During my experience consulting & coaching business leaders, I’ve found that the 10 most critical dysfunctions that hold an organization back are:
1. Senior Leadership Fails to Set the Example: They don’t emulate the behavior they expect of others.
2. Departmental Silos: Multiple territorial leaders selfishly defend their turf without consideration for the overall mission.
3. Lack of innovation: Problem-solving is valued over innovation & creativity, bogging the organization down with mediocrity.
4. Death by Meetings: Too many meetings that, in essence, are just “information sharing” time wasters.
5. Departmental Interference: The support functions of HR, Finance, Legal, & IT forget their roles as critical support functions and become roadblocks to progress.
6. Poor Feedback & Reward System: If one even exists, the feedback/reward system isn’t aligned with the purpose & values of the business. High performers aren’t recognized for their efforts.
7. Lack of Execution: There’s always a gap when organizations try to separate strategic planning with strategic execution. To be effective they need to be simultaneous; a “distinction without a difference”.
8. Bureaucracy & Churn: “Working the Plan” is valued over “Working the Objective”, leading to an organization that focuses on methods & process instead of intent & outcomes.
9. Perception Misalignment: The customer/public perception of the business is completely different than how the organization sees themselves.
10. No Real Understanding of Leadership: Leadership roles are assigned based on tenure and technical & tactical expertise instead of authentic leadership attributes.
Over the next few weeks, I will examine each of these dysfunctions deeper…revealing tactics that can help defeat these critical dysfunctions.
What are your thoughts? Can you think of any other examples in your business?