Efficiency. That’s the word my private clients use most when they talk about why change is needed and when creating their outcome story.
Whether it’s the CEO, a manager or even a supervisor, they all talk about being more efficient. And, sure, efficiency is important. Who dodoesn’tant an organization that runs smoothly with the least amount of effort and resources?
However, when it comes to change, the word itself can trigger a defensive reaction and sabotage your efforts.
You can check out what I mean below:
What Does Efficiency Mean?
Think for just a minute, how do you define efficient?
Depending on who you ask, their level in the organization, and the context of the work, it can mean different things. It’s also easily misinterpreted, which can make your team feel threatened.
Why Efficiency is a Trigger Word
Trigger words quickly sabotage your change efforts.
When employees hear you talk about efficiency, they don’t hear you trying to streamline and make their workday easier. What they hear is: I am not doing enough; here come layoffs; or I need to do more with less. Triggering a threat response.
And our natural response to a threat is to protect ourselves. The result is that people disengage and preserve the status quo.
If you believe people resist change, then you label all these normal behaviours as resistance.
When you talk about efficiency without defining it, innovation and collaboration get left behind. The result is that your organization loses its ability to deliver.
The Orchestra Story
Dr. Henry Mintzberg, professor of management at McGill University, shares a wonderful story from the 1950s about an efficiency audit of a symphony orchestra that illustrates this perfectly.
It’s unknown where the original story first surfaced, but I’ll give you the synopsis:
An orchestra hires a consultant to conduct an efficiency audit.
First, the consultant looks at the string section, where 16 violinists all play the same part. On paper, that’s duplication. The consultant cuts the string section to one violinist.
Next, the consultant notes that entire passages of the music are repeated. So they remove all the repeated parts of the score. Repetition wastes time.
The woodwinds hit the chopping block next. Their part is almost exactly what the strings play. More duplication, the orchestra doesn’t need a woodwind section; the strings can do it.
Finally, the consultant watches the orchestra and notes that most of the musicians spend half their time just sitting there. That’s not right. Cut the downtime.
The result? Instead of a sharper, leaner orchestra, it’s one devoid of any real music or life. The richness of multiple violins playing together, the power of repetition to build emotion, and the silence between notes that gives music its meaning are gone.
That’s what can happen in your organization. When you make efficiency the goal without clarifying what it means and its impact, you risk eroding everything that makes creativity and innovation possible.
What’s the End Goal?
The next time you want to launch a change and tell your story. I invite you to pause before you announce that efficiency is the reason.
Ask yourself three questions:
- What do I mean by efficient?
- What will my organization look like and feel like when we are efficient?
- What does efficient mean to my people/team/employees/clients?
Then use clear, concise, and concrete language that describes its meaning and will inspire learning, growth, and innovation within the organization.
One organization discovered that when they stopped to define what they meant by efficient, it wasn’t about cutting steps; they had to add two steps to a critical process. Instead, it was about people understanding the purpose of each step and their role, and having the autonomy to make the decisions needed.
The result was a re-energized team and an innovative process that met their clients’ and organizational needs.
If you want your organization to thrive in a world of constant change, you need to use clear and concrete language and avoid trigger words. Then create space for pauses, for experimentation, and innovation.
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