We appear to be blind with regard to the effectiveness and implications of our current work behaviors. We have accepted current behavior patterns as “normal” and expected. This despite tons of documented evidence of the breakdowns, inefficiencies, and waste that is immediately evident to anyone who chooses to look.
One example: the act of “assigning” a task actually tends to preserve a one-up, one-down notion of the relationship between work mates. Do we really not see that this is nothing more than one of the flavors of a command and control mentality? Simply identifying a task, putting a person’s name and due date beside it does not come close to really getting a commitment or any real certainty of the outcome. The smallest element of work is not a task; it’s a conversation. And only in an adult peer-to-peer conversation can commitments be negotiated and agreed to. Agreements reflect authentic accountability; assignments do not.