Management theatre: The trap that keeps organisations looking busy but ineffective

Does your safety system reduce risk? Or just soothe executive anxiety?

I’m no expert on safety systems, but I get the feeling sometimes that they’re too often filled with controls that do more to make executives feel better about themselves than they are effective in reducing underlying risks.

I’m not talking about science-backed, practical controls that flow bottom up from safety leaders and frontline workers. I mean the top-down controls that we managers might be tempted to put in place because they feel like an easy way to get started and show we’re trying.

I think this is probably true of management systems generally, but especially those that are stereotypically bureaucratic e.g. quality management, procurement, compliance systems etc.

The problem is these systems too often create a sense of busyness, with little actual impact to show for it. It’s pure management theatre.

I don’t know why it happens. But I suspect it’s psychological. When things go wrong, I guess we want to be able to have something to point to or – in the worst cases – hide behind.

I think this is why management consultants can get so much work in this space. They’re not always there to advise on effective change, so much as they’re there to provide cover that leaders can rely on if push comes to shove.

Now, imagine two scenarios:

1. You pay a big consulting firm $1m to come up with a new management system that – for whatever reason of design or implementation – doesn’t make any meaningful difference
2. You do nothing. Not because you don’t care, but because you haven’t yet found an effective solution

Then, imagine something goes wrong. Most of us would rather be in scenario 1. We can point to the (ineffective) system and say “look, we were trying!”.

But, from the organisation’s perspective, scenario 2 is better. If nothing else, you still have a million dollars to invest in effective solutions.

The braver path is to drop the theatre. And be honest about what is and isn’t working. And be clear about where more time and understanding is required to develop effective management controls.

If your management system – or an element within it – isn’t making a measurable difference, change it. Or stop it altogether. And put the resources into something that will actually work.