Structure and Flexibility: A Tough but Necessary Balance to Maintain

When I was younger I had no respect for structure - mostly because it was artificial and was imposed on me. From an early age we are taught in a structural manner: when to go to bed, when to wake up, when to go to school, how to write a paper, etc.As I grew older and began my first few jobs that frustration with structure continued to grow. Working at big companies showed me that structure was just something that stood in my way of doing things efficiently and effectively.Over the past few years however I’ve gone from the biggest anti-structure advocate to a supporter of it. I found that with ‘good’ structure, I was able to get predictable results and make my team feel more comfortable with how they did things and where they would lead us.What happened was that I went from the person who hated working within structure to the person setting it up… And I went overboard! I planned meetings down to the agendas, planned my day in the most logical and efficient ways, and I actually got mad when my structure was modified.Certainly, we all know that the best laid plans are still just plans. I lost that. Now I’m trying to find a good balance between structure and the flexibility I need to recognize opportunities and work effectively.What I’ve found:1) Structure for big things is great! When it comes to big meetings and client project management, structure is important and effective2) Structure for small things isn’t great. Trying to plan methods for people to give you feedback, creating rubrics to score how we make decisions and generating contingency rules for how we handle certain situations are all examples of how structure makes you inflexible.3) Structure killed my gut - and my gut has always guided me best! When there are rules and procedures for every little thing in place, no matter how well intentioned, you lose the ability to defy logic sometimes… That’s definitely not ideal in a fast paced small business.4) When people need structure, it’s obvious. I now like to think of structure reactively as opposed to proactively… It should be a tool to help guide us, not codified rules for things we do naturally.5) Structure and planning aren’t the same thing.Overall I’m glad I’ve wrestled with this structure issue now. As my company grows I want to be able to guide its path with a good balance of structure and this was certainly a great lesson!