One of Peter Senge’s learning disabilities of organizations is the myth of the management committee. How many times have you said to yourself or others "Management should ……." We seem to have the perception that management’s role is to solve all the problems. I can tell you that what ever level you find yourself there is always some other group that represents management. However as Senge says that is just an excuse for not taking action. We are able to shift the burden for action to others. Truly the only person that you control is yourself and so a better question to ask is "What can I do to change things?" Initially you might think "I can do nothing", but I suspect with a little reflection we can improve the situation.
A convenient scapegoat is the Project Manager. I have never known a perfect project manager and I often think about how much better I could do the job. Then when I am the project manager I think if I only had better management support. Then when I am in management, I think if only the CEO or COO would give me more support or power. I think the CEO likely shifts the burden to government or securities commission or the board. As Pogo said, "We have identified the enemy, he is us." So wise but difficult to put into practice. I think we all have much more power than we think. I expect we are looking for an excuse not to take responsibility.
Can you think of a current situation where you are saying to yourself "If only somebody else would …" Don’t sit there, do something!
