“What we see depends mainly on what we look for.”
~ John Lubbock
The other day, a colleague shared the following with me. It was fascinating.
It is the “Simple Sabotage Field Manual,” the now de-classified guide that the OSS (the precursor to today’s CIA) used to disrupt enemy operations through domestic sabotage during World War 2.
It was meant to empower ordinary citizens to defy their own Axis governments.
Honestly, the advice is riveting.
The actual suggestions include ways to start small fires, damage water systems, generate defective manufacturing, and a host of other harms.
But the section that REALLY caught my eye was the list of suggestions to dismantle organizational effectiveness. Please allow me to copy/paste some of the real recommendations:
- Insist on doing everything through “channels.” Never permit short-cuts to be taken to expedite decisions.
- Make “speeches.” Talk as frequently at great length as possible.
- When possible, refer all matters to committees, for “further study and consideration.” Attempt to make committees as large as possible – never less than five (people).
- Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, resolutions.
The advice for those in management positions was even more interesting.
- “Misunderstand” orders. Ask endless questions or engage in long correspondence about such orders. Quibble over them when you can.
- When training new workers, give incomplete or misleading information.
- Hold conferences when there is more critical work to be done.
- To lower morale and with it, production, be pleasant to inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions.
I could go on and on, but you get the point. And I put the link to the pdf in the “Here’s what I have been consuming…” section at the end of this article.
Do you see what I see? Go back and reread the excerpts.
Is there sabotage at your workplace?
How many of these ideas are common at your current workplace?
More importantly, how many of these behaviors are accepted?
Now, before we go further, I am not advocating that the workplace become some draconian environment where the weak are shunned and only the powerful thrive. Times have changed since World War 2.
At the same time, I can mentally scroll through multiple cases of this kind of dysfunction in a wide variety of organizations.
And so can you.
You can literally see the waste that it generates in your workflows. You can picture real-world examples of decay in your own business – even as the most current internal report says that you are “not meeting the target” as a company.
So, let me ask the question again – in a different way. Do you see it? More specifically, do you see the sabotage?
Because that’s what it is. Disrupted operations that are meant to inflict damage.
And the worst part of it all? The sabotage is self-inflicted.
We do it to ourselves.
Who is the REAL saboteur?
- We over-commit to processes.
- We encourage unnecessary committees.
- We avoid responsibility.
- We promote inefficient work habits and norms.
And why?
I can rattle off a host of reasons, but I truly believe the biggest root cause issue is that we don’t have a different way to do it. We lack clarity on how to work smarter.
As a result, we simply shrug and agree to work harder.
And it’s burning us out.
We go home at the end of the day EXHAUSTED.
We struggle to sleep through an entire night as our brains stay in OVER-THINKING mode.
We day-dream about working SOMEWHERE ELSE.
We literally get STRESSED as our weekends start to wind down because we know on Monday…
I talk with a variety of people every week – and it’s always the same. It doesn’t matter if I talk with frontline players or senior executives. It doesn’t matter if I talk with the tech industry, healthcare, media industry, manufacturing… people are SO tired.
Which is why I write this newsletter.
I SEE YOU.
I understand what you are going through. And with every fiber in my being I believe this: It does NOT have to be this way.
There is a different way to work. And FAR TOO FEW know how to do it.
And by “it”, I am basically referring to two core issues.
Core Issue #1
First, we have to change the way we define “strategic execution.” I just finished a fantastic week of working with almost 150 leaders. When I asked them this question, there were less than 10 people (in FIVE DAYS) who could raise their hand when I asked:
“How many of you were formally trained in how to execute strategy?”
Folks, if you are reading this and muttering to yourself, “Dang. That includes me…” Be kind to yourself. That is the NORMAL response.
The reality is that most of us were never taught how to execute strategy. We learned strategic execution through trial and error. And blunt force trauma.
And then we were pushed into project management mode with “strategic plans.”
Pardon me, but what a colossal shame.
Because no plan will be enough to actually guide real-time decision-making. Or to put it succinctly, plans become the breeding ground of sabotage (go back to the earlier examples and tell me otherwise).
However, that is only one of the core issues.
Core Issue #2
The tougher challenge is this: We don’t have mastery over what is happening in our heads and our hearts.
Instead of getting neutral as stress heats up, we go into survival mode.
Instead of forging clarity and driving empowerment, we tighten our grips and take control. Of everything.
Instead of being great leaders of a team of super-stars, we show the world how WE can be super-star hyper-performers… and weak leaders.
If a planning mindset breeds sabotage, weak leadership fans the flames of sabotage until everything is burning.
It’s a major blind spot throughout all management levels.
But executive leaders – you have this the worst.
Not only do you struggle with the demon of constantly ensuring that you have control (which is a myth – all you can truly do is influence), you mold your developing talent with phrases like “control the controllables” and “focus on what you can control.” Ultimately, you promote control freaks into leadership roles because you trust them.
That is like soaking the ground with gasoline. You may have learned the discipline to not flick matches around, but I guarantee someone on your management team has not.
Again. It doesn’t have to be this way.
I promise to keep digging into these topics with the best practices that I use with my clients. In that way, you could call this newsletter a form of free consulting. Please enjoy it and share it with others.
With that said, if this note has touched a nerve, if it’s caused you to slow down, I want you to watch this video. It’s a wonderful interview I gave earlier this year and it provides much more insight than this article provides.
Further, I think it just makes sense that we should talk. Or at the very least, introduce me to the person you think I should talk with. Because I literally stepped out of my own corporate machine so that I could help other people get THEIR machines working again.
In closing, let me leave you with this…
Blind spots are inevitable – but staying blind to them is a choice. The next time you look in the mirror, don’t just see the leader you are today. See the one you’re committed to becoming.
Holomua. Onward and upward.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-being-sabotaged-tim-ohai-z4wsc/
An extra thought:
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
~ Aristotle
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