A position created because of a problem or in search of a problem?
"The first step in solving a problem is to recognize that it does exist." Zig Ziglar
Every position in an organization is created (or should be) to address a problem. Every one. The CEO is created to solve the void of leadership. A COO is created to solve the problem of coordinating, planning, and operating. A CFO is created to solve the problem of financial mismanagement. The list goes on. In my small company of four people, I created a director of operations in part to fill the void of central operations but also to free me up to immerse in the community, networking and sharing our value proposition with people and companies, something I was not doing enough of. Why have you created the position you have in your organization?
In the U.S. Army in the mid 2000's, sexual harassment and assault reared its ugly head. The Army was slow to react and Congress took notice, hearing the stories of service members - women and men, who were assaulted, verbally or physically and whose cases were marginalized or ignored. The Army did something about it. It created the Sexual Harassment and Assault Program or SHARP. SHARP representatives - positions - were created in organizations across the Army backed by a program to bring attention and solutions to this problem. It helped. Sexual assault and harassment did not vanish, indeed, it never will, but cases were managed better and soldiers were given the care they needed.
Sometimes in an organization positions can be created more as a gesture than a real solution to a problem. A safety officer is a good example. Who doesn't need more attention to safety? A safety conscious leader is a caring, dedicated leader for sure, and the loss of a worker is costly to a company, but, is safety a problem? If it is not, then why dedicate time, talent, and human resources to fix something which doesn't need fixing? A policy or some sound intent and leader oversight might do the trick. One could pose this argument for DEI. At the risk of being political, this argument has merit. Does an organization need a DEI executive when it doesn't have a DEI problem or would sound intent, a written policy, and leader intervention to create a more diverse organization do the trick? Of course, I'm a fan of DEI in an organization but I can create and foster it through my own leadership.
The lesson here is to do the hard analysis. What is the problem(s)? Is it a problem or a symptom of a greater problem which could be addressed without creating a system, position, or policy? Think, analyze, and confer with your team before creating a position. Moreover, start with the exit in mind. When X is no longer a problem, we will no longer need the position, policy, or program we created to address it. Instead we will need mitigating actions and leadership, not necessarily a position to prevent it from happening again.
Leaders may find themselves alone in this space - trying to determine what is needed and not needed balanced against limited resources. That is why not everyone chooses to be a leader. In leadership and in organizations, the Field of Dreams approach doesn't work - build it, fill it, and the problem will come.
Make it Personal!
Rob
Rob Campbell