During a session the other day, someone described Policy as “mass accountability”. Logically, this totally makes sense – policies are created to act in the best interest of the majority. The challenge, I believe, is the facelessness that comes with anything “mass”.
When I tell my wife or a good friend that I’m going to do something, the mental image of disappointing them is a strong motivator for following through. If I’m doing something because it’s policy, I lose that personal connection, that very real and very personal disappointment from someone I care about. I lose a strong motivator.
Policy and procedure are important, of course, and it’s difficult (if not impossible) to work with a large group of people without them. But I think to increase effectiveness, we need to reconnect with the faces, names and lives of the people we actually impact through accordance (or dismissal) of policy.
Are your organization’s policies anchored by real stories? By real impact on real people?
