Sandlot Wars

I’m really stretched at work nowadays (hence the relatively low frequency of blog posts). Too much work. Not quite enough people to get through the work. I’m not alone. Most of my peers are in the same situation.

One unexpectedly good consequence is that my peers and I are playing as a team more than we used to. We clearly need help from each other, and are generally quite happy to punt the ball over to each other.

This is in stark contrast to another time, within this same company, when we were overstaffed. We had too many ambitious and talented people, with plenty of time on their hands, looking to carve out bigger roles to match their ambitions and talents. This lead to the Sandlot wars. Almost all conversations were political rather than truth-seeking, and came with an undercurrent of “this is my sandlot and you’re not going to play here.”

Based on that contrast, my top management tip: keep your team slightly short-staffed. Your people will be under pressure. That’s OK. They will learn to take the pressure. An environment where people have a lot of room to play and grow, and have a credible prospect of advancement, creates a much healthier culture.

My inner sceptic just asked a question. Organizations riven by turf wars are clearly less pleasant work-places than those where people co-operate. But are they less successful? Great research topic for a Ph.D. student. But, for sure, you will have more fun working for a light, stretched organization.