One of my most embarrassing life moments occurred when I was in the third grade. Our catholic school “controlled” the boys’ side and the girls’ side of the playground by establishing an imaginary line between a few of the parking lot light posts. Dare they have both genders mingling on the same parcel of asphalt! During one recess my twin brother and I tested the controls of our teachers Sr. Irene and Sr. Clare (who were actually sisters, too). Long story short, we were caught and subsequently tormented by having to wear a pink bow in our hair for the remainder of the school day. I never imagined that experience would reenter my life as I pondered organizational transitions, but it has in a pretty profound way.
You see, that day in 1974 my brother and I crossed a thin-line, albeit imaginary. The steps we took were simple: 1) identify an aim (getting to chat with some of the girls), 2) calculate the process of attaining the aim (a few innocent steps), 3) evaluate and mitigate the risks (okay, we never considered the pink bows), and 4) take action.
Yet confronting so many people in their desire to succeed, to work better together and strengthen teams are thick, arduous lines that create barriers to successful transitions: worn-out, historical reasons that “we’ve always done it this way”, old problems that were left unresolved and now fester just under the organization’s skin, and people’s sense of status that overshadows team success, just to name a few. Look around at teams and organizations that struggle with transition and change and you are likely to uncover some pretty thick lines.
The challenge in transition is to remove the thick lines and make them thin lines. By working diligently to create “Thin Line” organizations—those that maintain decorum, yet are adaptable and easy for associates to navigate, are organizations that are poised for greater success.
What type of organization are you creating? What stories can you share about how you moved from a "thick line" to a "thin line" organization? A "high wall" to a "low wall" team?
You see, that day in 1974 my brother and I crossed a thin-line, albeit imaginary. The steps we took were simple: 1) identify an aim (getting to chat with some of the girls), 2) calculate the process of attaining the aim (a few innocent steps), 3) evaluate and mitigate the risks (okay, we never considered the pink bows), and 4) take action.
Yet confronting so many people in their desire to succeed, to work better together and strengthen teams are thick, arduous lines that create barriers to successful transitions: worn-out, historical reasons that “we’ve always done it this way”, old problems that were left unresolved and now fester just under the organization’s skin, and people’s sense of status that overshadows team success, just to name a few. Look around at teams and organizations that struggle with transition and change and you are likely to uncover some pretty thick lines.
The challenge in transition is to remove the thick lines and make them thin lines. By working diligently to create “Thin Line” organizations—those that maintain decorum, yet are adaptable and easy for associates to navigate, are organizations that are poised for greater success.
What type of organization are you creating? What stories can you share about how you moved from a "thick line" to a "thin line" organization? A "high wall" to a "low wall" team?
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