There is tension at work between “This needs to get done,” and “Follow the procedure,” on the one hand, and “Find innovative solutions,” “Be creative and think” on the other hand. If work were all one way or the other it would be easy but this dichotomy between thinking and doing leads to calamitous consequences when out of balance. We label the doing work redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More, and the thinking work blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More. The reason we need to understand which type of work we are in is that doing and thinking, redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More and blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More, involve two distinct mental processes, ways of interacting, and languages.
RedworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More consists of focused, performing, and doing part of work. RedworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More is typically production, physical , and routine work. A factory worker on an assembly line is engaging in redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More. The key is that variabilityThe spread in a characteristic. Variability can be across ti... More is an enemy to redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More. RedworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More benefits from reducing variabilityThe spread in a characteristic. Variability can be across ti... More and having predictability and control-ability.
BlueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More consists of the creative, collaborative, and thinking part of work. Brainstorming, problem solving, and designing are all blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More. Designing the process that the factory worker on an assembly line will use, the product they will make, and how that product will be updated is blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More. VariabilityThe spread in a characteristic. Variability can be across ti... More is an ally to blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More. BlueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More benefits from embracing variabilityThe spread in a characteristic. Variability can be across ti... More, independent thinking and alternate perspectives.
Because variabilityThe spread in a characteristic. Variability can be across ti... More affects redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More and blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More differently, how we manage them is different. Throughout our day, the week, the year, and even our lives, we flip between redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More and blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More. If we have the same management approach all week long then that approach is not going to fit at least half the time.
For example, a meeting where we are looking to make a decision (a blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More meeting) should be run in a way to maximize variabilityThe spread in a characteristic. Variability can be across ti... More of inputs and perspectives. But too often these meetings are run in ways that make it hard to dissent or disagree with the group. As the discussion goes on, it gets harder and harder for those valuable views to see the light of day. Later, leaders will complain “But I wasn’t told.” The problem was bringing a reduce variabilityThe spread in a characteristic. Variability can be across ti... More (redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More) playbook to an embrace variabilityThe spread in a characteristic. Variability can be across ti... More (blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More) game. In these cases voting first, before discussion, enhances variabilityThe spread in a characteristic. Variability can be across ti... More and allows the outliers to identify themselves.
As leaders we need to ask ourselves: have we appropriately matched our language to our work.
This is what it looks like at work: Assume we are in the midst of production work. We’re coding, we’re talking to clients, we’re running the servers, and we’re rolling out the next update. It feels like “We need to get this done on time. We just gotta push through. We can’t be late.” This is production redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More mode. But we need a mechanism to flip us out of production, out of the redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More, out of the “do the work right” into the blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More and ask ourselves “Are we doing the right work?” This will take us from “how do we get the software release out on time” to “Should we get the software release out on time.”
How much red or blue work is needed for each job task is different. In general there is more blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More toward the beginning of the project when we want to bias toward learning and more redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More toward the end — when we want to bias toward production.
Questions to ask yourself:
Am I in redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More or blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More, or, is variabilityThe spread in a characteristic. Variability can be across ti... More an ally or enemy to this work?
Am I matching our processes and language to the type of work?
When will it be time to end this phase and flip to the other (out of redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More to blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More, or out of blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More to redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More.)
Learn more about how you can harness the power of red-blue thinking our new book Leadership Is Language https://intentbasedleadership.com/leadership-is-language-book/
Watch this nudge to hear more about redworkDoing, action, process, production work. Redwork benefits fr... More and blueworkThinking, cognitive, creative, deciding work. Bluework benef... More. Leadership Nudge® 276 – Red Work and Blue Work
You can also watch this Nudge to learn more – Leadership Nudge® 290 – Redwork, Bluework
