Committees usually
pick beige
Generally any wall color decided by a committee will be beige or some other
off-white color. Committees are like that. They seldom pick orange. They're too
reasonable. They're safe. They often search for the lowest common denominator,
the decision which alienates the least number of people. Want something
passionate edgy or creative? Ask one person to do it. Want something safe and
non-irritating -- name a committee.
Committees provide a governor of sort on the fast-driving edgy people,
including speeding pastors. Committess can boulster weak leaders sometimes, but they’re better
at throttling strong leaders. Committees moderate extreme ideas, calm down passion, slow
down the decision-making process. They protect against excesses. Their
decisions are usually the least-criticizable and most
traditional middle ground. But they also provide ownership (at least for those
on the committee), participatory democracy, and a group to blame for bad
decisions. But most of all, they are safe.
If you want safety, name a committee. But if you want something orange, assign
it to an individual. So what are some other reasons for naming committees vs. individuals.
So,
what do you think?
Responses to this
column are welcome at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=161502633
Keith Drury
www.TuesdayColumn.com
Original
1984 recording: http://www.drurywriting.com/keith/strategetics/leadership/72.mp3