An Administrative team and an Information Technology team decided to engage in a competitive boat race. Both teams practiced hard and long to reach their peak performance.
On the big day they felt ready. The IT team won the race by a mile.
Afterward, the Administrative team was discouraged by the loss. Morale sagged. Corporate management decided that the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found. A consulting firm was hired to investigate the problem and recommend corrective action.
The consultant's finding: The IT team had eight people rowing and one person steering; the Administrative team had one person rowing and eight people steering. After a year of study and millions spent analyzing the problem, the consultant firm concluded that too many people were steering and not enough were rowing on the Administrative team.
So as race day neared again the following year, the Administrative team management structure was completely reorganized. The new structure: four steering managers, three assistant steering managers and a new performance review system for the person rowing the boat to provide work incentive.
The IT team won the race by two miles.
Humiliated, the Administrative team laid off the rower for poor performance and gave the managers a bonus for discovering the problem
Morale of the story
This is typical of a company where the boss is not hands on.
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