What kind of crab are you?
In the last blog, I touched on innovation as a requirement for successfully dealing with the systems in which we function. Let’s continue in this train of thought.
As technology innovations appear, the discussion often identifies the adoption patterns of consumers. Some people are early adopters and grab hold of new technology enthusiastically, while some are late adopters in that by the time they can be called a reluctant convert others have already moved on to the next innovative practice. The same happens when organizations step forward with change initiatives, evoking raw emotions of fear, uneasiness, discomfort, and vulnerability, because individuals, and often entire organizations, as Pfeffer and Sutton describe, are trapped by their own history. Organizational culture – or Schein’s description, “the way things are done around here” – is so prevalent and paradigms so established, that changing to a new way of doing things can only occur when circumstances force the issue and a viable and acceptable alternative course replaces the old practices.
Michalko spoke of “Dukes of habit” – those who do things the way they have always been done, which describes many of the people found in our organizational systems. For them, innovation and change cause tension between those desiring routine and the innovators who seek to generate a future that moves away from the systems of the past. The gatekeepers of the status quo essentially suppress innovation, acting as a crab bucket, in which “crabs who challenge social rules and conventions try to climb out of the bucket, but those remaining inside pull them back in.” Often the reason people choose late adoption, suppress innovation, and pull down other crabs is because of their fear of loss and fear of failure. Innovation challenges people to do things they have never done before and many fear that they will not live up to the challenge and thus lose status.
Today, regardless if you are a leader at work or at home, think about what kind of crab you are. Are you working toward climbing out of the bucket, or are you pulling others down who are trying to escape the status quo?
Lead well.