There’s a bright red beanie hanging in our wardrobe in the hallway. I hardly wear it. I do like it, though, but I just don’t enjoy having anything on my head. Every time I see it, it reminds me of the label inside: one size fits all. That’s quite a claim, isn’t it?
Years ago, I wondered what the opposite, ‘wrong size fits all’, would mean. What would that piece of clothing look like?
How about at work? Does one size fit all? I’m pretty sure that’s not the case. I even think that the way most organizations are structured fits none. We try to make it fit, but hierarchy is relentless. It itches and just feels wrong.
Perhaps ‘wrong size fits all’ would make more sense. What if we start with the truth that everyone is fundamentally different? That everyone has their own unique operating system. Can we design a structure that accommodates that? And that we accept that whatever we come up with will change as we grow?