In our last post, we talked about the big changes that are shutting down the early warning system that enterprises assume and expect to warn them of major disruptions. This post details more subtle, yet still damaging blockages to the flow of information.
While the current focus on productivity is laudable, it results in intensely driven operations and customer-facing staff. A workforce that is incented and measured to get things done has less time to address unplanned situations. In short, “resilience” is forgone to deal with immediate change. The responses to disruptions are likely to be reactive. It’s understandable that a customer-facing staff driven by metrics and deliverables does not prioritize dealing with or reporting on the unknown or unusual.
Work from home (and related process changes) and the general globalization of enterprises hinder the flow of information up to senior management. Early warnings and thoughts on countermeasures are slowed down by changes in work styles (fewer informal exchanges in remote work) and communications styles (working across timezones and geographies). Few middle managers want to put warnings of disruptions into an email or out in an open meeting. Remote work has diminished the value of the time-tested techniques like “walking around” that cut thru hierarchies.
The ramping up of productivity and metrics-based performance supervision, as well as the physical and geographic scattering of much of the workforce, combine to lower the feedback that senior management has depended on. Our next post deals with the agents of change that Senior Managers have relied on to provide valuable feedback and direction.
If you’d like to read the first post in our series you can find it at www.ekalore.com/ars
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