Sometimes setting others up to fail is the right thing to do.

One classic example of this is the battle of Thermopylae during which a small force of Greeks held off an overwhelming mass of Persians for three days.  The Greeks were set up to fail, with most of them getting killed by the end of the battle.  But their stand gave the rest of Greece reason to believe they could defeat the Persians – which they did in the end.

Consider this approach when onboarding into a new role that requires significant organizational change.

The ACES model suggests three approaches to a new culture: Assimilate, Converge and Evolve, or Shock.  Assimilate is the easiest – culturally.  Converge and Evolve is the preferred approach most of the time.  Sometimes you have no choice but to shock the organization to turn things around.  The problem is that those leading the shock often get rejected by the organization in the end.

Let someone else be the bad guy.

If you join a group that needs to be shocked, consider having someone else do the shocking.  This could be an outside consultant.  It could be an interim manager.  Or it could be a loyal supporter in a temporary role.   The suggestion is to have someone else deliver the initial bad news and shake the organization out of its inertia so that you can pick up the pieces and rally others around a forward-looking optimistic outlook.  People tend to reject the harbinger of doom and rally around the beacon of hope.  Be the beacon.

One critical piece of this is that those getting set up to fail know what they are signing up for.  The Greeks at Thermopylae knew what they were getting into.  They were well-informed volunteers making a conscious choice.  This may be the crux of the difference between setting others up to fail as an evil act and it being the right thing to do.

George Bradt – PrimeGenesis Executive Onboarding and Transition Acceleration

Note: There’s more on the ACES model in The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan