The Art of BSM (Bullshit Management)

BS is not all bad ..

There are many types of managers … Some thrive in constructive debates, some avoid confrontation, some encourage collaboration, some avoid risk and hate making decisions? and some want you to keep your mouth shut, do exactly as you are told, and be grateful when they hand you a platter of poop!

I have yet to meet a single person who never had a day in their lives when they said “This is total bullshit” and almost walked out of their jobs.?

While thinking about all the platters of poop I dealt with in my career, I thought it would be interesting to do a thought experiment about .. yes… The Art of BSM (Bullshit Management).

I am Indian. We have a very interesting relationship with bullshit, which we refer to as cow dung. Cow dung is a valuable resource, used for many things, including fertilizer, disinfectant, insect repellant, fuel, skin ailments, and also in certain religious rituals. Bottom line, it is a good thing.?

The key is to figure out what and how to use BS … for example, it is horrible as a food source, but a really good diagnostics tool for team dynamics :-). It is all about the proper use of BS.

Am I responsible for BS?

Since my son was born, I have had many incredible epiphanies, and a lot of learnings in leadership. One particularly relevant one came from changing his diapers. There were times, I was absolutely horrified by the ghastly substance staring back at me! How could my sweet little baby manage to excrete that ridiculous disgustingness? And, then it dawned … it was me! At that time, I was feeding him, so I was the only source of his input! In that case, was it my responsibility to own the outcome of the output? I guess… yes :-(

If any of my team members generate “interesting” outputs, I now pause before reacting. Is it due to what I am feeding them? Rather humbling, isn’t it? So, before reacting, I try to do some self reflection. I try to understand my personal contribution and then I dig into figuring out other sources of input, which contributes to the output.?

As a leader, you own the input, at least some of it!

Managing the source and amount of BS

The amount of BS floating around in an organization is directly proportional to the dysfunction and toxicity and inversely proportional to innovation and effectiveness. No surprise there, right? But it is also important to accept that it will never be zero. You can try to minimize and solve for Limit BS -> Zero. While you manage the amount, it is also important to figure out the proper use, for example, as an awesome diagnostic tool!

Let us first talk about the source of BS. Yes, it is us, the leaders. I do acknowledge the insane amount of BS floating around us thanks to the democratization of information management. Having said that, each one of us has some responsibility to manage what we feed ourselves, that is, we have to manage our own input, to a certain extent. Still, the free-floating BS within an organization is totally a reflection of the leadership. If we don’t take ownership, then it is similar to asking my little baby to learn to poop better while I feed him the same thing! Many times, even inadvertently, the leaders contribute to BS. We forget that we are watched 24x7. People are always listening to what we say and more importantly, how we say it. And, eventually, it gets magnified all throughout the organization.?

Next is the amount. I heard the concept of Team #1 and teams fighting bloody unwinnable battles from Pat Lencioni back in 2015. Yes, those battles are BS amplifiers. I am one of the biggest culprits. I protect my team with unparalleled viciousness, which can be good as well as really bad! I have, inadvertently, participated in bloody battles to protect my team. I was always the hero for my team, and the vicious, disgusting, politics-playing villain for the other teams.?

The only way I could try to rectify the situation is by making a mindset shift … I asked myself one question .. “Who is my team”? The answer was rather sobering.?

You have to call BS to manage BS

Another big lesson is … BS stinks! You cannot hide it. You have to call it. It does not matter where it comes from. Unless you call it, you cannot manage it. You cannot sweep it under the rug and pretend that it does not exist. Can you even imagine if you swept your child’s dirty diapers under your living room rug? Pee-yew!

Looking back, my leadership style has gone through a sea change since I became a mother. My pre-baby leadership style was direct, and absolutely Zero BS tolerant. My post-baby leadership style has evolved to be more patient and instead of tolerating BS, I have been learning the art of managing BS.?

I absolutely call BS with my team, no question about it. I also pause to assess how much I am contributing to it. I am also aware that many times, my definition of “team” is too narrow. The biggest lesson I am learning is, how to call BS with my peers in a constructive fashion, so that we can manage it effectively and in a collaborative fashion. Who ever knew I would be passionately talking about “collaborative BS management”!?

360 degree BS Management

We have to manage BS all around us. Managing it for our teams is a no-brainer. Managing with our peers is slightly more tricky. The deeper and more trustworthy relationships I have with my peers, the easier it is.?

I am not very good at managing BS when it comes from the top. I have tried to treat the “top” as my peer and establish trusted relationships. Sadly, it only goes so far.?

This is one of my improvement points … I am still learning to figure out how to handle poop coming from the top.?

Any suggestions or advice?