You Are Not In Charge: Deal with it!

By Geoff Bellman

Let's begin with a different, and hopefully useful, perspective on our lives in
organizations: We are not in charge. We have never been in charge and we never will
be. And those people who think they are in charge? They are not in charge
either! Though we support them in the illusion that they are.

Whether it is a corporation or a public agency organizations are just too big, too complicated, and
(most of all) too full of people for any one person to be fully charge of them. Tons of vehicles,
computers, desks, tea pots, buildings, plants, policies, procedures, and people are loosely linked
together to serve the marketplace. Centuries ago, when piles of this stuff became especially
confusing, someone craving order or control or efficiency came to the seemingly logical
conclusion that "Somebody ought to be in charge of all this!" The world’s first self-appointed
manager went to work on creating order of the chaos, eventually resulting in assistants and their
assistants and hierarchy was created…and authority was distributed…and roles were sorted…
and weekly meetings were established…and pyramids took shape…and executive furniture was
designed…and on…and on…and on, resulting in today.

Each little organization, which at its formation made wonderful sense in the minds of its creators,
seems inclined to stretch and grow and shape itself to the worlds it served. What were once
reasonable, sensible organization purposes get systematized and silo-ed and begin to run afoul
of individual purposes and customer needs and local politicians and government agencies.
Those at the top of the organization pyramid discover that too many of the people working for
them are either unaware of what they are supposed to be doing—or they are dedicated to doing
something entirely different--or both! Managers "in charge" discover they are not—though they
are still expected to be by the people above and below them. Their own internal voices (learned
in childhood) keep repeating, "But YOU are supposed to be in charge!" So management by
objectives was invented--to preserve the illusion (at least on paper) that somewhere there is
someone who knows what we are all doing together! And there you have it: Another crop of
managers in an impossible positions, blamed by others, blaming themselves, for not being in
charge.

This short description is a caricature of how I see this "in charge" mentality playing out at work. It
usually does not work and we need alternatives to it, alternatives which help all of us get things
done when we are not in charge.

A first alternation is one of perspective, a perspective more valuable than any additional skill.
Read the first paragraph of this article again:

“Let's begin with a different and hopefully useful perspective on our lives in organizations: We are
not in charge. We have never been in charge and we never will be. And those people who think
they are in charge? They are not in charge either--though we support them in the illusion that
they are.”

True acceptance of this paragraph offers us instant relief. Whew! Now we can quit pretending to
ourselves and others that we are Super Manager. Or that we ought to be.
Now we can move our expectations down to a human scale. With new acceptance of
this old reality, there are a number of "not in charge" ways of getting things done:

1. Establish networks of key players in the organization, people who can inform you, people who
can possibly help you in the future, people you can help. Recognize your dependence on them.
(If you think you are not dependent on anyone, then you are a major source of your own
problem.) Tend your networks; keep up on what is going on in their work lives. Help key people
take responsibility for changing what they have into what they want. Think of yourself as
someone helps them get what they want, rather than as someone who meet their needs directly.
Anticipate their needs and aid them in meeting those needs. Don't wait until you are in trouble or
they are in trouble. Yes, this request has huge implications for you as an already over-burdened
person. And, if those people you must work with are truly important to you then you better find a
way to make them your priority. You may be experiencing the consequences of not doing so.

2. Identify what others want that you also want. Talk with key people in your network about their
work: Why is it important to them in their lives? Yes, in their lives; not just in their job
descriptions. What are the deeper purpose they are trying to serve? What makes this work
meaningful for them? Talk with them about how they might get what they want and how you
might help in the process. When you have the opportunity to talk at this level, there is the
potential for creating energy in others. We each bring more energy to that work that is linked
directly to our life’s purposes—even when we cannot articulate what our purposes are.

3. Develop a realistic assessment of your work situation and yourself. No whitewashing. No

fooling yourself. When you describe problems facing you at work, be objective in your
description. There much less likelihood you will solve a poorly described problem. Seek the
counsel of others who bring different perspectives to the work.

The person that is easiest to change at work is, guess who: You! Significant change begins with
you so be realistic about what you are contributing to the situation surrounding you. What
strengths and weaknesses do you bring? How are you fooling yourself or attempting to fool
others? Notice when you assign responsibility for change to others--who do not even know that
change is needed! What are they, mind readers? As difficult as it is to change ourselves, it is
much easier than changing unknowing and unwilling others.

4. Your success in enlisting others to help you get things done is dependent on more than just
the relationship you have built with them. Your track record on getting things done and your
expertise are also important. Build a pattern of accomplishment that the organization respects. It
is not enough that you know you are successful; the organization has to recognize your success
too. The organization does not judge you against your internal standards; it judges you against
its own standards—which it may or may not publicize. Your job is to figure out what the
organization wants, what you are willing to do, and how you help the organization understand
what you are contributing. When the “powers that be” see you as successful, this will give you
more latitude. You may not like this reality and you do not have to honor it……but you will be
measured against it.

5. Here is a corollary to the last point: Build a unique body of expertise valued by others. When
you have unique knowledge and skills, you are a special resource to the people around you. You
will be more valued, more necessary, more powerful. What is it that you know and are able to do
that others see as special? What do others call upon you to do now? What would you like for
them to be asking of you? What can you do to see that happens?

6. As you pursue progress, be satisfied to do it in small, steady, patient ways. Through time,
hundreds of people have created the structure and system you work within. We all have
moments when we wish we could change everything with the snap of our fingers. Remember
that quick changes you make this week can be reversed by someone else’s quick change next
week. A pattern of smaller, related changes is often more effective than one big and radical
change. It takes more skill and perseverance to change things through time. That skill is often
not rewarded so you have to create your own rewards, your own satisfaction.

Those six points are based on watching myself and a few hundred others succeed and fail in
organizations similar to those where you work. The biggest challenge is pursuing personal goals
at work that are good for the organization AND not supported by the organization…A tough and
common dilemma. As I said in the sixth point, you cannot depend on the system to reward you
so you must do it yourself. This links work goals to life goals, work meaning to life meaning.
Though you are not in charge at work, you are in charge of your own life…You may not be in
control of your own life, but you are still in charge of it. If you are not, who is??? My observations
of people most successful at work reveals many of them to be very aware of the lives they are
attempting to create for themselves. Their success is based upon pursuing a “game” that is
larger than work. A life game.

So what is the life you are trying to build for yourself? And how does work fit into that? You can
apply many of the six points listed above to your life, not just your work. Try it. Who are the key
people in your life? What do they want and how can you help them? What is your present
assessment of the state of your life? And of yourself? What patterns of accomplishment are
building in your life? And what do you uniquely bring? How have you persisted in what is truly
important to you in life? Attend to the life questions in this short paragraph and many of the work
questions will take care of themselves. Not that they will disappear, but they will be considered
within a larger and more compelling perspective. Leading at work is best done by leading your
life.