In their insightful book Humanocracy, Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini show us, with plenty of examples, the risk of bureaucracy in organizations and the potential that can be unleashed by shifting to "humanocracy".
Using their words, "In a bureaucracy, human beings are instruments, employed by an organization to create products and services. In a humanocracy, the organization is the instrument—it's the vehicle human beings use to better their lives and the lives of those they serve."
Last December, I travelled from Europe to the Middle East first and then to India before flying back to Italy. As you can imagine, travelling amidst this pandemic situation it's not as straightforward as it used to be. While I was finding my way through the bureaucracy of every country, I met all kinds of people, from the more flexible ones willing to play with the rules to make things work to the more rigorous ones unable to do anything but follow a task list.
So, I found myself reflecting on internal bureaucracy. The one that we develop within our minds over time. In part, it's the reflection of the external one. Living and working for so long immersed in bureaucracy, it eventually creeps into our heads until it becomes part of who we are and how we do things. In part, it's the natural process of life, in which through the experiences that we live, we develop beliefs and assumptions about ourselves and the world.
Until at some point, we are so focused on what we should do that we completely forget what we can do. That's internal bureaucracy, a set of often unconscious inner beliefs, assumptions and conditionings limiting our ability to express our full human potential.
If you feel stuck, maybe you should check whether you have let your internal bureaucracy outgrow you.