Ready, Aim Fire! Part 2

It's been a rough week. My younger son and wife have been expelled from the local Cub Scout Pack. My older son is still in the Pack, but it was made very clear he is only tentatively welcome. In response my wife and I are transitioning him to the pack affiliated with the Boy Scout Troop sponsored by our church.

In the general scheme of things, this is a minor bump on the road for my family. We have a place to go. We have anther community to turn to. I don't things are going well for the community we are leaving.

Being on the Other Side

People make mistakes. Several years ago I was a young Scouter. I got in a battle of wills with a Scout. I blew my stack. I pulled rank. I was wrong. Fortunately, the sponsoring organization quietly moved me out of the position. I didn't lose face and the Scout stayed with Scouting and earned his Eagle. In an ideal situation, something like this scenario would play out with the Cub Pack we are being asked to leave.

When Leaders Fail

In a corporate environment it is very difficult to change levels. In my experience there is a perception the only motion is up. Leaders move through progressively challenging responsibilities until they retire or get caught by the Peter principle. This means failure is not an option. There is no possibility to learn. There is no graceful face saving way to move to a different assignment. There is little possibility to come back with knowledge and use past failures as the basis of maturity and success. In such and environment, leaders who fail to execute plans are in turn executed. This may be why Vice Presidents seem to have an 18 month half life. In any 18 month period half of the VP's will either move to a higher status assignment, or be fired for failing to successful complete a financial goal.

Solutions?

Here is a modest proposal for transforming our organizations:

1. Lose the hierarchy - I'm a big fan of the "inverted triangle" concept. Instead of looking at organizations as a pyramid with the most important person on the top, think of it as an inverted triangle with the leader serving the greater community. 
2. Think in terms of assignments and projects instead of positions and jobs. People like to be the boss. When they are the boss they feel privileged and the power can go to their heads. One way to combat this attitude is to make assignments. Unlike positions, assignments are temporary. There is an implication there will be change. There is the idea that you might be asked to take an assignment where you are needed, not necessarily in the position that looks the best on the resume. 
3. Reward people for what they accomplish not the impressiveness of their title. This may result in some professionals being paid more than their boss. It may result in rewards that don't appear as part of an employees compensation package.