Three Types of Obstacles
In my work with clients, I’ve seen three types of obstacles; three categories of issues that keep leaders from experiencing the Growth, Satisfaction, and Impact they desire.
SYSTEMIC OBSTACLES
Systemic Obstacles are the inefficiencies, issues and unintended consequences that get the focus of entrepreneurs, MBA students, and social-justice activists. There are so many amazing stories of leaders challenging the status quo and making the world a better place by finding new and better ways to do things. Here are a two of my favorites:
Unit 9900 is an Israeli Special Forces unit that hires teens with autism to do video surveillance. For many employers, an applicant with autism is a non-starter. In fact, nearly 42% of young adults on the autism spectrum never worked for pay during their early 20's. But the Israeli army discovered that this “disability” can be a superpower when used in the right context. This is a great example of leaders overcoming a systemic obstacle – matching the under-employed with work they are uniquely qualified to do.
Meet the Once-Homeless Chef Using Food to Fight Poverty. Mark Brand owns and runs several restaurants in Vancouver, BC. Nearly 50% of his employees are “barrier employees” - people who face barriers to employment like mental illness, addiction, lack of work history, homelessness, and more. As someone who has experienced homelessness, Mark has a passion for helping the marginalized. But providing employment is only part of his solution. Restaurants always have leftover food at the end of the day, but litigation risk keeps them from doing anything productive with it. Mark partnered with local leaders to change the legislation so restaurants can give their leftover food to the homeless without litigation risk. Best of all, he employs marginalized workers to deliver food to the homeless – providing employment, community, dignity, and food to those who need it most.
Overcoming Systemic Obstacles brings Legacy. It brings the impact we all once dreamed of, but many of us have given up hope of ever seeing.
ORGANIZATIONAL OBSTACLES
Organizational Obstacles are the gremlins that keep organizations healthy and effective. These obstacles can range from an absence of corporate purpose, to fuzzy job descriptions. No standard operating procedures, outdated systems, a toxic culture, lack of transparency and other obstacles can stall an organization. There are hundreds of examples and root causes, but most of them can be summarized as a lack of understanding and alignment across an organization’s Vision, Journey, Culture and Results. I’ll unpack this later, but Organizational Obstacles are notoriously difficult to see from inside the organization, and every organization has them. Coaches and consultants make millions every year helping business leaders find and overcome them because overcoming Organizational Obstacles brings Growth.
INTERNAL OBSTACLES
Internal Obstacles are the bumps, bruises, hang-ups, and bad habits that keep us as leaders from being who we can be, who we should be, and who our organizations need us to be. This is by far the least popular set of obstacles. Most of us would rather look at the issues in our industry or the issues in our company than look at the issues in ourselves. But this painful work is vitally critical
for our personal health, professional effectiveness, and for the people we lead because overcoming Internal Obstacles brings Satisfaction.
As leaders, we face these three types of obstacles all the time. Which can feel a little overwhelming. There are issues in our industry, our company, and ourselves that need to be addressed. However, typically there is only one set of obstacles keeping us awake at night. What obstacles are causing the most frustration for you right now?
