To paraphrase philosopher and logician Kurt Gödel, you can’t be in a system while at the same time understanding the system you’re in. In other words, you need to raise your head from time to time and see the system for what it is, whether it’s good or bad. We are normally so buried in the day-to-day scramble that we never take the time to do this. Yet, you’ll see something new every time you do.
When we’re in the thick of the woods, it’s hard to see the forest for the trees, so regularly elevating above our business for an evaluative look is vital if we want to continue performing well as a team. That said, getting our leaders and managers out of the business for 90 minutes each week and 1 day each quarter doesn’t guarantee we will see ourselves clearly. There are two other important principles to consider:
Great teams maintain their “edge” by regularly pausing to take those elevated views of their business, humbly subjecting their thoughts and actions to beneficial challenges – questions and thoughts that keep their system, their way of operating, as simple and effective as possible. Here are three simple things any team can do to foster those beneficial challenges:
Whatever you do, the objective is NOT to add more complexity. It’s the exact opposite – to continually keep your system as simple and effective as possible.