If it ain't broke - break it. I only recently understood what this actually means.
I remember the first time I heard those words. A senior leader I respected was talking about breaking things, and it didn't make sense to me. Most of the workplaces I'd been in were already plenty broken, why would I make the problem worse? I finally understood what it meant when I sat for coffee with a new ED and he told me his story.
Everything in his organizatoin was sort of ok. Nothing was really broken — but change simply hadn't been on the table for years before his arrival. That kind of perpetual sameness starts to wear a place down.
It's called Stabilization Failure. It happens when pressure is present, but things feel stable enough that stress doesn't trigger decisions or change. Nothing is "wrong enough." And that's the problem.
You'll recognize it when you hear people say things like:
- We've tried that before ...
- That won't work in our culture ...
- Our leader is happy with the way things are ...
They sound reasonable. But if you've ever had to sit and listen to them while trying to move something forward, you know how quickly they shut things down.
When things feel stable and appear to be working, this can be a risky place.
The strange paradox is that when things feel stable and appear to be working, this can be a risky place. Risk-aversion is useful. But when it runs the shop, innovation gets stifled and creativity gets muffled. Energy drains. Over time, those spaces start to feel heavy, stifling, and limiting. And without room to create or experiment, your most motivated team members eventually find their exit plan.
If you're in a box, it might be time to get out.
1. Cut some doors and windows in your box. Any box, no matter how comfortable, limits your view. If you're in one, find ways to get out regularly. Take a competitor or to lunch. Road-trip to a conference with a junior employee. Hold your next team meeting in your largest client's boardroom. Changing your view does more to shift perspective than any report ever will.
2. Break the box. Sometimes getting out isn't enough. This is when the box itself needs to come apart. If you live in strategy, spend a week on the front lines. Have someone else chair the meeting you always lead — and give them real authority to try something new. Build a skunkworks team. Flatten the structure. Ask people to hang their titles at the door.
3. Set up a suggestion box. Set one up and commit to change publicly. Promise to implement one new idea every month. That's risky. Exactly.
Stability rarely breaks itself.
So consider your box. If it's gotten a little too comfortable, plan how you can change that. Of course, you don't have to. You can wait — and someone else will eventually change it for you.
Leadership is movement. You're either growing, or you're fading.
The Leadership Check-In is a free 20-minute diagnostic. It shows you where the real friction is — and whether the stability you're feeling is health or just habit.
En route — but aren't we all.