Plowing Through Bureaucracy: 12 Actions to Improve Workflow

“So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.” – Peter Drucker

Delta Force is a highly selective, elite, and very secretive unit of the U.S. military. It has been called upon for a variety of special operations including anti-terrorism and hostage situations involving U.S. citizens. Yet, it took 14 years from the time Delta Force’s creator Charlie Beckwith started advocating for it until it was approved and funded! That’s what bureaucracy does – it takes good ideas that should be implemented quickly and covers them in a thick coat of heavy mud. In other words, bureaucracy is where timeliness and good ideas go to die.

Bureaucracy is focused on standardization and clear lines of authority that often emerge and expand as organizations become larger. You will notice that you never hear the word used in a positive way like, “You have awesome bureaucracy,” or, “I really appreciate how long it takes for a decision to be made here.” In a Harvard Business Review article, authors Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini share the results of their research on bureaucracy called the Bureaucracy Mass Index (BMI). They found that companies with over 5,000 employees had a much higher BMI while those that worked in organizations with under 100 employees had the lowest BMI. In addition, those surveyed reported spending approximately 28% of their time on “bureaucratic chores” such as reports, meetings, getting signoffs, and complying with internal requests. Two-thirds of those surveyed said that bureaucracy is a “significant drag” on decision-making in their organization. And 54% of lower-level employees saw bureaucracy to be a problem in the organization compared to only 23% of senior leaders. Those who create the bureaucracy are the least likely to see it or appreciate its negative impact. Some of the organizations that come to mind when thinking of bureaucracy include government, health care, airlines, and those with a large infrastructure.

However, bureaucracy seldom emerges from bad intentions. In my experience, bureaucracy emerges naturally over time and is more prevalent when fear of liability is elevated. Interestingly, plenty of leaders complain about the illogical policies and procedures they experience in other organizations but seldom consider the fact that others may experience the same frustration in their organization! Quite often, those who create bureaucracy believe they are doing good by creating standards, rules, and decision-making boundaries. But the unintended outcomes can be much worse than the problems they were trying to solve including excessive and mind-numbing complexity, irritated customers, wasted resources, and loss of talented team members. Consider this quote from Peter Drucker: “So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.” A leader's job is to plow through bureaucracy, yet management is sometimes the one making it difficult for people to work and for customers to be satisfied.

After 14 years of Charlie Beckwith advocating, submitting reports, and pushing the idea with those above him, Delta Force only took off because one senior-level leader said, “Do it.” This leader had the courage and authority to plow through the clutter, noise, political maneuvering, and excuses to make it happen. If you are a leader who is serious about relaxing or eliminating the cords of organizational malaise in your organization, here are 12 ways you can start plowing through bureaucracy.

1. Ask yourself and the employees in your organization, “Who is our customer and how are we looking out for them?”

2. Determine how long it takes to get approval for a new idea or to make a decision in your organization.

3. Ask yourself, “As the leader, am I more like snow that slows movement down or more like a plow that opens up creativity and decision-making?”

4. Ask your staff and customers, “What processes and policies do we presently have that hinder staff from solving problems and customers from quickly being helped?”

5. Do some excavation to find out the reason why a particular rule, policy, or procedure was instituted in the first place.

6. Consider what is essential and what is not. Ask yourself often, “Is this rule, policy, or procedure really in the best interest of the customer?”

7. Consider doing a culture survey of your organization that would allow team members to safely and anonymously give feedback on the work environment.

8. Discuss and answer this question with your team, “Who is benefiting from the bureaucratic complexity in our organization?”

9. Discover who the people are in your organization who consistently slow decisions and action down by asking an excessive number of questions, requesting an unnecessary amount of data, and wanting everything to be aligned perfectly before granting approval or showing support.

10. Grow empowerment by first asking: “How empowered are my team members to make decisions and resolve customer problems? How empowered do they feel?”

11. Consider what would happen if bureaucracy was measurably reduced in your organization.

12. Identify specific first steps for reducing the overbearing and unnecessary bureaucracy in your organization and do it.

If you need assistance plowing through the bureaucracy in your organization, our experienced consultants are here to help. Contact us.

Jay Desko is the President & CEO of The Center Consulting Group and brings experience in the areas of organizational assessment, leadership coaching, decision-making, and strategic questioning. Jay’s degrees include an M.Ed. in Instructional Systems Design from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Leadership from The Union Institute.