Game in the Brain

I really hate the idea that a team, department, the section has to read someone’s mind, non-standard output/input, undefined roles, and responsibilities. 

Undefined Roles and Responsibilities and Undefined Inputs/Outputs creates a LOT of Work-in-Progress. This creates the Giant Backlog of Unnecessary work. This creates a Formless Problem that hangs over the entire organization that creates anxiety, waste, exhausts human patience and energy, and creates distrust.

In the 5 Types of Power, I realize that why would I need to use Coercive Power, if I shouldn’t be afraid of the boss, I should be afraid of the business not making money to pay me.

I realize people cannot have “buy-in” if we didn’t define what their job does for the company. If the messenger doesn’t know what happens if the paperwork doesn’t get to where it should be going.

A business organization is not some slave, servant, or individual that has to accommodate much mind-reading of the requester. I believe its a system where it can only take on a finite range of Inputs, and produce a finite range of outputs.

Roles and Responsibilities clarify these Inputs and outputs and vice versa. Standardized Inputs and Outputs clarify Roles and Responsibilities.  I realize the importance of taking the time to understand and define them allows for a System to Emerge.

I don’t even need to use Coercive power when roles and responsibilities – if the system breaks down we are out of business – thus we need to have clear lines of communications, expectations, and responsibilities. Reminds me of Section 4 of ISO 9001:2015 – Context, Stakeholders, Scope, and the QMS. The QMS defines the “work” for all the roles within the company – like how IT, HR, support, affects Operations or sales. If the work doesn’t get done, we are not able to produce our output. How HR’s recruitment affects the Company, how IT’s systems affects the company, how the “deaths by a thousand cuts” can kill any project operation has – to deliver value to the customer.

A system with finite inputs and finite outputs has been a helpful bit of language to understand Organizations.

Taking the time to Define is taking the time to understand. Taking the time to Understand and Define means there exists a system. It becomes more robust and effective when everyone in the system is aware of the system and its Limits, Tolerances, Strengths, and the Feedback.

In my most recent Problem at Work, Undefined Roles and Responsibility triggered a problem that was very difficult to fix. By having no definitions or clear responsibility, even ACTION can never happen.  Because R&R means no Input will be processed, no issue or problem will be remedied, no question can be asked, no one will own any process or area. Its as though nothing existed – and you are trying to prove a negative.