The Workplace Chameleon with Dr. Celina
This podcast is about the changing organization and our relationship to it -- how we enter, thrive and exit. Each episode is meant to be thoughtful, funny, and applicable. Stories, insight, and "words to say" come from Dr. Celina's experience with over two and a half decades of listening, learning from and leading conversations in hundreds of companies. Each episode will explore a new theme about life arriving in, interacting with and leaving the workplace.
The Workplace Chameleon with Dr. Celina
Episode 86: Work Arounds for Work Arounds
Workarounds can keep things moving—but stack enough of them, and you’re not solving problems, you’re covering them up. In this episode of The Workplace Chameleon, Dr. Celina Peerman digs into the hidden cost of “bandages on bandages” at work: the quick fixes we layer on top of each other instead of addressing the real issue.
From adding staff to a broken process, to offering bonuses for turnover, or handing out coupons for service failures, Dr. Celina explores how workarounds might feel like progress but often block lasting change.
Welcome to the Workplace Chameleon. This is Dr Selina, and here we explore the twists and the turns of leadership, learning and the ever-changing world of work Around. Here we believe that leadership isn't about perfection, nor will it ever be perfect, but it's possible and always a work in progress. Today we're going to focus, prioritize and continue to lead with intention, even when the workplace feels a little wild. Let's dive in. I find often within companies, because we're busy, because the pressures are on, we have workarounds for our workarounds, we have Band-Aids on our band-aids and they often stop the bleeding for now but they really never heal the wound.
Speaker 1:I was with an organization, a client of mine, over the years and recently they were doing a major overhaul on their computer software system and it had been around so long and was so needed to do this enterprise-wide upgrade and the conversation we were having was focused on the fact that because the system didn't do what it needed to be doing to run the business for so long that they really had workarounds on their workarounds, and I asked them to just put a sticky note next to their workstation that when the news system went live, I wanted them to note on that sticky note for me to bring back to our conversation. When I saw them a few weeks later, how long after the new system went live were you tempted to say, oh, this just doesn't work the way I need it to work and I'm going to create my own spreadsheet, or I don't trust the system so I'm just going to start a side database, a workaround, because the system or the process was not yet mature, refined, updated or with a new system. It's still a work in progress. So I asked them just to track that for me. When I went back a few weeks later, I said so, tell me about your sticky note. How many of you did it? A number of them had, and I said I want to know how long before you were tempted in this brand new system you've put all this effort into doing and upgrading to. Before you didn't trust the system. Hours, days, weeks, what was it? 20 minutes From go live to turn on your computer to get into the system, even though they've been working in their sandbox, their pseudo system, this last month to practice things and run reports After go live within 20 minutes they're like fine, see, told you this wouldn't work, I'm just going to do my own thing. Oh, so many times I see this.
Speaker 1:So today we're calling out the Band-Aids on the Band-Aids. We want to figure out how to break this cycle because when we focus, it clears the clutter and priorities stop the spin. And I want us to really dig into why do leaders keep adding Band-Aids? Now, I know there are some business cases out there. We can't do the thing right now, we can't make the change, it's not a business priority. However, in my story, here's what we know that in that 20 minutes they were already saying to themselves well, see, told you this wasn't going to work, but if we don't feed that back to the project team that's launching this, they can't make the improvements. Someone also said to me see, the new system doesn't work like the old system. I'm like, yeah, but if the new system worked like the old system, we wouldn't need the new system.
Speaker 1:So many times we add the workarounds and the band-aids for good intentions like I just need to take care of this and this is what I need to do right now and I don't have time to stop or it's never worked well from the beginning. Fast fixes actually make us feel productive, but it avoids the harder work. Make us feel productive, but it avoids the harder work. We give something temporary instead of addressing why so we give a bump in pay or a bonus instead of addressing why people want to leave. We do something to get us through the day or the shift, but we never quite find the time to go back and fix it at its root. Now, many of you have great processes in place to find the root cause, to solve the core issue, but often when there are resource constraints like we don't have the time those band-aids come out.
Speaker 1:Or complexity. This is what I'm seeing more and more. Leaders avoid complexity by layering easy solutions because we're tired or we're busy or there's too many things. I also think about risk aversion. There's a smaller cost to just doing a workaround now instead of bigger cost of solving a root cause. Or maybe it's safer, or maybe we don't risk a potential client or a current customer Because familiar bandages, familiar workarounds feel safer than bold, not root cause solutions than bold root cause solutions.
Speaker 1:I often, within my work as an organizational psychologist, am looking at why does behavior happen? And we also see these types of behaviors come out because the culture told us Organizations get comfortable in survival mode, not growth mode. And it's really the challenge of leadership to say whoa, whoa, whoa. We got to make the business case here, to go to root cause on this, because survival mode is not a long-term solution. Consider this Are you solving for comfort or for clarity? Let's take a moment to consider real-world bandages versus root causes.
Speaker 1:In our book 39 Squirrels, I offer you a one-minute reset times 39. And I want to insert one into this podcast because I think it may help in the topic and these are the moments where we just get to focus in for a moment. So my one-minute reset I want you to consider is pause right now. Name one reoccurring workplace headache. Okay, it can't be a person. Let's go with a process, a situation. Are you solving it or sidestepping it? Now, it could be a person, but that might take an entirely different conversation for us to work on.
Speaker 1:But certainly employee turnover, customer complaints, systems failures, supply chain gaps, like there are a lot of recurring workplace headaches that keep happening, big and small, and sometimes we're just trying to get through the day and we're not solving what we really need to solve. You know, with employee turnover, we may be putting some Band-Aids on it like well, it was them, not us, right. Or we try to make some adjustments, but we're really at a root cause of culture and leadership gaps. Customer complaints maybe we give them a discount when really it was a poor service or product issue. Maybe a system failure of machinery was. We just spent more on maintenance and parts instead of an outdated technology issue. Hearts instead of an outdated technology issue. Sometimes, with supply gaps, I see we try to bring in backup vendors, but really the core piece is we don't have a risk plan. Now, those are some general categories and you know your work best.
Speaker 1:But where do the workarounds show up? When did these happen most in your world? And consider are we layering those bandages? Are we actually fixing the wound? I want to frame this a little bit different for your consideration today. Think about how workarounds actually block change. Workarounds I see it are change blockers. They feel like progress but they actually stop us from getting better the impact. Short-term wins kill long-term change. Bandages drain resources and avoiding root causes creates resistance. What's one bandage you've applied lately? What change would happen if you dug deeper instead? Just consider this for another moment with me, because when we keep doing workarounds on our workarounds, on our workarounds, we're really avoiding some fundamental change that needs to happen. So we need to break the bandage cycle. Break that workaround of my workaround of my workaround. So stop chasing all the shiny fixes and focus forward.
Speaker 1:Number one I want you to spot the patterns. Notice what keeps breaking. Where are those spots where you just keep making do? Number two there are a ton of root cause tools out there. If you need some help locating them, you reach out to us. We'll put you in touch. But within your organizations you likely have some tools around five whys and fishbone diagrams and other types of quality methodology tools. Quality methodology tools and the reason we use those tools is it helps us name it outside of our brain in a group, visualize it and we solve the problem better. These are incomplete, though without step number three. Number one was spot the patterns. Number two was do some root cause analysis.
Speaker 1:Number three you have to make your business case. Part of our responsibility as professionals in our field is to make the argument so others see why the change matters. If you were presenting that on Shark Tank, if you're not familiar with the program, look it up, where entrepreneurs of the latest product that they're trying to get funded present to the sharks, the key people who hold venture capital in order to fund them. But you have to make your case. Sometimes I hear in organizations where they're not going to change their it's, that's not where they're going to put the priorities or the money right now. You have to make the argument. You can't just say, oh, I need this, why do you need it? What's the data say, what's your evidence? What will the cost be to do this? But what and here's my favorite part what will be the cost not to do this? Underline that one, like, write it down. What is the cost to do this? What is the cost not to do this? Number four you need to equip your team. Give them the tools, the time, the support to make the fix. Yes, you might have to slow down to go fast, but that pause helps you fix it so you don't have to stop again later. And I will always tie this back to creating a learning culture, reinforcing and modeling that mistakes are not failures, they're lessons. And when we do workarounds, they are lessons, additional ones that you may try.
Speaker 1:We've mentioned some root causes where you can find that recurring pain point and go deeper. You can look for those solutions by asking what bandages are we currently using? Or asking use it as an after, so maybe a project goes well. Assess, is there anything we didn't do as well as we wanted to to get the project done? How can we document that for the future? Because sometimes bandages just happen in order to get something launched or off the ground and then we go on to all the next busy stuff and we forget we even used that bandage on that last one, just to make do until it breaks.
Speaker 1:Consider today Name one problem you have fixed too many times. Ask yourself what temporary solutions have I stacked on top? What am I avoiding? And what's one action I can take this week with others toward a root cause, because we need to identify recurring problems. List those band-aids, solve for root cause, make a long-term fixed plan. No-transcript, stop patching, start fixing the strongest teams, build resilience. Consider how you'll take today, this moment hanging out with me, and apply a new lens, a new set of questions to whatever it is you need to tackle today. Thanks for spending time with me here at the Workplace Chameleon. If today's episode gave you something to think about or something to try, share the link with your boss or fellow leader and remember leadership is learned every single day. Keep asking questions. Keep showing up as always. Smash some mental health stigmas today and learn something new that will help you tackle whatever you need to do next. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you again soon.
