Failures of the Assembly Line
What happens when we abandon labels and instead focus on skills? To do that, we first have to abandon the assembly line mindset.
Does anyone really want to feel like a tiny piece of something large and significant?
Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash
What if that larger more significant thing generates profit and wealth, but you see virtually none of it?
What if by only being a small and undifferentiated piece of it, you’re rendered completely replaceable?
What I’ve just described is the assembly line, and while it remains one of the most revolutionary ideas to ever impact the world of productivity, the corrosive effect it has had on our society and culture can’t possibly be overstated.
Control the Line
On paper, the assembly line sounds like a great idea. By breaking down tasks into smaller and smaller parts, the assembly line speeds up production and increases output. It requires that each station on the line only has to become good at one small piece of the process. They don’t need to understand how to build the whole car…just their piece of it, on the line.
It’s a remarkably efficient system and as someone who is autistic, I love a good, efficient system.
What I don’t like, however, are systems that impose total control.
Whether we’re talking about work, school, or even organized sports, the impact of the assembly line can be felt whenever we expect people to rigidly conform to a role that does not suit them. While robots are ideally suited for specialized, single dimension tasks, human beings are not. By applying the framework that works for mindless robots to humans, we can miss the opportunity to help people reach their full potential, we risk losing the unique gifts that each person can contribute, and we might be resigned to watching our most talented contributors walk away for a culture with more autonomy.
Starting with Policy
While there is certainly room for each person to grow through stepping outside of their comfort zone, the assembly line mindset we’ve all internalized is about standardization at the expense of the individual. It becomes less about learning that new skill, as it is focusing on it to the exclusion of a person’s other interests or skills. It is therefore more about what you lose, than what you can contribute or how you might grow.
In attempting to break out of this paradigm, companies will take the following baby steps:
- giving people freedom over how they do their work
- giving some choice over what types of assignments
- flexing on when they are expected to work
However, the real benefits happen when we relinquish controls entirely, opting to forego policy prescriptions and instead provide clear outcomes with explicit offers of support and guarantees of accountability.
A Path to Equity and Inclusion
What might it look like if you let each individual be themselves?
- How might it change your hiring practices?
- How might it change your 90-day reviews or one-on-one meetings?
- How might it revolutionize your culture?
If we truly want to create companies that are more equitable, we need to let people step out of the boxes we expect them to fit inside of. We need to stop asking them to be cogs, and start letting them run the machines.
If we want to be more inclusive, we need to let people be who they are and contribute in their own unique ways instead of being controlled by the the decisions of someone who’s not doing that labor.
Dream on…
I can sense the push back now.
I can feel someone thinking “this wouldn’t work in our company.”
Today, I challenge you to ask the question, what would need to be different for this way of thinking to work in your company? I’ll bet you don’t actually believe it’s impossible…just impossible under the current circumstances.
Step off the line. Stop seeing people as parts. Question what’s really “impossible.”
Once you do that, I guarantee you’ll be shocked by how much brilliance has been hidden behind the expectations of that efficient system.
Here are a few of the best things that help me live a better life with ADHD and Autism:
🎧 Listen to Brain.fm (I literally use this app everyday)
⚡️ Learn more about Hyperfocus: The Complete ADHD Productivity System (includes Super Brain)
✓ Try the task list built for our brains: Todoist
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