“I left other people alone.” Some days, the possibility of making this assertion can be the greatest achievement of a manager. The task has always been difficult because I am naturally inclined to jump and organize. However, I learned to appreciate the advantages of leaving a small reign of chaos.
Chaos, in this context, refers to the inherent unpredictability of a situation. This can be uncomfortable, especially for people with jobs creating orders, such as managers, mops and technical specialists. Order is often necessary because it improves control, consistency and efficiency. But sometimes you better tolerate chaos and amplify it.
Activate chaos where employees meet customers
The world of customers is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA). Although you can estimate the probability of customer behavior, the result remains unpredictable. Employees must be ready to think and adapt to a constantly evolving situation.
When things become complex, the entrepreneurial spirit of employees, creativity and problem solving are a huge advantage.
People at the top and center of the company cannot act as quickly or precisely as someone who works at the point of action. If you fill in management ranks with order offers, you end up with employees who are command takers.
At times of uncertainty, employees will look for their eyes to see if someone else will intervene to solve problems rather than acting. If you want people to be entrepreneurial, you have to give them a rope, which requires living with chaos.
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Encourage chaos where you need new ideas and solutions
Chaos brings both destruction and the opportunity, but we often focus only on the negative. Hurricane, for example, cause damage and reconstitute the oceans with oxygen and nutrients. Like the prosperous life on unpredictability, companies need it to avoid stagnation.
Employees who have space will innovate and will be able to offer wonders. Consider the Starbucks Barista which first decided to write names of customers on cups. Or the southwest on-the-rod agent who has arrested his humor in annoying flight announcements. A leader in field marketing told me about secretly hiring a consultant to analyze sales in a new way. The Central Ops group was turned upside down but quickly went on board when they saw how effective it was.
Innovation requires more freedom (and subsequent chaos) than most companies. Management of management destroys people’s desire to color outside the lines. However, it is an infallible way to become creative and innovative people to leave.
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Disturb the balance if you need the organization to change
Organizations do not voluntarily evolve. They change when the environment imposes a convincing reason why things cannot remain the same. These can be technological advances, market changes modifying income models or the arrival of a new executive.
Other times, the change forces leaders to generate chaos. The sweet spot is enough to make things happen, but not so much that the organization bursts in pandemonium or freezes. A CMO with which I worked sent his team to the field to attend what real customers do. Updated strategies followed this experience quickly.
The seeds of the agitation can already be present. Marketing specialists can be dissatisfied with the current situation and wish something better. In any case, to launch the change, the managers must either create a little chaos or turn the dial over the emergency.
Become a catalyst for chaos
The balancing order and freedom is a constant struggle. In “Small is beautiful: the economy as if people were counting”, EF Schumacher argues that this tension is at the heart of all human conflicts.
His book explores how technology replaces human tasks and challenges that accompany it. Likewise, long -established organizations often become too rigid. In these cases, leaders must act as catalysts of chaos. Here are three ways to restore balance:
Steal
Suppose your organization is too bureaucratic. If you think that is not the case, suppose that people hide it or if you are so part of the system that you do not see it. I spoke to the CMOS who relied with confidence the progress of their team.
When I interviewed the senior executives at the next level, it was clear that they did not include bureaucracy and resistance in the levels of the middle of their organizations.
Make a rule, kill a rule
Doing new things is fun, and weeding old things is not. Manufacturers of intelligent and competent orders often assume that the institution of new processes and rules is the way they make the difference.
Over time, bureaucracy becomes shocking. Direct some of your brilliant command manufacturers to reduce bureaucracy. With a little imagination, I bet that AI could be a useful assistant cleaning lady for this task.
Think of MVB
Viable minimum bureaucracy (MVB), inspired by the concept of minimum viable product of Agile, maintains the central functions of an organization, focusing solely on essential coordination. Give tasks to people closest to the problem. Doing these diets is comfortable with less centralized control and more initial errors. When employees are looking for detailed advice, resist the urge to provide it – let them understand it.
Lead through chaos
Neither order nor chaos are adversaries. The two allies offer advantages and we must maintain balance. Order guarantees which is essential. Chaos reveals opportunities, animates our world and arouses creativity. We all benefit from the adoption of a certain unpredictability.
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