5 Reasons Committees Suck
Commitees inspire all the wrong things in people.
- Complaining in a committee is easy, but no one takes responsibility or ownership.
- Hiding is easy, because each person’s contributions aren’t really measured.
- Decisions are nearly impossible, because you’re always striving for consensus.
- Progress is always limited, because pleasing everyone means not striving for the best solution.
- Personal objectives, politics and hidden agendas are practically the foundation for committees.
Simply put, committees are no way to get things done.
Teams on the other hand can be a much more successful way of working together. Nothing is perfect, but give me a team over a committee any day.
Put a team together for the right reasons and manage it properly and you can get results.
- Teams hold each person accountable for their ideas, work and effort.
- Measuring each person’s contributions in a team is easier. Set expectations quickly and track progress of each individual.
- Teams want consensus but they don’t need it to be successful. Decisions are easier with good leaders.
- Teams are meant to get things done, not talk about stuff endlessly. It’s not about making everyone happy, it’s about accomplishing something.
- Teams are motivated by common goals.
Certainly, you can have a crappy team. Put the wrong person in charge, bring together the wrong mix of people, and suddenly you’ve got an ineffective team. Either they won’t work as a team or they’ll turn into a committee.
And, I suppose there’s a chance you can have a good committee, but I’ve never seen one.
So true and on point, Ben!
“committees are no way to get things done.” and the above five points.
Thanks for the reminder,
Hi Renee - thanks for stopping by. I hope you’re not stuck in committee hell!
WAS! And I don’t plan to be in one
soonfor as long as I’m alive.Hey Ben- I totally agree- Have your read the Marcus Buckingham Books on management? I think he gets it right when he talks about the fundamental things that motivate us as employees (and employers) and that we have to play to our employees strengths and give them support in their weak areas. Sometimes it takes a while, though, to identify these things.
So in Committees, you’ve got a bunch of equal players each trying to make sure their agenda is the most important- it is competitive for “air time” where a team is organized specifically to get something done. Everyone acts in concert towards one goal. Yeah you need a leader, but the competition should be external, not internal to the organization as it is with committees. I think this is the fundamental difference. What do you think?
Whitney
Whitney - I think you’re on the money. Certainly teams can create conflict, competition, etc. but fundamentally they’re designed better than committees.
I haven’t read the books you’re referring to; something else for me to try and check out this holiday season though!
Thanks for commenting.