Organizational Friction Management is the leadership skill of identifying, reducing, and redesigning points of internal drag that quietly damage productivity.
What is organizational friction?
Friction appears when work feels harder than it should be.
It does not come from lack of effort, but from poorly designed systems, unclear ownership, and misaligned expectations.
Common sources of friction include:
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unclear decision ownership
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duplicated approvals
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ambiguous roles
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unnecessary reporting layers
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conflicting priorities between teams
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processes built for control instead of flow
Left unmanaged, friction compounds and becomes normalized.
Why friction management is a leadership skill
Friction is rarely visible in KPIs.
Teams still deliver results, but at higher cost: burnout, delays, frustration, and silent disengagement.
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