Intentional Inefficiency — Individualization in the modern era

You’re a leader. You work with a lot of people. Imagine you have a message to transmit to those people. (That’s probably pretty easy to imagine.)

Let’s say that message is as follows: We are going to adopt a new practice. Whenever someone learns something new about a client, they are going to document it on a new shared platform.

So how do you make sure everyone gets that message? Get everyone in a room for a meeting or craft an all staff email and tell everyone what you need to tell them at the same time, right?

Maybe not.

As a leader, part of your job is to transmit information. But part of your job is to inspire your people. And in order to inspire those people, you have to understand them, you have to connect with them, you have to know them.

We live in the age of technology, and as technology people, we tend to think about efficiency a lot. What is the most efficient way to get this done? Well, let’s unpack that term for a second.

What is efficiency?

Is it simply about speed? Or is it about efficacy, as well?

If it is simply about speed, then telling everyone about the new practice at the same time is a no-brainer. It is clearly faster to tell everyone at the same time then 10 or 20 or 100 people separately.

But if it is also about efficacy, we need to consider how effective it is to tell everyone about the new practice at the same time. Will they all understand what to do? Will they all be sold on doing it? Will they know how to integrate it into their current practice? In short, will they walk away from that meeting and begin that new practice the way you imagined they would?

Probably not.

There is a concept in the teaching profession known as “teaching to the middle”. The idea goes like this. If I have 25 students in the room and I teach to the middle, then what I am teaching goes a bit above the heads of the struggling students and is a bit boring for the high-performers, but I will capture the students in the middle. In theory that might work. But in practice, what most teachers find is that…

There is no middle

All students need some level of personalization, whether in the delivery, in the explanation, in the motivation, in the execution. And so even though teaching to the middle is the most efficient way of doing things, it only works if you are defining efficiency by answering the question, “Did I teach them?” But what you really want to measure yourself by is, “Did they learn?”

The same holds true in any organizational environment. The goal is not simply to pat yourself on the back for transmitting the information about the new practice. The goal is to have everyone actually practicing the new practice. And for that, you will need a more nuanced approach.

Enter Intentional Inefficiency

Intentional Inefficiency is the deliberate personalization of communications. Yes. Speaking to each person on the team, one at a time, instead of in a large meeting. While certainly less efficient in the delivery, this method may be far more efficient in the long run, particularly if you are including efficacy in your definition of efficiency.

And there are many other benefits, as well.

1. You can be much more confident that, coming out of the meeting, the person you were meeting with understands how to engage in the new practice. You’ll simply ask, Do you feel like you understand what to do? And you won’t end the conversation until you have ensured that he or she does understand.
2. You have a chance to understand what motivates the person you are speaking with. So you can make your case in such a way that it is appealing to that person. (You may use a different approach with the next person.)
3. You are breaking down the walls of communication and building bridges between you. You’re connecting one on one. These bridges are essential part of all of the work you do together. And you are using this as an opportunity to build one together.
4. It is clear to your people that you care about them as individuals. You are treating them as individuals. Therefore, you must see them as individuals. This may seem obvious, but if all of your interactions with your people are in large groups, it would not be a stretch for each of them to assume you think of them as a group rather than as individuals.
5. You get to learn. It is critical that, in the process of meeting with each person, you are not simply making a speech the same way you might as a large meeting. You are having a dialogue. You are speaking. You are listening. You are asking questions. You are answering questions. In short, you are having a conversation. And this offers you the opportunity to understand what motivates each of your people, how they see the work that they are doing, how they feel about your request, how they operate. And that information allows you to understand how to move forward.

Treat your team like your customers

You already know that surveying customers as a block is not particularly useful. Yes, you can get a sense of whether they are happy or unhappy with your product or services. But it is difficult for you to actually understand how to improve. You need to talk to individual customers or small, focus groups of customers to really get into their minds. This is another form of Intentional Inefficiency. And it is equally important.

So treat your team members this way. If you can understand them as individuals, you are far more likely to get the best out of them. You are far more likely to detect small issues before they become big problems. You are far more likely to use the strengths of your team members to build a stronger team.

This is about developing yourself as a leader.

The same way you want to develop your people when you lead, you need to develop yourself as a leader. Intentional Inefficiency allows you to use your work as a platform for learning and growing as a leader. As you meet with individuals, you develop your communication skills. You practice your active listening skills. You negotiate. You persuade. You sell and influence. All of this work you are doing is improving your skills as a leader. You are using your work as an authentic practice field for your ongoing development. What could be more purposeful than that?

Ultimately, the downside of operating less efficiently in the short term are far outweighed by the long-term, far-reaching benefits of the grassroots work you are doing.

Here’s your challenge: The next time you have something to tell your people, choose not to call a meeting. Meet with each member of your team and have a conversation. Use this as an opportunity to understand your people as individuals and as members of your team. Ask questions. Get to know one another. See if it doesn’t improve your relationship with each member of your team. See if it doesn’t give you new perspective on the message you wanted to send. See if it doesn’t change the message you wanted to send.

I’d love to hear about what you learn. We at CultivateMe are fascinated with the way people work now, the way people wish they could work in the future and how we can build the bridge to the new world where learning and work are two parts of the same whole. Send me an email at doug@cultivateme.xyz.

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