Bureaucracy isn’t just a buzzword; it can slow down your progress and innovation in your career and leadership journey. From convoluted decision-making to stifled creativity, its impact runs deep: frustration, powerlessness, reduced efficiency, lack of flexibility and less motivation to name a few.
Here’s 5 types of resilience and coping strategies I’ve used that’ll help you conquer bureaucracy:
1. PROBLEM-SOLVING RESILIENCE
Innovate to liberate. Identify your biggest organisational bottlenecks (not just those in your team), brainstorm solutions with your colleagues from different departments and become obsessed with clear roles and streamlined processes. As a ‘collective’, communicate the benefits of busting bureaucracy in terms of the efficiency and productivity you’ll create. This will drive change throughout the organisation, not just within your team.
2. INFLUENCE RESILIENCE
Master the art of persuasive communication. Make the first 5 minutes of every one of your conversations count. Lead out credibly, find common ground, and propose a solution that has ‘wiggle room’. Create a sense of risk and urgency to sway your decision-makers effectively.
3. NETWORKING RESILIENCE
Tear down your dreaded silos. Attend industry events, uncover hidden secrets to busting bureaucracy from your peers. Identify who are your ‘hidden’ influencers in your own bureaucratic structure – the ones who have the ‘decision-making weight’ and who’ll be in your corner when those pesky bureaucratic bombshells hit.
4. PERSISTENCE RESILIENCE
Stay the course. Focus on your big picture and try not to be distracted by your short-term frustrations – lose some battles to win the war. Break your big picture hurdles into manageable chunks and prioritise the ones within your control. When those inevitable setbacks happen (and they will), focus more on the ‘why’ and less on the ‘who’. It takes the emotion out of the setback and moves you quickly into what you can learn for next time.
5. STRATEGIC RESILIENCE
Understand ALL the decision-making dynamics (including the ‘hidden’ ones), nurture relationships with your power players, and position yourself strategically. Stay informed, invest in your key connections, and align your efforts with your stakeholders’ agenda and organisational goals.
While all of these strategies are effective, at the heart of it all is EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE. Understanding your emotions, how to process and manage them creates your ‘inner grit’ and grounds you amidst the turmoil that bureaucracy can create. It also helps you adapt to chaos and bounce back stronger.
Keen to dig deeper on this topic? Visit my online store to explore my Unbreakable Leaders Webinar and Hierarchy I Your Resilience Radar…www.turas.co.nz/products.
It’s your journey – travel it well with Turas.