The problem with too much process and red tape is that it creates excuses for not getting problems solved:
“Our processes dictates that I must do this”, “I am not measured on doing that”, “I cannot do anything about it, it’s the rules”, “We have a policy that…”.
Etcetera etcetera.
Of course there needs to be rules and processes, and sometimes they’re even defined by law.
But having said that it is also important to reiterate that just because you can push a set of rules, a boss or even the law in front of you, it doesn’t mean that you can’t show empathy for the person(s) in the other end obviously experiencing a problem.
One of the reasons why startups even stand a fighting chance against much larger and more resourceful organizations is that they don’t have all these rules, processes and KPIs in place.
They’re just trying to do what they think is necessary to enable them to solve issues and move forward. By showing empathy and some sort of efficient pragmatism whenever they encounter a challenge or – most importantly – a customer experiencing a problem and in need of a fix to it.
When companies grow and more people get onboard, the need for processes, policies and rules will grow – sometimes almost exponentially.
That may be fine in itself. But it should never be an excuse for throwing empathy and the ability to act and fix issues out the window.
If you start doing that you will enable precisely all the behaviour internally in your organization that you DON’T really want. And absolutely don’t need to succeed.
(Photo: Pixabay.com)