- Leandro Herrero - https://leandroherrero.com -

Leaders and Change: 12 Rules. (1) Stop admiring the problem

Some organizations seem to have a love affair with problems. They love their disruptive and furtive nature.  Secret encounters in the hours of darkness?

We are good at identifying problems, describing them, discussing them ,digging into root causes, presenting the conclusions of  our findings, renaming them to challenges to get them more PC ,and logging them in a perfect think binder, digital or otherwise.

I’ve seen organizations or groups within them paralyzed before the solemn and overwhelming magnificence of ‘the problem’. I am  not joking , some people behave as in front of the Gioconda.

Problem admiration is a symptom of over-analysis, frequently associated with weak implementation. When problems seem to pop up from anywhere, and the organization is very able to address them, categorise them, and do something (good bad, wise or unwise) all the time, suspect a love affair. Nobody will of course admit to it. But suspect.

Organizations in which ‘the frame problem’ is all over the place, fall into the Stockholm Syndrome easily: become in love with the hijacker.  Then, to survive, you need more problems. If an organization is defined by its ability, its proficiency even,  to deal with internal problems, suspect fatal attraction.

PS: Mny furtive love affairs end in tears. Just saying.