"What my boss doesn't know can't hurt me."
-
The Filter Builder's Motto
Everyone
has a comfort zone. There is a point at
which individuals become nervous and uncertain about the security of their
positions. This is only natural. Losing a job or a reduction in job status
impacts a lot more than someone's pride and ego. Throughout a person's professional career,
she has built a lifestyle that closely reflects her professional success. The house he lives in, the car she drives, the
neighborhood where the kids go to school, the golf or tennis crowd he hangs out
with, or the church she attends. As a
leader, you need to understand how much a person's life and lifestyle are tied
to his or her position in your organization.
A
person tends to become a filter builder over a long period of time with a
company, although it can also happen quickly under the right
circumstances. The filter builders know
that they can avoid rocking the organizational boat by making sure that the top
decision makers don't get upset hearing bad news or by problems they might find
disturbing. If you are a top decision
maker, you need to be careful this doesn't happen to you. Make sure that the information you should be receiving from the lower levels of your organization is not being filtered.
Everyone
has a bigger fish just one stop up the food chain. In management situations, everyone has a
smaller fish one stop in the other direction.
If true, accurate, and factual information is being filtered or, worse
yet, misrepresented, as it makes its way through the ranks, the top leaders are
likely to be left in the dark about what's truly going on with their internal
and external customers. How dangerous is this problem? There are some companies we used to hear a
lot about that are now gone. They were filtered to death.
To be an
effective leader you need real information, whether the news is good or
bad. You have the power to fix problems
and to help your people grow and develop.
You can't do either of those things if you're operating with limited
and/or inaccurate information. Filter
Builders are everywhere, protecting their backsides. Don't think your organization is immune. You must identify them and deal with
them. If not, you are putting yourself,
your organization, your customers, and all of your stakeholders at risk.
Here are some
things you can do to reduce filtered information:
·
Develop
a mobile management style of, "Management by Walking Around."
·
Ask
all levels of management and team members' questions, act on their ideas, and
let them know what you've done.
·
Let
everyone on all levels of management know in no uncertain terms that filtering
information will not be tolerated.
"Weed out filter builders"
