Munchausen Management

A great article about the Munchausen Management Syndrome. Does it apply in your organization?

If your organization hasn’t diagnosed Munchausen Management Syndrome but you suspect that is the diagnosis, here some of the characteristics of the condition:

• Crisis mode is the only mode.
• Nothing gets done until it is a crisis.
• You can see the crisis coming and can predict who will “save the day”.
• Crisis prevention is not a priority.
• Crisis management means doing nothing until the problem puts a project, a deal, or the business at significant risk – then managing to save the day through “heroic” efforts – basically doing what should have been done when it should have been done.
• Promotions, rewards and recognition go to the “heroes” who save the day (and create the situations).
• There is a pattern to the behavior: crisis, heroics, reward, crisis, heroics, reward.
• It doesn’t matter who can get hurt or the long term ramifications to the organization – just as long as there is an opportunity for the individual(s) to “save the day”.

Munchausen Management : published at CarolinaNewswire.com - business ; technology news

This seems to happen in many companies and the sad part is that most of them are not even aware of the condition and/or the long-term ramifications for the organization.