The Great Fight: Because That’s The Way We’ve Always Done It
We’ve all been there. Whether you were the outsider, the new guy, the innovator or the sales person, we’ve all had that moment where you ask, “Why do you do that way?” and you get the response:
“Because that’s the way we’ve always done it”
I like to refer to this as the abyss of complacency. The bottomless chasm of misplaced potential where a group of once motivated, engaged and enthusiastic employees have been lost in the darkness that comes with corporate structure and processes.
But where is the breaking point between inspiring innovation and maintaining structure? This is the struggle I’ve had of late.
I have a great member of my team who often has fantastic ideas, however our push to engage each individual in finding constructive changes have led to a problem. We constantly hear leaders preaching that you should always be open to constructive changes to internal processes, but what happens when you get on a string of less than appealing recommendations? There’s only so many ways you can tell someone you appreciate their idea, have taken it into consideration and explain your reasoning, but in the end you will not be implementing it. Eventually this push for innovation will backfire. This once engaged and motivated employee will feel their recommendations aren’t being heard; their opinion isn’t relevant and will quickly fall into the “abyss of complacency”. Deep in the abyss you’ll also find resentment and discouragement, which are virtually irreparable dispositions.
So in conjunction with my previous LinkedIn publication, I want us to grow roots and learn from each other. Tell me, how do you inspire and engage your staff when the push for change fails to produce anything more than lateral moves? How do you continue to promote open communication and reassure your team that their ideas are being heard and considered, even when they aren’t being put into practice? When does consistency and structure trump change?
Please, comment, tell me your thoughts, recommendations, opinions or ask more questions. Share this with your network and let’s stem a conversation that will lead us to be better today than we were yesterday.
Construction Manager leading construction projects with financial expertise
5 年I happened to stumble across this article and it proved to be an interesting read. Ross Perot was once quoted; “when you go against the status quo, don’t expect them to welcome you with open arms!” This has resonated and inspired me to not settle, find a way to raise the bar and improve myself and others around me. Shortly after starting a new job, people would ask me if I’m getting comfortable? My reply was, let’s hope not! To add some context to my reply, it’s better to build confidence than comfort as comfort breeds complacency.... toxic to any team despite having the best mission and most talented people.
Vice President / Branch Manager at Columbia Bank
9 年If we subscribe to the “That’s the way we’ve always done it” theory, we are no better than lemmings running off a cliff. No leader should surround themselves with “yes” people.
Solution Provider
9 年A couple of months ago I was challenged to read John C. Maxwell's "The 5 Levels of Leadership." It gave me a lot of food for thought. Leading myself and leading others is hard work. I'm learning that a big part of it is clearly defining WHY I need to change. Keep publishing Tyson Campbell; I appreciate your posts.
"We've always done it this way," is one of my personal pet peeves. And, I perpetuate it during training. We ask that new employees learn what we do and why we do it that way before adding their suggestions. Our process is fairly complicated. Changing something, seemingly minor, in the middle of a process can have undesirable effects later. Building a company is an iterative process, similar to Newton's quote, "If I've seen further it's by standing on the shoulders of giants." We learn from those that come before us. And, as employees we inherit a system that we weren't involved in creating. At DESI, we use Goldratt's Theory of Constraints to act as a structure for making and applying decisions. It's a rule set that demonstrates that true change effects the bottom line, now and in the future. TOC accomplishes this by proving that only change at the constraint produces change at the bottom line. To make a long story short, (I know... too late) every change idea gets discussed in terms of how it will effect the bottom line. If the idea stands up to the logic, it's a viable idea and gets implemented. There are also ideas that are not "concrete" solutions to a bottom line problem. For instance, poor morale has an insidious effect on the bottom line. I think this is the hardest area to "prove." We've tried all kinds of ideas that don't have any provable long term benefit. However, if you don't try them, employees may feel that you don't care... causing the "morale" problem. Trying all of them comes with it's own set of problems. To be honest, I've never had a solution to these kinds of issues that has made me completely comfortable. I think any sustainable solution for addressing change suggestions depends on having a fully disclosed measurement standard. Even for owners. An idea is an idea, it's neither good or bad. But, can it demonstrate it usefulness if we measure it with our agreed upon standard? That is the question.