Are you a "frustrated champion" at work? Have you seen for a long time that there's a better way of doing things? Does the system at work frustrate you by blocking progress or making any effort feel like a waste of time? On Thursday, @simonbwilson was on @ThePanelRNZ with @wallacelchapman and fellow panelist @SarahPSparks. Simon mentioned he had recently met former Welsh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Future Generations Commissioner @SophieHowe, who is visiting New Zealand 🇳🇿. Instead of me explaining what Simon said, I've included the audio clip below 🎧↓. Since Thursday, I have been pondering the concept of a "frustrated champion" that Simon mentions towards the end of the audio clip. I am in the business of humans at work [with the degree to match 😉]. It's one of those things I understood before, but it needed a catchy name to encapsulate it beautifully. Now nicely labeled, it is easy to think about more deeply, and my purpose here is to flesh this out a little more for everyone to think about. Frustrated champions exist in nearly every organization, especially in larger and more complex ones. They're the wise folks who have been around a while, know how things work, understand the intricacies and nuances, and are deeply versed in how something [or everything] could be better. However, what frustrates these people is the feeling they are constantly up against or held back by systems [and people] hellbent on the status quo. Why do these frustrated champions exist? Typical organizations and work could be designed better to engage IQ and EQ fully. Instead, they are geared towards the aspirational ladder of 'management types' and their perfunctory managey things to get themselves into situations that often exceed their intellectual and emotional capacity, rendering them out of their depths. Archetypal organizations only offer a tiny space and enablement for clever and creative people who aren't interested in the ladder and lauding themselves over people with whom most others concern. Business and government are inherently conservative, even if their buzzwordly comms spin likes to tell you otherwise. Sophie pointed out to Simon [per the 🎧↓] that a leader or someone tasked with organizational change should identify and engage frustrated champions as a powerful way to effect change. I have learned that in any organization, the answers to the most pressing problems can often be found close to where the work gets done. How can frustrated champions be identified and engaged in organizational change? As sure as night turns to day, if you do the legwork, you will find at least one person who has long worked out what is happening and what to do about it. Frustrated champions have often reached the point where they've shelved their thoughts but are easy to revive and engage if you show interest and are sincere. Think of it like a moth and a light bulb—frustrated champions can't help themselves when the light comes on 💡 😉. I identify as a frustrated champion by nature. I am very analytical and can't help looking at something that interests me and thinking about how it could evolve to be better, simpler, more user-friendly, fresh, or cut altogether, etc. Knowing this about myself is helpful—it only moves from being a bug to a feature [and less frustrating] with age. This self-awareness is also beneficial to identify and help other struggling, frustrated champions. My top advice for others is to recognize that you have this tendency and spot it when it comes out simply for your benefit or the greater good. Knowing this is a feature of your true self radically reduces frustration. At a rookie level, we sometimes look at how something could be improved purely through a lens of self-interest—how to make something better or easier for ME. In my old age (39), I spend much time mulling over the greater good: self-oriented → other-oriented. Wisdom also refines the ability to choose which battles to pick, park, or pass by. Being someone who can quickly assemble a long list of problems and solutions can annoy the people around you. If you aren't careful, you can be seen as intimidating. That said, there are also a bunch of people out there who can't [or won't even attempt to] receive your 'type'—that's their problem, not yours. Are you a frustrated champion? Is much of your thinking bandwidth taken up imagining how something could improve? Have you got frustrated to the point where you have learned to keep these thoughts to yourself? Or have you even gone as far as saying "bugger it" and going into business alone?