Committee Color

Committee Color

Committees usually pick beige

Generally any wall color decided by a committee will be beige or some other off-white color. Committees are like that. They seldom pick orange. They're too reasonable. They're safe. They often search for the lowest common denominator, the decision which alienates the least number of people. Want something passionate edgy or creative? Ask one person to do it. Want something safe and non-irritating -- name a committee.

Committees provide a governor of sort on the fast-driving edgy people, including speeding pastors. Committess can boulster weak leaders sometimes, but they’re better at throttling strong leaders. Committees moderate extreme ideas, calm down passion, slow down the decision-making process. They protect against excesses. Their decisions are usually the least-criticizable and most traditional middle ground. But they also provide ownership (at least for those on the committee), participatory democracy, and a group to blame for bad decisions. But most of all, they are safe.

If you want safety, name a committee. But if you want something orange, assign it to an individual. So what are some other reasons for naming committees vs. individuals.

So, what do you think?
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Keith Drury December 13, 2011
www.TuesdayColumn.com

Original 1984 recording: http://www.drurywriting.com/keith/strategetics/leadership/72.mp3