It's a feature of many of our great public sector institutions that highly skilled people working at the sharp-end are undermined by well-meaning but unsighted management decisions.
I was reading the Guardian's recent special feature on Social Enterprise which tells the success stories of a number of social entrepreneurs, who frustrated with the bureaucracy and waste they experienced in the NHS and other public sector bodies, decided they could better deliver the service themselves as a not-for-profit provider.
Good for them. It means that committed, experienced people can now escape to do a better job rather than stay and build their careers in the NHS where they, too, could be promoted out of their competence to join the expanding ranks of ineffectual managers, bean-counting for the CEO.
Empowered but disabled
That's not to disparage the managers who thought they could make a difference and then discovered that the new role piled on so much bureaucratic pressure that they would soon forget their previous frontline dedication and commitment amid the debris of compromise and prevarication.
They end up trying to roll-out the consequences of board decisions with messages that are unclear and poorly communicated. And it's no surprise to find them on stress leave, sitting alonside the the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the Doormouse.
Dissident lemmings
We are also learning that three former non-executive directors of the Royal Bank of Scotland "may have been intimidated and threatened with the sack for asking searching questions about its financial affairs." It has to be one of the strongest arguments for diversity - being able to share a wide range of views and ideas. In a typical autocracy this is usually drowned out by shouts of "It's like herding cats... anyway, if you're not with us you must be against us." It is not coincidental that decisions often emerging from this culture are anything but clear to the staff. "Alice felt dreadfully puzzled. The Hatter's remark seemed to have no sort of meaning in it, and yet it was certainly English. `I don't quite understand you,' she said, as politely as she could."
Going to a better place
You can imagine that I had my faith restored by a little item on Worcestershire Royal Hospital where staff have voted it one of the best healthcare organisations to work for in the country. I do hear from time to time about CEOs who have a positive commitment to developing an ethos. One which is intolerant of management bullies, genuinely listens to its people on the frontline and makes corporate decisions that everyone can understand even if they don't necessarily agree with them.
