A lot of companies have someone whose job is to make the company a nicer place to work.
They’ll sort out the perks package, and make sure people have got gym memberships, and decent healthcare, and generous parental leave. They’ll work on the company culture, the values, the mission.
These are all good things.
I’ve spent twenty-five years doing something similar, but for the systems people work inside.
Because here’s the thing. You can have incredible benefits and an inspiring culture, but if the work itself is frustrating, confusing or constantly getting in people’s way, none of it really matters.
It might be the way people talk to each other, or the way decisions get made, or the way work flows through a company. Those things are all systems. Those things are designed too.
You wind up at a place where good people are delivering in spite of the organisation's systems, rather than because of them, and that... comes at a cost.
Just not one you're measuring yet.
And that’s the bit I help with.
You Don't Have A People Problem.
The details change. The shape of the problem usually doesn't. But stuff like this doesn't have to be normal.
Your systems are rewarding the wrong behaviour.
Most people respond sensibly to the systems they're in. If the behaviour looks wrong, the incentives often are too.
Might show up as: defensive estimates, hidden risks, and a team that's stopped telling you the truth.
Your organisation is losing touch with reality.
Projects rarely fail all at once. More often, the picture inside the organisation slowly drifts away from what's actually happening.
Might show up as: milestones that pass but don't quite land, and a growing sense that the plan stopped reflecting reality a while ago.
You built the way you work for an imaginary employee.
Real people have different strengths, constraints and ways of working. Good systems make room for that instead of pretending everyone is the same.
Might show up as: decent satisfaction scores alongside quietly persistent underperformance.
People are leaving for reasons you can't see.
Good people rarely burn out overnight. More often, they slowly stop believing they can do their best work here.
Might show up as: your best people going quiet, burning out, or heading for the door.
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