Orienting, Observing, Doing Homework, and Paying Dues

Paying dues–putting the time in not only to understand but master a problem or situation–is a critical element of success in many circumstances.

Orienting, Observing, Doing Homework, and Paying Dues

“Paying dues is a concept used by people who’ve worked extremely hard to try and slow down people who work extremely smart.”
Scott Kubie in “There Are No Dues To Be Paid“

I agree that “you need to pay your dues” can be code for “sit down and shut up” but it can also mean other things.

Many teams work on complex projects that can take a while to appreciate. Sometimes there are aspects of taking responsibility for a situation or a piece of a project that are not obvious until you have experienced them yourself.

Sometimes it’s a polite way for someone to tell you that you have not demonstrated the necessary competence or results to ask for more responsibility.

Chesterton’s Fence: Do Your Homework Before Proposing a Solution

There is also quotation G. K. Chesterton’s in “The Thing” (in the chapter entitled, “The Drift from Domesticity”) that’s worth remembering when you plan to recommend a change to a system:

“In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle; a principle which will probably be called a paradox. There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.”

G. K. Chesterton in “The Drift from Domesticity”

h/t American Chesterton Society; this also aligns nicely with the practice of Appreciative Inquiry, a mindset where you focus on uncovering other’s strengths instead of their weaknesses.

“At its heart, AI is about the search for the best in people, their organizations, and the strengths-filled, opportunity-rich world around them. AI is not so much a shift in the methods and models of organizational change, but AI is a fundamental shift in the overall perspective taken throughout the entire change process to ‘see’ the wholeness of the human system and to “inquire” into that system’s strengths, possibilities, and successes. ”

From: “Appreciative Inquiry: Organization Development and the Strengths Revolution” (2015) by Jacqueline Stavros, Lindsey Godwin, and David Cooperrider (2015).

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