In many organizations people stop thinking. It’s not completely their fault. The issue is that between bosses and processes, most decision making is removed from people.
The result of this dynamic is that people stop thinking and they just fall into routines. If you’ve ever found yourself driving to work, arriving, and not remembering any driving decisions along the way, you know what I’m talking about. You’ve been driving on autopilot.
That’s why this mantra is critical. Each and every person needs to be re-trained to make decisions again. And for them to make a call, they have to be comfortable making mistakes without consequence.
It’s why I tell people to make their best call. If it’s right, we all win. If it’s wrong, we all learn. Either way, we can’t allow our teams to operate on autopilot.