7 Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy is excessive multiplication of, and concentration of power in, administrative bureaus or administrators. In project management, bureaucracy consists of all the organizational processes that don’t add value to the project (even though they may add value somewhere else). Bureaucracy is generally used to mean any organizational process we think is a pain in the neck. If we like the process or the process benefits us, we don’t call it bureaucratic.

The Sin

The complexity and extent of organizational process tends to be proportional to the size of the organization. Big companies obviously need more process and more structure than small ones, making it more difficult to get things done.

In functional (“stovepipe”) organizations, projects generally cut laterally across organizational areas. Bureaucracies tend to facilitate communication up and down their own chains of command rather than across those organizational areas, creating the potential for conflict, or at least additional project cost.

If an organization does relatively few projects, the environment has to be designed for operational work; project managers will encounter greater problems in getting things done because the system is not optimized for them. If the organization is mostly project-driven, the same bureaucracy may become destructive because it’s no longer appropriate for most of the work.

Project teams are also subject to bureaucracy, and that’s not such a good thing. A communications plan is a great tool to organize your project, but if you go too far, you’ll spend all your time filling out forms and filing reports, and so will your team. When a project suffers from “hardening of the arteries,” trouble can’t be far behind.

A Case of [Positive] Bureaucracy

The Manhattan Project to develop an atomic bomb was intensely bureaucratic. Originally, a small group of brilliant scientists attempted to manage the project while at the same time directing the scientific effort. It was too much. Construction manager General Leslie Groves, fresh from building the Pentagon, was assigned to the job. He knew little if anything about atomic bombs, but that was not his job. Procedures and processes—bureaucracy—were the savior of the project. How else could three cities be built from the ground up (with every bit of infrastructure necessary, from schools to sewers), thousands of pages of military and contract regulations complied with, and the most complex research project in history kept driving forward?

Danger Signs

The costs of bureaucracy can be enormous. The wrong kind of bureaucracy can be even more expensive. Ironically, though, the absence of bureaucracy can result in a system completely out of control.

It is fashionable for technical people, especially, to disdain paper-pushing obstructionists, but by despising the people who hold your project in their hands, you merely solidify the problem. By refusing to acknowledge that their process often fulfills a legitimate organizational need, even if it doesn’t benefit you and your project directly, you shut off any opportunity to find win-win solutions. It’s okay to make a few jokes about corporate paper-pushers. If nothing else, some tension gets released. But distinguish between a little bit of venting and wholesale resentment—and help your team understand that compliance is simply part of the world of doing business.

Solutions

Bureaucracy is necessary and inevitable. Project managers have to accept the reality that not every system in the organization is—or should be—designed to benefit the project or the project manager. The killer is having a bad attitude or being inappropriately resistant to bureaucracy.

The vital project management skill set known as “office politics” has to come into play. The process of office politics involves dealing with bureaucratic structures and red tape unofficially as well as officially, using soft power and informal power to get things done.

Is that ethical and appropriate? Some people act out of selfish motives, and others use tactics that involve dishonesty or other forms of shady behavior. But you don’t have to act that way to be politically effective. Listening, building relationships, considering the bigger picture, helping others and asking for help in return—these are the skills of a master politician (and project manager!).

Tips for Making the Most of Bureaucracy

Recognize that creating a viable organizational structure is a complex and sophisticated engineering project. Learn to appreciate its value, so you can make sure that structure benefits your project, either directly or indirectly.

Use informal power to get the support your project needs