Overcoming Success Theater at Meetings

Source: CNBC

Do you focus only on success at your team’s weekly meetings?  When Larry Culp took over at GE, the company was in big trouble.  Some thought the company could not be rescued. Yet, Culp noticed that meetings often devolved into “success theater.”  They only talked about what was going well.  Culp notes, “In the old GE, messengers got shot.  I wanted to create a market for problems.”  Larry Arduini, President and CEO of GE Healthcare explains, “Larry made airing problems not something to be feared, but a goal.  He called it ‘Embracing Red’.”  You can read more about the GE turnaround under Culp in Fortune this week. 

The description of success theater reminds me of the culture at Ford Motor Company when Alan Mulally took over two decades ago.  He too tried to make it ok to identify the projects and initiatives that were blinking red.  Famously, he noticed that “all the charts were green” in his first few months at Ford, despite billions in operating losses.  When a brave executive first presented a red chart, he applauded vigorously and then asked, “Is there anything we can do to help you?” As the culture of these meetings changed, the charts became a rainbow of green, yellow, and red. 

Success theater afflicts many companies. People use staff meetings to talk about what’s going well. By the time people finish bragging about the key performance indicators that are green, there’s very little time left to surface and discuss the problems and concerns within the organization. Therefore, I suggest that leaders not only “embrace the red” but rethink their meeting agendas as well. They need to make space for open discussion of new problems, challenges, and obstacles. Otherwise, all the talk of success crowds out any opportunity to surface concerns. Make it a regular practice to put “surfacing the reds” on the agenda for each key meeting. Then, take great care regarding how you react when people share bad news. Be curious and open-minded, and don’t punish the messenger. Ask questions, listen attentively, and don’t jump to conclusions.