A critical responsibility for leaders is removing obstacles from their team’s path. Sometimes there are obstacles, whether it’s people, processes, or tools that make everyone’s work lives more difficult than ought to be. The question is whether it’s worth trying to fight the system and do anything about it. Put another way, is this the hill worth dying on?
Timing Is Everything
When work is painful, bogged down by antiquated processes, office politics, or just plain inertia, it can be demotivating for everyone involved. Effective leaders aim to remove barriers for their employees, advocating for them to drive change and continuous improvement. But, is it worth it to do so? Sometimes, timing is what matters most. Maybe it’s not the right time to pull your cross-functional peers together to address some broken process. There could be other factors at play. Perhaps other items are of higher value and need to be prioritized first. To know whether now is the time to push forward with an item on behalf of your team, ask them whether this is the hill worth dying on? If they can only achieve one thing, this year, month, etc., should this be one you fight for? Doing so will help you and the team prioritize your efforts.
Social Capital
Deciding to dig in and fight for change cross-functionally can be challenging. Every leader only has so much social capital to influence others. As I have noted earlier, trust is like going to the bank. The more deposits you put in, the more interest (social capital) you build up with others. When withdrawals are made, it’s sometimes harder to get back enough funds quick enough when you want to make another purchase. Choose your spots carefully to determine if you wish to use up your social capital on this one item. If you do, that’s fine, but be mindful of the opportunity costs the next time around. You won’t always be able to get what you want from others.
Sometimes It’s Not Worth It
Inevitably, there are going to be situations where it’s not worth the effort to fight for something. You’ll need to explain your decision to your team, so they know that you evaluated the options and took a different path. Perhaps, it might be something worth tackling down the road, but not today for a variety of reasons. Keep your team in the loop with your efforts to remove obstacles while you attempt to overcome walls and pockets of resistance, though.
Last Thought
When you must decide that there is an issue worth dying for, and you want to dig in cross-functionally, ensure you have buy-in from whoever your leader is too. You might need their support and insights when you turn up the heat with trying to resolve whatever the issue is. The last thing a senior leader wants is to be blindsided. Please do yourself a favor and be proactive in involving them in your approach. They might be able to give you advice on how to take a more diplomatic and less aggressive approach, saving you time, effort, and frustration. For more on how to overcome walls and silos, check out this blog post for more.
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