Breaking the Fear Barrier

Thisbooktakesthereaderthroughajourneyofhowfearoflossprogressivelycreatesbarriersandbureaucracythatinevitablycausecompaniestofail,andwhatleadersneedstodotoovercometheseseeminglyimpenetrablewalls.Thegreatestthreattoanorganisation'ssuccessisnotalwaysthecompetition.Often,itiswhatacompanydoestoitself.Becauseoffear,companiesbecomeplaguedwithbarriersandbureaucracythatlimitsuccess,crushemployees,andinfusefrustrationandasenseoffutilityacrosstheenterprise.Itstartswithanarrowingoffocus,whichleadstothefirstlevelofbureaucracy:parochialism.Parochialismexistswhenmanagersanddepartmentsbegintoviewtheworldthroughthefilteroftheirownlittlesilo,andbuildwallsmakeofrulesandpoliciestoprotecttheirturf.Asbusinessesgrowandbecomemorecomplex,thesecondlevelofbureaucracyisreached:territorialism.Whileparochialismisaboutprotectingadepartmentfromoutsiders,territorialismisaboutcontrollingthoseinsidethesilo.Thethirdandfinallevelofbureaucracyisempirebuilding,whichisaresponsetoperceivedthreatstoadepartment'sabilitytobeself-sufficient.Thesebarrierscostorganizationsafortuneininefficiency,turnover,waste,anddemoralization.Tearingdownthesebarriersisdifficult,butitcanbedone.Parochialismcanbeeliminatedbyresettingrulesandpolicies,andrefocusingontheultimatemissionoftheorganization.Territorialismcanbeeliminatedbycreatingtrueempowerment,alongwithappropriatelevelsofaccountability.Empirebuildingcanbeaddressedthroughsharedgoalsandasetofguidingprinciplestohelpactasarefereeindecisionmaking.Butthat'snotenough.Managersmustalsocreateacultureofcourage,toenableemployeestotakeadvantageofthesenewfreedomsandaccountabilities.Couragekillersmustberootedout,anddealtwithswiftlyandstrongly.Finally,leadershipmustrefocusonmissionsuccessratherthanjustcheckingofftheirpartoftheprocess,managereferencepoints,andengageemployees.Bydoingallofthesethings,anorganizationcanbecomefearless,andunstoppable.