Don’t Let Bureaucracy Inhibit Inspiration

Do your organization’s systems, policies, and procedures inspire team members, help them perform well, and help them serve internal and external customers well? Or do those systems erode inspiration, consistent performance, and great service delivery?

Organizations need rules – and they need to demonstrate disciplined alignment to those rules. Rules can help ensure fairness and consistency across the organization. And, dumb rules can be bureaucratic, inhibiting efficiency and effectiveness.

I follow a number of websites where employees share pride or frustration in their organizations.

On one site, a recent post from an employee expressed total frustration: “Today, I got written up for asking my coworker a question that I should have asked my boss to ask my coworker. Yay bureaucracy.”

Bureaucracy can be defined as “administration characterized by excessive red tape and routine.” Bureaucracy is often embraced by officials that maintain the bureaucracy. Why? It’s likely that bureaucracy is all they have ever known!

Bureaucracies are often frustrating for employees and customers who must try to get something accomplished within that system.

An example might be beneficial, here. Years ago, I had a municipal government client that helped me understand the kind of thinking that creates and maintains bureaucracies. I was conducting a leadership seminar and the class was going well. At one point during the first afternoon, one woman – let’s call her Joyce – shared her frustrations with a woman in her office (who was not attending the program).

Joyce explained that this peer of hers had a unique role which placed her in a “gatekeeper” position. This peer – let’s call her Roberta – touched key projects at key times, moving paperwork to decision makers for approval, scheduling meetings of decision makers with project staff, etc. Roberta had a tendency to move more quickly on activities that her “work friends” would benefit by, and she allowed other activities to sit, untouched. Sometimes for days – or longer.

Roberta’s inconsistencies caused much consternation to Joyce and to others in the room. I was about to inquire about how the group has addressed these issues when Joyce stated, “And Roberta is ‘Employee of the Month’ this month!”

That news hit like a two by four to the jaw. I sputtered a moment then asked Joyce, “Why would you make Roberta ‘Employee of the Month’?” Joyce looked at me and calmly said, “It was her turn.”

Nobody laughed.

That’s not the way to run a nimble, high performing, values aligned workplace!

High performing, values-aligned work environments require leaders that are in tune with team member’s enthusiasm or frustration with systems, policies, and procedures. High performing, values-aligned work environments require team members to be open and honest about systems that hold them back, that keep team members from doing the right thing, the right way, the first time.

High performance, values-aligned organizations constantly evolve their systems, policies, and practices. If a rule made terrific sense ten years ago but inhibits aligned action today, that rule gets appraised and refined so it serves team members, the organization, and its customers equally well, today.

Don’t let bureaucracy inhibit team member’s performance or engagement. Eliminating dumb rules will inspire your people.

What do you think? How does bureaucracy get in the way of performance and engagement in your organization? How do your #GreatBosses help eliminate bureaucracy? Add your comments, insights, or questions below.

Add your experiences to two fast & free research projects I have underway: the Great Boss Assessment and the Performance-Values Assessment. Results and analysis are available on my research page.

My next book, The Culture Engine, will be published by Wiley in September 2014. Pre-order your copy now! Subscribe to my weekly updates to get free resources, insights, and news on my book launch.