I’m sorry to bother you. Like most bureaucrats, I know how busy you are. I see you running around, and I hear about all the committee meetings, studies, and the late nights that you spend in the office. But the real question is, “Are you getting anything done?” If you’re a bureaucrat who measures progress by being busy or shuffling paperwork, you’re probably doing well. But if the real measure of success is getting stuff done, you’re falling short!
The fact is, bloated bureaucracies crush aspirations, suppress ingenuity, and grind responsiveness to a crawl. In these organizations, policy changes are made to satisfy employee convenience rather than the needs of the customer; the “show” becomes more important than the substance; rewards are earned through favoritism rather than results; and solutions are chosen for political expediency rather than for their merit. The result is that politics — who gains power, who gets the credit or the blame — overshadows everything. This is an organization in decline –– losing touch with reality.
As a bureaucrat, you may be thinking, “I’m doing my best. It’s tough working in a bureaucracy. Every idea has to run the gauntlet to move forward. Besides, we’ve gotten beaten up so much it’s hard to care anymore.”
The bottom line is that I, like so many others, have had it with the excuses. Whether you’re a business, a not-for-profit, or a government institution, bureaucracies were created to increase efficiency. But instead, in most cases, bureaucracies cause people to thirst for power, value personal ambition over team gain, and put paperwork before people.
If bureaucracies no longer serve a positive function, shrink them! The fact is, real issues are not being addressed and real people are getting hurt. Every day that you measure success by how busy you are rather than by the results you achieve, you’re letting your constituents down — you’re ignoring the market, adding unnecessary costs, letting ideas collect dust on the shelf — and the result is that it takes forever, and I mean forever, to get anything done.
If you’re a bureaucrat — whether in business, public service, or elected office — take a moment to think about your responsibility to your constituents. More importantly, do something about it. You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution. If you don’t care, maybe you should. You collect a paycheck to get something done, not to be a placeholder. If you can’t, or should I say won’t, do your job, give someone else a chance.
Follow your conscience. Sleep well.
Is Your Organization Run By Bureaucrats?
Please leave a comment and tell us what you think or share it with someone who can benefit from the information.
Additional Reading:
5 Qualities of Great Leaders
Counterfeit Leadership
Exceptional Performance: Is Too Good Ever Bad?
Thanks for a Job Well Done
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Well said, Frank. Thank you!
Thank YOU Megan 🙂
As a former public school teacher I know ALL about bureaucracy. It exists to perpetuate itself. Now as the President of a fast growing translation firm valued at over 1.5M with 8 employees, I have the joy of running a firm with next to zero bureaucracy.
If we want to make a change, we make it. Immediately. In the 21st century the ability to turn on a dime is not just needed to survive but needed to thrive.
When I think of why bureaucratic machines came into being I cannot help but think of medieval times in europe. There were so many illiterate people that the crown could just write up any old rule or law on a sheet of parchment and tack it to the wall, say that God made the rule up, and all you poor farmers better shut up and get in line and do what we say…. while we reap the revenue from our terrible sharecropping contracts.
An organization in the 21st century that is mired in its own burocracy is just lazy.
We have people who created super drugs and cyberwar software and stealth bombers and self driving cars but those same geniuses cant figure out how to make organizations run more fluidly…?
Surely ye jest.
My view is that the burocracies don’t change because old men with worn out ideas and lots and lots of control and anger issues are still in charge.
Most bosses Ive had before becoming the no. 1 guy in a successful firm were micromanagers. They were cowards who covered their own asses at every turn.
The secret to REAL 21st century leadership is to set your people free.
On my team of 8, we have a total of 3 phds, 6 masters degrees, and 8 bachelor’s degrees. We work in 3 languages across 23 countries. We are small but we are FIERCE. do not mess with us! Im kidding… we’re all really nice people…. haha.
But my point is that people that brilliant shouldn’t be contained. It doesn’t make any sense! I was in the workforce for 15 years before I wised up and realized that my baby boomer task masters were never gonna change… never gonna release their grip on our throats.
I suspect that in the broadest terms possible there has never been an American generation to so revile its own children besides the boomers. Every fiscal labor and social policy they created was about caging them in… controlling them…. manipulating them…taking money out of their pockets….
And burocracy has EVERYTHING to do with the boomers end of life money grab succeeding.
Cats out of the bag…
So what do we do in our time?
We make our own rules.
We erase the BS from the past that we know is BS. We don’t need permission approval or hours of research to go ahead with implementing the ideas that we, the children of the late 70s 80s and 90s want to see.
Its our time.
Rip the walls down… and rebuild the city in your own image.
Peace.
It sounds like your organization is really humming. Good for you!
It may sound simplistic, but any organization has the potential to achieve great things IF they have the will and the desire to make necessary changes to move forward. The problem is that power, greed and egos often get in the way.
The bottom line (and you said it well…) ”The secret to REAL 21st century leadership is to set your people free.” The truth is, great leaders hire outstanding people, train them well, inspire them, and then get out of their way.
Thanks for your thoughts, and for advancing the conversation.
Best,
Frank
Bravo!
Thanks Al I’m glad you like it.
Bureaucracy and red tape have always been near and dear to my heart. (Ugh!)
Thanks fir taking the time to write.
Best,
Frank
Best ever, Frank. Stay on this theme…the political parties, NEA and the education establishment, the socialization of medicine by insurance companies and sleazy lawyers. All bureaucracy driven and killing our country. Don’t hold back.
Thanks Michael. I’m glad you like it.
The truth is that red tape and bureaucracy are detrimental because they hinder efficiency and productivity in both public and private sectors. Excessive paperwork and burdensome procedures slow down decision-making processes, stifle innovation, and waste valuable time and resources. Moreover, excessive regulations create frustration among individuals and businesses, leading to delays, wasted resources, and an overall negative impact on society.
Thanks for taking the time to write.
Best,
Frank