Mark C Winters explains why employees bypassing the integrator to reach the visionary directly undermines organizational clarity. When this happens, the visionary should ask: "Are you going to tell them or am I?" Winters says this question typically stops end runs within 30 days.
At eos, we stress over and over again the importance of no end runs in a company. It's actually one of the five rules from Rocket Fuel. End runs may feel more efficient at first, but they often cause even more stress, confusion and rework than simply following the process. Let me explain why. In an organization, end runs happen when a visionary goes around the integrator and begins to give direction somewhere in the organization before an integrator was in place, this may have been the natural way things happen. It was a habit the visionary formed as the best way to get things done. But now, with an integrator in place, a visionary has to avoid the trap of that old habit. Otherwise, they effectively cut their integrator off at the knees, preventing them from being effective. Really, it's just a form of tampering. End runs can also happen when someone goes around the integrator directly to the visionary, usually to complain or seek direction. A good habit for visionaries to adopt in this case is called the question. Visionaries use this when an employee goes around the integrator directly to them and starts asking for direction or complaining. First, just listen. Take in everything they have to say and after they finish, you ask the question. You say, ok, I've heard you. Now I have one question. Are you going to tell them or am I? Because one of us needs to tell them. Interjecting that question at the end of listening to an end run has a huge impact on behavior and you can cut this behavior off at the beginning. In fact, when clients adopt the question in their organization, it typically eliminates end runs within about 30 days. Now, a couple of clarifying points about this. Visionaries should still communicate across the organization and should definitely listen when someone comes to them. Brainstorming is great. Communicating is great. Discussing is okay. Visionaries just need to stop short of actually making decisions or giving direction. Hard as it is, they must resist the temptation to give directives or solve those complaints. Also, they shouldn't get into the habit of just listening to a complaint and not letting it go anywhere. Visionaries should not become the complaint department. Here's the most important part. Visionaries must never complain about their integrators. Visionaries need to solve problems with their integrators in their same page meetings, not with other employees. So to recap. 1 recognize an end run when it happens. 2 adopt the question in your organization and drive out end runs within 30 days. And three visionaries recognize the power of your words and how they steer the culture in your business.
