When:
- organizational goals seem unrealistic,
- cross-functional colleagues appear not to be cooperating,
- there are too few resources,
- and the CEO is watching,
it’s tempting to believe the best way to reduce risk to your career is to separate yourself from others and deliver your objectives.
It’s every person for themselves: “If I get my deliverable across the finish line, it won’t be my fault the program failed.”
The illusion of the loner path is that by succeeding in your responsibilities while the enterprise fails, at least:
- You are accountable.
- You can be counted on.
- You are seen as capable.
The opposite truth is revealed, however. (And everyone else can see it.)
Organizational success requires a connected system. Loners, choosing to prioritize their agendas over what the company is attempting to achieve, disconnect the system.
With tragic irony, the loner proves to others they are the very thing they worked so hard not to be: unaccountable and incapable.
If you’re tempted to take the loner path: Remember, you won’t fool anyone. You will be culpable of dividing people and slowing progress.
If you work with someone who is on the loner path: Remember, 1) everyone is human, and 2) they have a need they’re attempting to satisfy. Ask them, “How can I help you get what you want while you partner effectively with the rest of us?”
If you work in a system where colleagues are incentivized to take the loner path: Remember, an honest and safe group discussion about fears, how we prioritize our work, and what we can do to effectively synchronize our work benefits the whole.
If you work for management who encourages employees to take the loner path: Remember, your employment is a choice.
P.S. The loner path is…lonely.
