bureaucracy in organizations

Photo by Cristofer Maximilian on Unsplash

In an age where rapid tech advancements, swift paradigm shifts, and risk-taking define the business landscape, the words of Elon Musk strike an almost haunting chord. “This is how civilizations decline. They quit taking risks. And when they quit taking risks, their arteries harden. Every year, there are more referees and fewer doers. When you’ve had success for too long, you lose the desire to take risks.”

If we distill this sentiment, it cautions against the dangers of complacency and underscores the inherent value of risk-taking in organizational growth. As leaders in the multifamily space, the resonance is palpable. Here’s why.

The absence of risk can spell stagnation. Historical success, while validating, can often blind one to the changing needs and evolving paradigms of the industry. The more we nestle in our comfort zones, banking on tried and tested methods, the more we stand to lose touch with the ever-changing reality of business. 

Musk’s mention of “more referees and fewer doers” is particularly compelling. We are often mired in layers of bureaucracy of our own making. While governance and oversight are crucial, an overemphasis can stifle innovation. If every novel idea must pass through an exhaustive series of approvals, the spirit of entrepreneurship within the organization diminishes. Those passionate “doers” find their energies curbed, their innovations quelled. We must think about freedom within a framework to ensure we don’t stall the organization. 

Human-centric leadership thrives on understanding people’s aspirations, challenges, and needs. It’s about intuiting future trends, predicting shifts in consumer behavior, and acting on these insights with agility. This requires the courage to take risks and the vision to see where these risks could lead. We must have the freedom to think and, more importantly, act. We must be open to change. 

Yet, to drive this change, leaders must foster a culture that celebrates risk. This doesn’t mean recklessness but rather a calculated approach to innovation, where the potential for growth and the impact on the human experience are at the forefront of decision-making. Organizations should be sanctuaries for creative thought, where the fear of failure doesn’t overshadow the thrill of the possible. In a former life, we were governed by a value that fits this thought – Take Educated Risks. 

While stability and consistency have their merits, the true advancement of any organization or leader lies in embracing risk. In that risk lies the promise of growth and novel ways of doing things. As multifamily leaders, let us not be content with past glories. Instead, let’s seize the future, one risk at a time.