Pathways Can Feel Chaotic

Pathways Can Feel Chaotic

In times of chaos, pathways in the organization may also feel like a tangled, hot, forest with hidden traps, scary bugs and screeching beasts that we can hear in the distance, but cannot see.. The destination is somewhat vague and there are many dangers along the way. Here are some suggestions to try as you are leading others on during a time of chaos. 

Approach Each Situation as an Adventure 

In an adventure, our focus is on the immediate, we are put into the mode of discovery. There is a general understanding of the destination, but there are many hurdles, pitfalls, and other dangers to cross. Be attentive that each person in the group you are leading may have different tolerances for the unknown, or may not be as surefooted as they should be. There is always that one kid who steps in a wasp’s nest on the ground, or falls in to the only mud puddle for 10 miles! Discover what you know and where you want to go. Recognize that each person experiences his or her own adventure.

Map Out What You Know 

Some of this can be addressed in regular meetings: “Here is our challenge today. What do you think is our best approach?” Getting people to help plan the approach to the challenge of the day, will provide them the opportunity for a sense of control. “We will be implementing the next phase of the automation of our recruitment process.” Even though it is easy to think that this project belongs in the pathway of the HR department, it impacts managers, direct supervisors, and team members. Engaging the different groups will allow them to make their needs and fears known about this new automation. This may give the IT department more information about tweaks that will be needed, and the various employee groups will also learn more about their own processes.  

Set Short-Term Manageable Goals

As part of the discovery meeting, also make sure that each group goes back to their area with an assignment. It may be to explore and mind map how that recruitment process could impact the current projects in their area, or what opportunities there might be in identify criteria for new hires. 

Encourage Curiosity

A leader in this time of chaos could also pose the question: “What should we know about your area before implementing this software program?” Not engaging the people who are affected by automating processes and who will have to use the new software, could result in not knowing how the pathway actually looks for those who walk on it. “How will the automation affect the way we do the process right now?” A question like this will engage curiosity—even from the critic!  

Welcome Challenges to Assumptions

One way to mitigate the in-house critics is to make sure they voice their assumptions about the coming journey. If you have ever taken a group of scouts on their first overnight backpacking trip in the mountains, you will remember the strange assumptions that the kids expressed when given the opportunity. Employees can be big kids during times of change. This can be funny, or it can be serious. The 1991 comedy with Billy Cristal, City Slickers, illustrates how these assumptions work in a journey that is perceived as chaos! The assumptions can also reveal fears, needs, strengths, opportunities, and dangers that no one thought of. Changing processes in the organization can have unintended consequences that could be ferreted out through the assumptions of the critics! 

Try a Different Way

There is a sense of urgency, held by leaders, that deadlines can’t be changed, that any interruption in the implementation process could lead to cost over runs that might be unacceptable. A publishing company that was trying to implement a software program for all of its people, finance, and inventory operations, wanted to purchase an expensive, well known software program and have it work right away. They had a deadline. Unfortunately, the way that things were done in the organization, and the way that the software package was designed created a major conflict. The company had to hire a crew of programmers to work with each of the departments to understand their processes, and their needs, and then translate those to meet the constraints of the software program. That ended up taking another 18 months. Fortunately, change worked. The vision of the leaders needed to expand as they understood more clearly what that program could and could not do.  

Celebrate Milestones

In a hiking journey, the adventurers celebrate the milestones they have anticipated from the map. In the organization’s effort to manage chaotic times, milestones that show progress need to be celebrated, also. These milestones need to be mapped and posted in a prominent place.They need to be shared through the communication vehicles that are common within the organization. People need to know that their efforts in the journey are meaningful and that they are making progress.

Encourage Humor

Things will not always go as planned. People will make mistakes, activities may need to be redirected. All of this can be done in a light hearted way. If you are leading that group of scouts on a mountain hiking trip you would not scream at them, berate them, or shame them. You would not threaten to throw them over the cliff. Yet, in organizations, the presumed pressures are such that leaders might submerge their wisdom, and yield to the burden of deadlines; and end up abusing their people in order to get the project accomplished. Surely, you have seen this happen—and it adds to the chaos. It is better to change filters and see the pressures as though they were part of a Roadrunner cartoon! A little humor worked into the culture of the group will enable people to laugh at themselves and redirect their efforts.