The solution to soft problems is not a reorganization plan. Try everything else first.
You know the pattern.
A new executive arrives and wants “greater collaboration.” They create a new vision statement, give speeches, launch a contest to create a new logo, and harangue direct reports to push for a new culture. They tinker with the organization chart, and a maelstrom erupts.
Like storms on the ocean’s surface, they unleash a thunderous communication plan. It has logical memos and notes discussing the need for change, one PowerPoint presentation after another, and placards and banners all over the place. On top of that are bully pulpit diatribes, threats of burning platforms, and a website containing everything any human would ever want to know about the need for the change.
No matter how many times the executive says, “It will not impact you,” employees sit on the ocean floor frozen in fear. It appears calm because their stress is hidden, but they obsess over career progression, who they will report to, and—if they still have a job—what they will be doing. Performance drops.
Other than that, not much changes. Employees are a bit more paranoid after the reorganizational bruising, but the culture, for good or bad, remains untouched.
After a few years, the tempest blows over, the executive moves on, and a new executive with a different vision arrives to start the process all over again.
The reason reorganizations often flop is that we humans are not logical. We’re emotional animals who don’t respond well to perfectly constructed executive arguments spelling out a need for change.
Change almost always agitates us—unless it’s our idea, of course.
So why do executives consistently reorganize, transform, and restructure?
Over decades, I asked this question to the most astute observers of human behavior I know: CIA operational psychologists and FBI psychological profilers. Below are the fifteen intriguing answers I got from them.
A number of psychologists answered my question about why execs reorganize as follows:
they can’t think of anything else to do
it demonstrates they’re doing something
they can see the reorganization on a chart
it’s visible to stakeholders and the board of directors
it’s easy
it’s measurable
they think they know what’s best
they want to remove managers they don’t like
it’s fast
it can be likened to a dog marking a fire hydrant
it gives them an immediate sense of accomplishment
they’re egomaniacs
they’re in control now—what could go wrong?
it’s all they know
they can
I delight in their answers. These are the wrong reasons for reorganizing, but another is that many executives simply aren’t sure how to deal with people problems or soft issues. Let’s say Group A ignores Group B’s needs. Failing to collaborate is a soft issue—but instead of diagnosing and resolving this, the executive stirs the pot and reorganizes both groups to ‘fix’ the issue.
Many executives find soft issues too difficult
Soft issues are almost always more complicated, more intractable, and less visible because they involve people and their emotions, whereas hard issues, such as faulty plans and weak metrics, are more straightforward and easier to solve.
When Group A fails to deliver a needed document to Group B, it sets off an alarm. The executive logically adds a new step in the process or institutes periodic reviews. But perhaps the failure reflects a soft problem—it might involve an uncooperative culture festering below the surface.
When ignored, soft issues can become dangerous. The ultimate soft issue—unhealthy organizational culture—significantly affects many companies.
What to do?
The solution to soft problems is not a reorganization plan. The first step is to diagnose if it’s a human issue—is there a deficiency in any of the five Cs below?
communication
cooperation
collaboration
coordination
culture
To solve these five issues, consider:
the criteria and validity of how you select frontline managers,
your management development process,
day-to-day executive behaviors, and
how employees are treated.
That last bullet point, “how employees are treated,” sounds mushy, but as human beings, we all want to be listened to, have a piece of the pie, engage in meaningful work, have clarity on how we are doing, and get a little respect. That’s what makes people tick.
When you stop pushing against human nature, you won’t have as many people problems.
I've gathered this thinking into the fully updated second edition of my book, Certainty: How Great Bosses Can Change Minds and Drive Innovation. It turns the science of human behavior into practical tools for building a healthy organizational culture, including the new 13 Human Nature Levers. Paperback and Kindle are available here.
Until next time,
Mike