“No problem…we’ll do it!” Isn’t that what he wants to hear from his colleagues and subordinates? If so, I regret to inform you that he has fallen into a common and pernicious trap. To quote Peter Senge from his book The Fifth Discipline:

“A person who publicly questions whether the organization can achieve what it has set out to do is quickly labeled ‘not on board’ and seen as a problem. However, this ‘can do’ optimism is a thin layer on a fundamentally reactive vision [which will] will eventually drive out the real vision.”

“Can do” attitudes can get you through the quarter, but it takes real insight to get you through the decade. Here’s a cautionary tale:

Fifteen years ago, I was in a senior management position at a software development company where “I can do it” was the only acceptable answer to almost anything. As the new kid on the block, I saw the “can do” chorus as a growing problem, so I set up a one-on-one meeting with the CEO to alert him. In the meeting, I told him that he thought we (management) were playing a dangerous game because the “do” part wasn’t happening and couldn’t happen with existing resources. I asked him to relax the restrictions he had personally imposed so that his leadership team could adapt to this critical threat.

The result: I was fired and the company closed in six months. And based on this “experience” in senior management, the CEO and all my senior leadership colleagues went on to senior leadership positions at other companies (go figure). I, on the other hand, withdrew to lick my wounds.

I’ve since learned that thoughtful resistance is going to be the typical response of any leader to observations (like mine) that they’ve pushed their company into a corner. I am amazed at how naive he was. Today, when I have to deliver that same message, I appeal to fifteen more years of experience, so that the scene is less dramatic and the result more productive.

The lesson of my story is obvious, but I doubt you’re putting it into practice in your company. Because… face it… you don’t like to admit your mistakes, and others don’t like to admit theirs. We avoid conversations that seem to lead us in that direction, and the deeper the error, the more strategic our defenses. This shrinking circle of wagons may protect our egos, but it threatens our companies and our careers (CEO story notwithstanding).

Fortunately, it’s possible to make that circle expand again, and the remedy starts with these two simple directives:

• Leaders must encourage and reward challenge.
• Leaders must hire and retain open employees

Although simply stated, for most organizations these directives represent a profound change that will take place over a period of years if at all. As the change leader, you’ll need guidance through the sometimes rugged terrain. Of course, I hope you call me. But if you’re not ready for that, I highly recommend Senge’s book!