13: Problem - Right Person, Wrong Role
(EN: This is one of four chapters that the author means to provide practical advice for a common problem via an extended case study. Her case studies throughout the rest of the book have seemed rather melodramatic and contrived, so I will likely preserve some of the key points while leaving out much of the detail.)
In many instances, a chaos culture has people doing the wrong things. It may be that a role does not play to their strengths - and they have been placed in it because of the gross misconception that they will develop strengths if they are thrown into a crisis they are incapable of handling.
A common symptom of "chaos culture" is that people are mismatched for their roles, or have very poor definition of the roles they are supposed to be playing. There are also instances where the wrong player is put on a team - a person responsible for long-term strategy should be nowhere near a team that is dealing with an immediate crisis. (EN: Though he may need to be informed if the crisis impacts his area, he should not be on that team or invited to the meetings.)
Some of the ways people end up in the wrong roles are listed:
- Corporate reorganization can lead to a widespread problem with people being put in the wrong roles because insufficient consideration was given to whether they were right for the new roles. It is assumed that a "good" person can be dropped into any role and they will continue to prosper - without direction, preparation, training, or even clear communication.
- Promotion can also cause such a crisis - a person is promoted due to their high level of performance and into a role where they don't have the skills to succeed. Again, there is no clear direction, preparation, or training for their new role and the assumption that they can be good at anything.
- It's briefly mentioned that good people are put into mismatch roles because the company has good intentions - to keep them aboard after a reorg or the end of a project, they get "stuck" in some role so that they remain in the company's stable for when they are needed again in future.
- Nepotism and cronyism are also causes severe mismatches - a person who is a close friend of family member of a ranking executive is "untouchable" and will be given a position for which they are unqualified. If they are a sinecure, it's merely a waste, but if they try to do something productive to justify their presence, it can be far worse.
There is a very difficult problem with approaching such problems, because simply sacking the employee undermines the feeling of safety others have in their own employment. There is great sympathy for a person who was great at their job, was shifted into another position, and then fired - everyone knows they are a scapegoat for a bad manager. And even when it is clear there is a mismatch, everyone is socially connected to others in a company and there is always someone who is sympathetic to their cause.
She concedes that there are "wrong people" in an organization - those who do not support the goals of the organization or do not adhere to the standards of conduct. This should never be your initial conclusion, and use the standard of "innocent until proven guilty" when you suspect you have a wrong person rather than a right person in the wrong role.
Case Study in Chaos Culture
She tells a story about a partnership formed by a couple that had dismal performance and an employee turnover rate of over 53% annually. They had a common problem: they provided excellent training for new employees, and many left for other companies within their first year, taking that valuable training out the door with them.
(EN: The story is, as usual, contrived and idiosyncratic, and much of it has to do with the organization rather than individuals in the wrong role, so it's particularly bad. A few loose notes are below.)
- Certain personality types set up a perfect storm. An "idea man" who never follows through with his plans and a saboteur who regularly undermines new ideas are a deadly combination that makes sure nothing ever gets done.
- Be sure to look at tools, procedures, and processes - sometimes a right person in the right role is hamstrung from doing the job he is perfectly capable of doing.
- Misfit employees will often leave on their own, which tempts managers to wait for this to happen. Until they leave, they will do damage - which must be stopped or at least mitigated.
- A company that hopes to get the skills it needs by hiring new employees rather than properly placing, training, and developing the ones it has is at the mercy of competitors to have worse workplaces than themselves.
- Employee retention is a barometer for how well the firm is placing and developing employees. Competitive compensation can be a culprit if it is grossly under market - but if the difference is marginal, or even in your favor, turnover is because of something else.
- Money alone will not keep people in their places. People want to do productive and meaningful work, and will take a pay cut to get out of a bad situation.