I don’t believe anyone considers our government is the proper model to structure our organizations after. But there are valuable lessons in the failures of our government and the continued political grandstanding that rips the branches of our government to shreds. I’m currently awaiting news to see if I’ll be paid, but with the help of some DoD leaders and other great organizations like USAA, we will be taking care of. To say we need change is grossly understated. But, I digress, here are some lesson you can watch out for in your organization.
Allegiances to Subordinate Teams
A massive problem with our government is the loyalty to their party and not to the good of the most significant and more important team. In this case, the house and senate are loyal to their political party and are looking to push their agenda even at the cost of the people. This is made clear by the 95% vote of “yea” by Republicans and a 5% vote of “yea” by Democrats for a recent proposal to keep the government open. Clearly, the allegiances are to their party…
Each department or section in the organization can’t only be concerned for their own success. Different departments will naturally lobby for what they need, and all organizations have a finite level of resources, but each department should know and be aware of the needs of the others. They should be equally concerned about their success. When the marketing department dominates resources and prevents the HR department from having all the tools they need to be successful, the organization will fail. What do you need great marketing for if you have a failing HR department?
No Direction
Our legislative branch of the government has no direction. Each major and minor political party have fractured the legislative branch to the point that I’m shocked they can get anything done. The problem with this divisive organization is they lack a unified and overall direction.
A successful organization brings each department together to create synergy. They are not just the sum of the parts; they are more than that. The prevailing direction brings the departments together, they are no longer selfish but work out problems together. Manager’s ambitions do not outweigh their appetite for reasonable, calculated risk.
Competing Priorities
This is probably the most significant reason for the failures of our government. They have competing priorities. The Democrats are looking to push the Democrat’s agenda, and the Republicans will push their agenda. These agendas come at the cost of the legislative branch as a whole. Don’t get me wrong; there needs to be debate, their needs to be conflict, negotiation, and compromise. But this is not it. Their priorities are to their party, not to the country or its people.
In your organization, you must ensure the organizational priorities are aligned. Each department should work with the others to make the team prosper. There must be a willingness to sacrifice your department to ensure another department is successful.
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