We’ve all had a gut feeling when something isn’t right. But sometimes, even when it looks right, sounds right and feels right, we can’t do right for doing wrong.
We’ve set ourselves up with processes and procedures to help us dot the i’s and cross the t’s. Our processes are set up to ensure we meet good standards of practice so that everyone involved in the process gets what they need. But sometimes we tie ourselves up in our own red tape.
The problems start when a piece of the process isn’t in place. The piece doesn’t have to be the size of a kitchen table, it can be the size of a postage stamp. If there’s a break in the process and we jump right from A to C, we’re done for.
By focusing on the minutiae sometimes we miss the bigger picture. We become hyper vigilant about forms and forget about the cause. We sacrifice our values because boxes aren’t ticked.
How do we move from here? Do we review our processes and replace tick boxes with free-text boxes? Do we re-orientate ourselves to focus on the story rather than the procedure? Do we emphasise the moral-right than the procedural-right?
I’m sure that restarting systems after covid will jumpstart our review of process and remind us of the importance of the Right Thing over the Process Thing. What do you think?