I posted a few months ago about the importance of seeing failures as system problems more than people problems. I said then that it’s important not to place blame on human failure too easily, but rather to recognize the role that the system has in hindering success.
What I didn’t mention at the time was how tempting – and how dangerous – it can be for managers to believe that their job is to be a hero and fix the system in order to support their team.
But for a manager to jump in to single-handedly fix a system can be just as presumptuous, and just as prone to failure, as trying to “fix” the supposedly broken people on the team.
Even if you were promoted from a member of your team to become its manager, your current team members still probably have a clearer picture of the flaws in the system and and which parts of it will be most beneficial to change.
Part of rejecting the idea that your team members are problem is the belief that they are, in fact, the solution.
Having said that, it may be that part of the system that needs changing is an externally induced burden that’s so cumbersome that the team doesn’t have the capacity or the autonomy change the part of the system that most needs improving.
But don’t just guess. Let your team tell you what it would take to fix the system.
And if you’d like a thinking partner to help you process the feedback you get, let’s talk. Visit stevedwire.com/talk to start the conversation.
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