Sometimes an organization is so top heavy it can’t stand on its own feet
“In any bureaucracy there is natural tendency to let the system become the excuse for inaction.”- Chris Fussell
In their recent Harvard Business Review article, “The End of Bureaucracy” authors Gary Hamel and Michael Zanini present some startling facts on the explosion of bureaucracy in the modern workplace.
- Since 1983 The number of employees in management positions has grown 100% compared to employees in other positions which has only grown 44%
- The average employee at a company with 5,000 + employees now has eight layers of management over them.
I would guess that you are seeing a similar trend in your company. Ballooning of management, questionable business departments and the slow starvation of front line staff.
In a 2016 paper the same authors calculated that the national “tax” for bureaucracy was $3 trillion dollars! Think about that. That is almost 15% of the current national debt. What could your company do with even a tiny fraction of that amount?
Why the explosion?
Silos
The larger an organization grows the more silos it creates; these silos start to become their own organism. This quickly develops the need for organization and leadership. Thus layers get added for individual needs.
Cross talk among departments doesn’t exist and collaboration fails. Duplication of roles and job duties occurs. Inefficiency grows. Like most things kept in silo’s it tends to go unnoticed, no one quite knows whats in there.
Kingdoms
Everyone wants a kingdom.
This is turn leads to the development of roles & jobs to support a person not a purpose. The creation of these jobs, while bolstering ego’s by adding more direct reports, does little for the engagement of employees or overall financial health of the company.
Author David Graeber calls these created roles “bulls**t jobs” . He notes that often leaders who hang their hat on expense reduction, will often use the money saved in those endeavors to hire more people into these questionable roles (although he says it much more colorfully in his article. Warning: There is some strong language behind the link, click at your own risk).
Healthcare is not immune.
Graeber states that “managers now feel they need to each have their little squadron of assistants, who often have nothing to do, so they end up making up new exotic forms of paperwork for the teachers, doctors, nurses… who thus have ever less time to actually teach or treat or care for anyone”.
Just ask any one in healthcare about the explosion of documentation needed to take care of just one patient. Often folks furthest removed from patient care are making a lot of the decisions. Yes, I am looking at you Federal Government and your crazy electronic medical records. I am sure our teacher colleagues face a similar plight.
All of these factors leads to some organizations becoming so top heavy it is impossible for them to stand on their own feet.
Navigating Bureaucracy
At times it can seem like a hopeless effort to get anything accomplished. Particularly if those above you are vested in the bureaucracy not the greater good of the company.
If anything find solace in the fact that the statistics show you are not alone. A silver lining may be that you don’t have eight layers of management to contend with, maybe its five, maybe is three.
Try to find purpose in your job, not your title. Examine if your job is serving the larger purpose of the organization or someones personal goals. Follow your purpose, people will change, your purpose should not.
Be Lever not a Layer
Many of you may find yourselves buried somewhere in the middle of those eight layers. If you are then look for ways to not become part of the problem. Don’t add unnecessary layers of permission for your reports to navigate.
“…become a lever to raise your team up…”
Intentionally become a lever to raise your team up instead of a layer for them to have to pass through.
You will find that your team appreciates this and you may also notice your level of engagement may improve as you are not focused on the process, but more on the end result.
Stay Sane
Unfortunately, as long as their are ego’s, emotions and money involved, bureaucracy is here to stay. The article in Harvard Business Review points to some unique solutions on the horizon, but I would not expect those to trickle down anytime soon.
The best solution to maintain your sanity is not to fight it, this is often tiring and useless, but learn to navigate it. Recognize it for what it is and find the best ways to minimize it’s impact on you and your team.