Yesterday, I was on an email chain talking about a financial reporting tool and process that is quite evidently very broken. The resources using the tool, now being called ‘Champions’ for our respective geographic regions, have varying levels of expertise and understanding ranging from novice to expert. There is a lot of uncertainty over the billing triggers that happened downstream. There are many manual steps with a high possibility of human error. Finally, there are too many one-off situations requiring outside help to fix.
One person suggested to the rest of the email chain that we should embark on a Kaizen, a Japanese term for continual improvement. The response? He was told such changes were “above my pay grade.” “I don’t have authority,” and change only comes from the top.
I cringed.
Frankly, that kind of attitude is a cop-out. Everyone has the ability to recommend change not just “from the top.” In fact, as someone on the front line actually using the tool, you’re in a much better position to recommend changes than someone who is further away and only looking at final results, not how you got there. You might not have the resources or money at your disposal to actually implement but nothing is stopping you from summarizing your findings and proposing the ideas to the leaders who do control those resources.
Who knows, the leader might agree with you and appoint you to lead the project. A successful implementation and rollout of the change would solve a major problem – something you can add to your résumé. Once you’ve been established as someone who can effect positive change, you’ll likely be asked to do it again, and again, which can ultimately lead to a promotion. This is one of the best methods in picking yourself for career advancement as opposed to waiting for someone to pick you.
Even if your suggestions are shot down or don’t meet the leader’s vision today, you’ll be looked at differently, as a change agent, and someone who will be picked to help lead future projects.
Saying it’s above your pay grade is deflecting blame. It puts the problem on someone else’s shoulders and gives you a pulpit to complain or say “see I told you it wouldn’t work.” Failure is ok. That’s how we learn.
Encouraging a culture of feedback and open two-way communication between associates and leaders is critical to the success of an organization.