The siren of bureaucratic process

The easiest way to measure and manage is to set a super easy goal that requires no emotional labour. Say, sitting in a desk for 8 hours per day.

You get up. Hurry through your breakfast. Dismiss your children’s requests. Jump on the train or in the car. Hustle through the commute to get to your desk.

Once you’re there. You feel like you’ve validated yourself. You can finally relax because, regardless of your output for the day, you’ve follow the structure set for you. If you don’t produce, well hey—you followed the rules. You can blame the system. Deniability.

If you’re a leader or manager, there is no easier way to fool yourself you’re managing than to check if someone else is at their desk.

This is one of the deep attractions to bureaucracy. You never have to fully step up and take responsibility. For yourself or for others.

There is always a process to point at. You can follow it. Criticise it. Even denounce it. But most people will never leave it. Though you can, you know.

But almost nobody does.