W. Edwards Deming, one of the earliest pioneers of the quality movement, stated that if you put a good person into a bad system, the system will win….every time. From my experience, which includes almost 40 years of working for people and their systems I can firmly say that Deming is 100% correct.
Granted, a select few, in my experience, around 3 managers, did, in fact, have a good system. These managers became leaders and in each case were promoted and became successful. Doing the math, I would calculate that around 10 percent of all managers are in fact, “good” managers and have created and successfully operated systems that enabled superior performance. The rest, created bad systems that systematically led to poor performance, poor quality, poor work and ultimately a very high turnover, as people left for better opportunities as soon as they possible could. By the way, I would recommend that if you find yourself in a bad system, and my math indicates that you most certainly will, over the course of your lifetime, the best solution I have found is to get out of that system as quickly as you can. I have tried working within the system, trying to change it, going to Human Resources and all the other methods that are recommended. None of them has every worked. Update your resume, talk to your network and look for other employment and do it quickly. The bad system always wins.
As part of my training and education, I was fortunate enough to learn that all human performance problems can be placed into three categories. The first category are problems that are caused by motivational issues. Examples of these problems are employees who do not want to show up to work on time, associates who dislike their work and complain about it constantly and people who need incentives to perform. The second type of human performance issues are those caused by the working environment. Examples of these problems are when employees do not have the tools or equipment to do their jobs or when the environment is so toxic that they cannot succeed. Hostile workplaces are just one example of an environmental problem. What these type of problems have in common are that they prevent your associate from being successful, and if the manager does not repair them, they employee will most certainly fail. The third and final cause of employee non-performance are educational. In other words, if you do not teach your people how to perform their job, then they have no chance of success with your company. I have found that this is almost always blamed as the cause of poor performance and the phrase, “send her to training.” is one of the most common I have heard during my 30 year career as a trainer. Unfortunately, it is almost always not the real cause of the performance problem.
Most performance problems are the result of a bad system, and that system almost always includes both motivational and environmental issues. You might have worked in a system where the boss rewarded bad behavior by promoting and rewarding people who acted like dictators, ruling their areas like dictators, punishing their people and instilling fear in them in order to get the work done. Why, you ask, do these people get rewarded? The answer is in the bottom line. If the boss sees a profit, he frequently does not look deeply at the people cost of that problem. I have heard the phrase, “I do not ask how she gets results, all I know is that her unit always meets budget and I never have to worry about her profits,” far too many times. And when I dig deeper, I almost always discover that turnover is over 100% and those that remain are actively looking for another employer every day of their working lives. The bad system wins again.
Environmental barriers are also evident in bad systems. I have worked in systems where the word “hostile” is the perfect description of what the environment is like. I have witnessed meetings that are nothing more than an excuse to publicly humiliate people. I have toiled in companies where the supervisor encouraged sexist, racist or gender-based bias and encouraged others to participate as well. I have labored in companies where the secret for success was to butter up the boss, spy on co-workers, stab them in the back at every turn and you, too, could get a nice raise and favor from the boss. I even worked in one large company that allowed its associates to use instant-messaging to humiliate co-workers, and supervisors did nothing when told about it. How can this be allowed to go on? The answer lies in the system. The system allows it because supervisors are either afraid to confront the poor performers, or they turn away, hoping the problem solves itself. The problem will not solve itself. The system will destroy good people, allowing the worst to stay…..because they have no other options. Once again, the bad system wins.
Fortunately, you have a choice when you are confronted by a bad system. You can leave that system. In fact, I believe that if you are in a bad system and you are a good person, you must leave, or you will certainly be defeated. The system is large, it is supported by management, either overtly or covertly, and it is a good system for very bad performers. These bad performers, those who abuse their people or co-workers and are rewarded for bad behavior, will not find a better system where they can display bad management skills and still survive. They recognize this fact, and so, they remain in the bad system. The good people, these are the people who leave.
Once you leave the bad system, and you must go; follow what happens to the bad managers in the bad system. I have discovered that sooner or later, the company will fail or the people leave that system and go on to another. In almost every case, these folks will have difficulty surviving in a corporation where a good system is in place. These folks will then leave that company and sure enough, they will turn to you for either a reference or advice, since you will surely find success once you leave that bad system. Consider your advice to that poor manager or employee very carefully, remembering that the only constant is that if you place a good person in a bad system the system will win every time. If you place a bad person in a good system….well, the jury is still out on the answer to that one, but I think you know which way they are leaning.