Can Talent Overcome Circumstance?

Why do certain positions and even facilities constantly struggle? Is it the talent or the circumstance? We often find ourselves caught up in assessing the people occupying job roles rather than the roles themselves. This leads to a skewed perception of what's truly at play when challenges arise.

Let's take the case of an admissions department that cycles through numerous talented Intake Directors. Each one is recruited based on their accomplishments and have proven more than worthy to take on the job, yet they all experience similar challenges as their predecessors and remain in a similar fate. Why does this happen? Are these individuals not as competent as they seem? Or does something else contribute to their challanges?

The truth is, it's more about the structure of the job and the strategies deployed than the person sitting in the seat. We need to recognize that complexities lie in the position itself and have less to do with the emotions tied to individual behaviors. After all, these Intake Directors are often working with the same budgets, staffing ratios, and navigating the same politics. However, systems and teams struggle to reimagine solutions due to bounded rationality - using rules of thumb and good enough solutions based upon their history and what is familiar to them.

So, the next time you find yourself quick to judge someone's performance in their role, take a step back and consider the bigger picture. Ask yourself if the real issue lies not with the person but with the position itself, especially when you see patterns. It's time to shift our focus from the characters in the positions to the positions themselves. Only then can we truly identify the root cause of the problem and work towards a solution.

Everything is figureoutable, as long as you are using the right solutions to solve the right problems.

#behavioranalysis #BiggerPicture