Are you an agent of calcification?
On the Gaping Void blog last week, Hugh Macleod mentioned an interesting term: “agents of calcification.” Macleod defines such agents as “the folks in a big company … whose role isn't to invent, make, or sell stuff, but to maintain and enhance the apparatus of bureaucracy, even at the expense of the business itself.”
I would say that such calcifiers aren’t unique to big companies. It’s possible that all organizations have calcifying tendencies—and specific individuals may be active agents of calcification or just enablers of an ongoing organizational hardening of the arteries.
If calcifying tendencies get out of hand, the symptoms can do real damage to an organization and its ability to fulfill its mission. Unneeded bureaucratic procedures take time from employees who could otherwise be providing your members with great customer service or dreaming up new ideas. Not to mention that, while some bureaucratic paperwork is understandable and necessary, past a certain point it can drain individual employees of energy and enthusiasm.
Here’s a little quiz to determine if you or your association needs to go on a bureaucracy diet:
1. Do you find yourself saying any of the following things on a regular basis?
- “That’s a great idea, but we tried that x years ago and it didn’t work.”
- “That’s a great idea, but it would never work here.”
- “That’s a great idea, but we don’t have the resources to pursue it.”
2. Do you spend more time reporting to others about a problem than you spend thinking of creative solutions to the problem?
3. Do you ever find yourself filling out more than three forms that are all related to the same, single task?
4. Do you spend more time filling out forms and writing up informational reports for a board meeting than you do preparing for strategic discussions?
5. Do you spend more time filling out paperwork during the budget process than you spend thinking of improvements to your area of responsibility that could take place in the next budget year?
If you’re answering yes to several of these questions—is it time to consider some changes?
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Comments
Wonderful questions. As a person who has worked in associations, and who currently volunteers as a member in associations, this tendency to "calcify" creeps up unexpectedly. I've noticed it in myself and in some of my friends. Last week I began thinking I'd turned into an old fogey. (On the whole, I don't think so, at least not yet.)
I think part of it has to do with being overwhelmed with information, with responsibilities, with a longing to do meaningful things and yet feeling obligated to get the "shoulds" off your to-do list.
The questions you pose serve as a good reminder to step back and freshen up. Thanks for the prompt.
Posted by: Joanne Lozar Glenn | September 25, 2007 7:46 AM