The problem is not the problem, the people are
Skilled experts are trained at solving problems, but what happens when they become part of cultures where success is not measured by the quality of their work, but how they build sponsors, manage stakeholders and alliances (i.e. help other people become heroes)?
I spent five years inside a large global enterprise. As a subject matter expert [SME] it’s a light shock to meet a culture where quality of work means something else than what you were trained to.
As an SME you often want to achieve more than the organization needs because your measure of good work is different than a culture who sees good work not through the lens of its quality but of the people dynamics.
Now, to be clear. I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with that. What I am saying is that it is a culture shock which I assume if we put our finger on could be improved?
So how can you do good work and accomplish great things inside cultures which are very different from yours?
Well specifically my training is understanding people, what motivates and influences their actions (like most people trained in CX, UX, EX, anthropology, ethnography etc.). But usually we apply this to bring people outside the organization (customers) inside. But the same skills can be used to better understand what motivates and influences people on the inside.
The challenge to overcome of course is that as an e.g. customer expert your at a distance from the subject you are observing, while on the inside you are one of them (this takes a delicate amount of self-realization and often admitting things you hope were not true 🌸).
What I learned was that “the opportunity is not the opportunity, the people are” .. which is also what we should be experts at. We bring people from the outside into the organization every day. But to help the organization do higher quality work we need to bring the people on the inside with us as well.
