that satisfies everyone and no one.

4. Taskforces are formed to investigate the same issue over and over again without any resolution.

5. Consultants are hired.  A whole army of them.

6. People who talk about the elephant in the room are sent to the zoo.

7. The CEO cringes when the organization’s mission statement is read out.

Undoubtedly, with a strong system of well-defined processes in place, an organization can muddle along for a long long time without a leader.  However, decay will inevitably set in, slowly eating up the organization from within.  When a crisis hits, a multi-billion dollar company can  sink faster than you can say “Lehman”!

Do you have any tell-tale signs of poor or absent leadership to share?