The most destructive thing you can do in an organization is to try to add too much value.
Here’s a scene I’ve seen play out over and over again with predictable results.
Jane is tasked with solving a problem. The board of directors asks her to go do the work, prepare a briefing note on the solution (which she’ll be in charge of implementing), and follow up with the board next week so things can move quickly.
Jane is already overworked, but this is a problem she flagged for attention. She asks her husband to leave work early and get the kids so she can work later than usual. She gets up earlier. She manages to do all of her normal work and address the board’s request. She prepares a detailed 20-page memo outlining the problem, proposed solutions, and her recommendations.
At the meeting it’s clear to her that the board members only read the two-page summary and lack the details she painstakingly provided. Worse, she’s repeatedly answering “did you think of this?” questions, which are answered in the document.
What Jane doesn’t realize is that everyone in the room wants to add value to her work. They have their own egos and they need to justify their existence (to themselves). The problem is that they add too much value.
They make some suggestions about new directions that they want Jane to implement in her project. While these suggestions make the project marginally better, they will almost certainly ensure a worse result.
Here’s why.
Let’s say Jane’s solution is 90% of the way there, and with the board’s changes it’s 100%. When Jane walked in the room, she owned the ideas. She had skin in the game. She did the work. She was ready to bleed to see this project done. She was 100% motivated to deliver on her ideas. When the board got involved, all of the sudden it didn’t seem like it was her idea anymore. Now it was someone else’s idea. Her motivation went from 100% to 75% or lower.
Simple math will show us what’s happened.
Expected Outcome of the Project = Motivation of Leader * Probability of Solving Problem Entirely
Scenario One: 1.00 * .90 = 90
Scenario Two .75 * 1.0 = .75
Which outcome do you think is better?
Here’s what I used to do when I managed a lot of people. First, recognize how driven the person is. Second, keep my mouth shut despite any obvious flaws in the plan that I might feel the need to talk about. Third, identify the point in the project that will happen right before the first flaw I see would have an effect. Fourth, tell Jane to get started on her ideas, but ask for a check-in right before that first major fork.
Nine times out of ten, Jane figured out what she was missing — I didn't have to say anything. And because she figured it out, she learned something. The other 10% of the time, we had a conversation that was way less stressful than the one in the boardroom would have been, and we moved everyone forward.
This is one of the best secrets to attracting, developing, and retaining talent that no one ever talks about.
Considerations:
- Where are you likely to try to add too much value?
- How do you feel when other people “add too much value” to your work?
- Are there credible alternatives to letting people run with their ideas up to a point and then having them check back in?
Cheers,
Shane
