It stands to reason that organizations and individuals within them can achieve goals more quickly and with less energy and effort if there is little friction or unnecessary delay.
Friction is whatever gets in the way of the flow, like anything or anyone rubbing against each other, causing conflict. Friction can be good or bad, and every organization has it. Friction can often be attributed to clashes of personalities or styles. It can lead to emotional responses rather than verbal ones. In that case, it is best to take the personality issues out of the situation and focus on objectives. Having no friction at all can have negative consequences as well, suggesting that no one is questioning what is being done or where they are heading.
Delay can be defined as adding time without value. Computer problems or disruptions are one example. Or a person with decision-making authority who has a slow, analytical style can lead to missed opportunities and can cost money.
So there is a disconnect.
Sometimes there is a lack of articulated priorities. If everything seems to be equally important – or that is the message that people get – how are they to know what absolutely must be done when everything can’t be accomplished in a given period of time? Leaders must set priorities and communicate them well.
Reducing friction and delay are important for a number of reasons, mostly obvious:
To identify friction or delay, someone, as neutral as possible, has to ask curious questions such as:
In addition to asking questions, some observations provide valuable clues. Observe people as they do their work for bottlenecks and delays. Are there instances and processes where wasted effort and friction can be eliminated? What can be streamlined, or done in a better, smarter way?
If there is no qualified, available and neutral person resident in the organization to assist management in dealing with friction and delay, a consultant or coach can:
Sometimes people just accept things, even owners and firm leaders. That is generally demoralizing. To keep a firm moving dynamically and prevent talented and desirable people from leaving, friction and delay must be addressed regularly.
© Phyllis Weiss Haserot 2003.