Leak Detection

I spent the weekend at a dear friend’s lake house with several other friends. We are all the senior leaders in our organizations, and we enjoy getting to talk through and process things with each other. We also like to eat great food. In the midst of smoking meat, grilling, making great coffee and other treats, we also like to solve problems.

The problem that presented itself was water dripping from the ceiling on the first floor from an area above that included the kitchen, a bathroom, the washing machine, and several other potential sources of water. To complicate things even more, the water initially seemed to be associated with someone running water in another bathroom and/or running the dishwasher.

The difficulty was trying to determine where the water was coming from. It is important for us to understand that where the water shows up is rarely where the water is leaking. Water can migrate and move around in walls and along floors or ceilings until it finds a low place or a hole. If you are fortunate, you can trace the moisture to see where it is coming from.

When leaders notice a “drip” in their organizational culture, usually the leak has been there for a while, and the drip is not the problem—it is the symptom. Maybe it is a contrary behavior that has become more pronounced. Maybe it is a negative attitude that is becoming more common. Often, we missed the first few drips, and now we are staring at a large area of water damage and a puddle on the floor.

The way we handle the newly noticed problem tells others around us a lot about our leadership and our character. Like the water leak at the cabin, not doing anything about it is not an option. The damage continues to spread, and more and more of the house is impacted. The only real option is to do the hard work of tracing the leak to its source and fixing it.

I say “newly noticed” because the other reality about a “leak” is that other people in the organization are probably already aware of it. It would be nice (and probably the subject of another musing) if people would let leadership know when things are not going the way we have all agreed they should. Often though, the leader is fairly late to the game and must respond with the knowledge that it has been dripping for a while already.

Houses are difficult because the way they are built puts lots of mechanical stuff (including water pipes) in the walls, floors, and ceilings. These make the living spaces more friendly but make it very hard to notice, diagnose, and fix problems.

Luckily for leaders, organizational structures can be very open, and we can (if we want) make it easier to see problems before they become messes. This requires us to foster a culture where people are encouraged to and rewarded for pointing out small problems they notice so that repairs can be made before large amounts of damage occur. Just like you wouldn’t blame the plumbing in your house for leaking, we should be willing to give grace to team members if we notice slight “leaks” as long as, once identified, they are repaired. We all have the potential to spring a leak from time to time. We should be a part of a community that helps us notice and repair them so we can continue to move the entire organization forward. Leak detection and repair are necessary to maintain a healthy culture, and they are the Bison Way.