In recent months, I’ve been sharing a blog series on firefighting and its underlying causes in our organizations. Changing a firefighting culture is not going to be easy because it very likely has become ingrained. So much time and energy is being drained in firefighting, employees and leaders alike don’t see how they can take the time to plan a way out. Why is it so hard to turn around the firefighting culture and what can you do about it?
The Heroism of Firefighting
Why is it hard to stop firefighting? It has a certain mystique. If an employee can solve a complex problem or fix a process issue through firefighting, it not only makes the employee feel rewarded through the accomplishment of something valuable, but the organization or department often takes notice and provides recognition. The more self-satisfaction or recognition, the more ingrained the environment becomes. If the organization does not have other structures and recognitions in place for avoiding or preventing problems that cause firefighting, or for doing the work of the originally intended process, firefighting may seem more glamorous than everyday work.
An Ingrained Habit
As a residual effect of the “Great Resignation,” many organizations are still hiring, newly promoted front line leaders are enmeshed in the challenges of inexperienced employees, open jobs and short staffing remains, all while many newly promoted front line leaders are inexperienced in leadership. New employees know nothing else but the firefighting culture of the organization, and more tenured employees have become accustomed to more and more firefighting over the past three years. It has become an ingrained habit.
In assisting organizations in overcoming firefighting, I recently conducted an operational assessment that included “shadowing” supervisors and leads in their daily activities. A large percentage of their time was spent firefighting, especially as compared to the supervisor and lead job expectations that had been updated shortly before the pandemic. As part of the assessment, I documented all the things Supervisors and Leads were actually doing throughout the day.
Then I met with leaders to report results and create clear standard work—what the Supervisors and Leads were supposed to be doing (and when) throughout the day so that operations would meet delivery, quality, and market needs. One particularly interesting revelation was that the Supervisors and Leads had grown to see the firefighting tasks as their primary jobs; some newer Supervisors and Leads were not aware that firefighting activities had gradually taken over their roles.
How Accountability (or Lack) Plays a Role
People tend to do what they are rewarded, recognized, and held accountable for doing. If there is more reward and recognition around firefighting urgent problems, or if employees experience firefighting as an ingrained habit, organizations not only need to evaluate the informal and formal recognitions, but they also need to develop clear roles, responsibilities, and job expectations and then provide coaching, feedback, and accountability to make sure those new activities occur.
Lack of accountability is by far the number one complaint I hear from employees and leadership at every level of the organization. Instilling a climate of accountability (all while being reasonable and compassionate) may be one of the toughest balancing acts a leader must achieve. There are structures that can be put into place to build mutual accountability, such as true, well-formed team structures, but accountability mainly rests upon the shoulders of leaders throughout the hierarchy. People must be held accountable for desired behaviors. Nothing will cause low morale and the departure of our best employees faster than NOT holding low and mediocre performers accountable. The less accountability, the less reliable processes will be.
In the client situation highlighted above, I worked with operational leadership to construct a path forward from the current firefighting situation to one that focused on executing the standard work we created. We also created a concise timetable for training, coaching, and information gathering so that firefighting causes could continue to be identified and addressed by the organization, while accountability for the standard work increased.
The Need for a Plan
Moving from firefighting to a purposeful work environment requires planning. Setting aside the time and effort is especially difficult if you’re firefighting. However, if our organizations don’t invest the time to create a plan to move forward, they are consigned to firefighting for the foreseeable future. Key planning steps include, but are not limited to:
1. Assess the processes and activities of the area or functions in question to identify the types and frequency of firefighting.
2. Work with employees to uncover and eliminate causes. Develop effective two-way communication processes among levels of the hierarchy.
3. Create standard work. Train and coach employees to the standard.
4. Create a process and timeline for holding people accountable to standard work.
5. Implement and track the plan.
If you’d like to discuss how your organization can reduce or eliminate its firefighting environment, please contact me or message me in LinkedIn.