Work
When Bad Systems Happen To Good People
Want to know the power of a system? Consider this…if you place a good manager within a bad system, they will founder nine times out of ten. Same goes for individuals; a bad system will dilute a superstar employee’s potential. Yet, how many times are we willing to give up on, demote, or release an individual rather than take a good hard look at our own systems? Right…I thought so. Perhaps because it’s easier to level the blame on a person than do the more intensive work of analyzing and overhauling a system that’s ineffective or downright bad. But by focusing on individuals rather than systems, managers maintain the idiotic charade that makes it look like they’re being proactive by rooting out the crappy people when in reality they’re just reapplying lipstick to the pig.
In Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths and Total Nonsense, Jeff Pfeffer and Robert Sutton write that systems trump individual effort on a regular basis. They argue that “bad systems do far more damage than bad people, and a bad system can make a genius look like an idiot. Try redesigning systems and jobs before you decide that a person is ‘crappy.’”
What are examples of bad systems? Here’s one that plagues non-profits and for-profits alike: silos. I’ve personally witnessed innovative and resourceful individuals rendered ineffective within a siloed organization. Yet, when it was time for the annual review (there’s another example of a bad system), these individuals had to take the lion’s share of the blame for their performance failings. It’s rather like giving a racer a Ferrari and then telling them to perform at their highest level on a dirt and gravel track.
So, then these individuals are labeled as crappy people, the kind you want to figure out how move off your team or out of your organization. But here’s the thing…that outlook will never lead to anything other than mediocrity in your organization. Consider again what Bob Sutton wrote a couple of years ago on the subject:
The worst part about focusing on keeping out crappy people, however, is that it reflects a belief system that “the people make the place.” The implication is that, once you hire great people and get rid of the bad ones, your work is pretty much done. Yet if you look at large scale studies in everything from automobile industry to the airline industry, or look at Diane Vaughn’s fantastic book on the space shuttle Challenger explosion and the well-crafted report written by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, the evidence is clear: The “rule of law crappy systems” trumps the “rule of crappy people.”
If you’re a senior manager and all of this sounds achingly familiar, don’t despair…let’s improve the system. Begin doing something that most organizations don’t do which is take a holistic and deep-penetrating assessment of your people-systems.
- Review your organization’s structure. Is your organization siloed or structurally ineffective?
- Review your organization’s social networks. Do your employees have quality relationships with others outside of their working groups? Do they know how to communicate effectively, have constructive conflicts, and build new connections?
- Review your organization’s knowledge management infrastructure. Can your people access other individuals easily and openly? Can your people access not only the knowledge of others but expertise that may exist outside of the job description?
- Review your organization’s learning systems. Do your employees know how to learn and share that learning in ways that benefits others in the organization?
These four assessment points of your people-system signal just the beginning of change. There’s still much to do to initiate and follow-through with the changes…issues to be addressed in future posts (or contact me for how I can help your organization). But the next time you rant about the underperforming employee or underachieving team, think first about the systems that got them there.
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Chris,
So true. I agree that if you put a strong performer within a broken system, the chances of that individual succeeding are slim to none unless they have the ability to quickly influence and drive change of that process–which is rare for anyone that might be new to a company who may be set in their ways. And the reason why I feel this post is timely and deserves more consideration is this: given the current state of the economy, employers are examining their workforce and preparing to make some tough decisions - if they haven’t already. That said, many organizations are already about as lean as they can get thanks to the last recession; so if you think in terms of workload, a lot of people are already at max capacity and trimming will add to the pressure. Couple that with failing systems or processes and you’ve got big trouble for any sort of future growth.
I agree with your thinking to instill a holistic approach to people system assessment and ‘now’ would seem the perfect time for companies to analyze their operations (including people) to examine every potential to improve, communicate and evolve in order to come out of this stronger.
Smart employers listen to the voices of their employees and then commit to making change happen within their people systems – in any economy. Good people + great people systems = strong employer brand.
Charee
Hi, Chris,
Looks as if we are on converging (that’s a good thing) tracks this week.
One of the things I’ve thought about is this:
If systems trump people, then should organizations be identifying honest employees who simply have the minimum skills necessary to operate the system and not go so crazy focusing on the “best and the brightest”?
Sort of like the “minimum daily requirement” in vitamins. They’ll keep you healthy (not necessarly super-charged) for a long period of time.
It would save money on salaries, time in the hiring cycle, and limit expenditures on “development.”
This is actually a legitimate question to ponder if the systems vs. people argument is true.
Steve, because it’s applicable here as well, here’s the comment I left to the post at your blog
(Note: check out http://www.allthingsworkplace.com/2008/04/if-systems-trum.html to see the full post and thread)
I love how we’re all stretching and playing around with this topic. What started with some simple questions has blossomed into a variety of different perspectives and tangents. We almost need a mindmap to map out the dialogue here…which may not be a bad idea.
The dialogue here has been excellent. The one notion that I would add is to consider the various people-systems as systems, as well. It’s this that goes to the heart of my own post. We can talk about the systems that can exist parallel to the human component (technology, financial, etc). Within these systems, I can see the dichotomy between people and systems, one where you can plug in an individual and watch them act. But where I see most organizations falter is understanding their own people-systems (learning, social networks, engagement, etc) which is an integration that connects people to the organization’s culture and deeper purpose. This conversation and exploration will always get trumped by financial and more traditional concerns as long as the old way of doing things is exalted. But I see things changing in this regard which is very exciting.
Steve, I really appreciate your inclusion of your experience with long-standing companies trying to figure out how they might stay in business. It seems that they may be realizing all too late that things have changed and their good intentions are likely not enough to keep the vultures away. And I see this honestly as a positive - its the cycle of death and rebirth that can be a powerful incubator of new and dynamic businesses. Would we rather work at a gutted organization still in business or a new organization with fresh focus, better market prospects, and - hopefully - a better grasp of its people-systems to help it succeed in this new age of business?
Charee, thanks for bringing in the current economic climate’s impact on the people/organization dynamic. This is usually where an organization’s guiding principles come into full focus. If the org is teetering on the edge of financial or other difficulties, you get to see exactly what it is willing to eject first. If it’s people, then you know who you’re working for and the company’s priorities. On the other hand, if other line items get cut, executives decline pay increases, etc. as the first course of action (with cuts to workforce and items that allow employees to do their work coming as last resorts)…that speaks again to priorities.
And perhaps a good question to ask is: Do companies with great people-systems outperform and out-sustain companies that don’t put the necessary stock into this?