When to break the rules

Mike Bonem May 26, 2018

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I read a troubling story about the suspension (and probable termination) of a high school principal, reportedly for minor rule infractions. This principal came out of retirement to lead a struggling school with low performance and a high dropout rates. During her decade at the helm, every performance measure for the school has improved dramatically.

I will admit that I don’t know all the facts behind this story and probably never will. I do, however, know a few things about rules, institutions and leaders:

• The number and inflexibility of rules increases as an entity becomes larger and older.The progression from organism to organization to institution is sadly predictable and is closely correlated with decreased effectiveness. 
• Those who tout the need for and benefit of rigid rules fail to see the negative impact on employee engagement. As Jim Collins notes, “Most companies build their bureaucratic rules to manage the small percentage of wrong people on the bus, which in turn drives away the right people on the bus” (Good to Great).  
• Success often requires breaking the rules. In Deep Change, Robert Quinn tells of a governmental agency that wanted to capture the stories of several of their leaders that had successfully led turnarounds in their departments. The story-telling project was cancelled when it was discovered that each of the leaders had broken one or more rules in their change efforts.
• Success is not guaranteed. Leaders who want to make a difference know that they must take risks. Sometimes that means an experiment that doesn’t work. Other times an experiment exceeds expectations, but violations of internal rules trigger punishment, as in the case of the principal. 

This is an odd article to write because I tend to be a rule-follower. However, I am ultimately drawn back to Warren Bennis’ oft-repeated definition that “leaders do the right things” rather than always trying to “do things right” (i.e., follow all the rules). Are you letting unnecessary rules keep you from leading well?

Photo source: istock 

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Mike Bonem is an author, consultant, speaker, church leader, businessperson, husband and father. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a breadth of experience in ministry and business, including 11 years as an executive pastor, consulting with Fortune 100 companies, and leading a start-up business. This article was first published on MikeBonem.com. Used with permission. Learn More »

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