From: Bizjournals.com

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My work has not changed much but the switch from swimming in a small pond to floundering in the ocean is huge. I sit in meetings and watch simple decisions get totally mired down in everyone’s special interests and agendas. Any advice on helping me survive?

Alice says:

Yes, hang in there. And get a bigger pair of fins.

Seriously, your question very aptly portrays the impact the work culture and norms can have on a person’s productivity and motivation. I suspect that if a colleague happy in this bureaucratic environment went to your former little pond, they would be equally floundering and miserable.

Let me give you a few survival tips:

1. Make a few friends, fast

Your survival instincts honed in a smaller shop simply won’t work here and may even backfire. Your preference for a quick decision could be misinterpreted as being pushy or impulsive. A good buddy can tell you when being speedy is safe and when to let things drag on

2. Try to learn the hidden agendas

What are your key partners’ hot buttons? For example, Larry from finance may be risk averse, having been burned earlier in his career by a bad decision. He needs lots of evidence of risk mitigation. Knowing this, you can approach him well armed with a Plan A as well as a Plan B and Plan C. Contingency plans help mitigate risk aversion

3. Learn the speed expectation of your higher-ups

If slow and steady is the expected pace, you need to reset to that pace.

In the old days of assembly line work, “rate-busters” were those who produced at a higher rate than management expected. The rate was then reset to the higher number.

Management loved a rate-buster but coworkers surely did not. You do not want to be seen as the one setting a new standard for production if the norm for the team is to move more slowly.