Who is Driving This Clown Car Anyway?


Have you ever been to the circus or have you ever seen videos of the clown car? A bunch of clowns cramped inside, clambering out one after another. Yet you never really know who is driving. They had no purpose other than piing in with most likely no specific directions, no specific purpose other than being slightly silly?

In case you are slightly analytical and curious about how they fit so many clowns into cars, Car and Driver devised some physics to justify the science behind clown car stuffing.
“plenty of room in this beauty” photo by The Creative Exchange on Unsplash
When you think of the image of the clown car where multiple clowns cycle in and out of the vehicle, running in various directions, switching sides, changing locations, you lose track of who is where and which ones are in the show. The misdirection, constant change and people moving all over the place can cause you to lose track of who is doing what.

Unfortunately, some organizations are much like clown cars. The tenure in some positions seems fleeting, and bodies are moving from one space to another as rapidly as those clowns bailing out of a clown car. They are only in the role for a short period of time, not allowing a recognizable, productive and effective culture to take place. It is difficult to keep track of who is in charge and with which group or which teams.

There are also times when an organization has an imbalance of managers to direct staff and it is difficult to support a particular interest guessing who may or may not be on the project each month. This causes multiple inputs, changes from the original or intended direction, and the lack of continuity causes slack discipline and failure to complete actions as needed.

This myopic churn also creates an apathetic workforce and the response is usually “what is the latest initiative — oh well it won’t matter next year.” This is unfortunately too common. Too many misdirections or redirections, conflicting instructions or lack of instruction causes workers to begin to feel like they are the ones being shuffled in and out of the car like clowns at the circus.

So how do we stop the clown car culture from occurring? Here is a list of habits that are effective. Although not in any particular order, they are all important and should all be implemented.
  • Stability
  • Discipline
  • Unified vision
  • Delegation
  • Urgency
  • Action
  • A sponsor or a specific manager of that particular activity or concern
  • A clear identifiable leadership structure hierarchical and stable with the least amount of disruption.
  • A clear business or project plan, an identifiable scope, a detailed problem statement with requirements, owners and completion dates that are clearly communicated.
  • No ambiguity in the instruction or direction
  • Dedicated staffers that are empowered and are not multitasking or being shuffled from project to project
  • A clear definition of priorities and understanding the importance of particular initiatives or job that is required to be accomplished
  • A clear communication plan that is well defined, is clearly documented and is communicated often
  • A clear map or diagram (or RACIX — roles and responsibilities matrix) of who the players are
  • A stable culture
  • Leadership that listens
  • Owning your mistakes and striving for excellence
It is a choice. Make it and go.
“best career decision…ever!” photo by Mark Flanders on Unsplash
  • Or climb in and grab a wig, the face paint, slip on the big shoes, drop some banana peels and play around in buckets of confetti. It will all work out.
Go forth and be brilliant.

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