When speaking to groups on the topic of leadership I like to get into a segment I call ‘Barriers to High Performance.” One of the things I cover is The Bike Shed Effect. Maybe you’ve heard of it.
The tendency of teams to give a disproportionate amount of attention to trivial issues and details was made famous by C. Northcote Parkinson in 1957. With the help of Wikipedia here’s the summary.
As the story goes, a finance committee has three investment decisions to make. First, it discusses a £10 million investment in a nuclear-power plant. They approved it in 2.5 minutes. Second, they had to decide what color to paint a bike shed—total cost about £350. After a 45-minute discussion a decision is reached. And third, the committee addresses the need for a new staff coffee machine, which will cost about £21. A one-hour discussion ensues. The committee then decides to postpone the decision.
Parkinson called this phenomenon the law of triviality (also known as the bike-shed effect). Everyone is happy to offer an opinion on something as simple as a bike shed. In fact, they’ll talk on and on. But when it comes to commenting on ‘the heavy stuff’ the average person is out of their depth, has little to contribute, will therefore be closed-lip and will presume the experts know what they are doing.
When you see this happening, call it out. Say to the group, ‘Hey, we’re bike-shedding here’. It’ll help snap people out of the trance they are in and bring them back to a more productive reality.
#Leadership #Leadership Development #Executive Coaching