When something is not working, people usually speak up at first. They say that processes are too slow, responsibilities are unclear, deadlines are unrealistic, or that one person is once again doing the work of three.
If nothing changes, the team gradually begins to adapt.
- Someone creates their own spreadsheet because the official system is unreliable.
- Someone double-checks everything.
- Someone stays late to finish work that was poorly planned.
- Someone takes on extra responsibility simply to prevent problems from happening.
And the work continues.
This is exactly why things that do not work can remain unchanged for so long. As long as people keep finding a way to make things work, it is easy to believe that the problem is not serious.
However, the fact that a team manages to cope with a poor way of working does not mean that the way of working is good. Sometimes it simply means that people have learned to carry its weight.
The body often knows how heavy something is long before we put it into words. Maybe we feel tension as soon as a certain email arrives. Maybe the fatigue appears before the meeting even begins. Maybe we take a deep breath before fixing the same problem yet again.
Eventually, even that begins to feel normal.
We stop saying, “This isn’t working.” Instead, we say, “That’s just how things are here.” This sentence often hides a problem that has been around for far too long.
A good leader therefore does not only ask, “Did the work get done?” They also ask, “What did it take for people to get it done?”
If results depend on someone constantly staying late, keeping quiet, double-checking, reminding others, and stepping in to rescue the situation, then the team may not have found a good solution.
It may have simply found a way to keep going despite the problem.
Of course, not everything can be changed immediately. Sometimes temporary solutions are genuinely necessary but it is important that temporary remains temporary.
A leader needs to notice when resourcefulness turns into exhaustion, when flexibility becomes constant accommodation, and when people are expected to make up for what the system lacks through their own extra effort. At that point, perhaps what is needed is not another adjustment. Perhaps it is time to actually fix something.
My question today would be: Is there something your team has been working around for so long simply because everyone has become used to it?
