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We Have Met the Enemy, and He is Us

I am reminded lately of the stark contrast between small, agile and quite effective organizations and large, layered, frustrated organizations, and how both are created from the same elemental matter, sharing the same organizational DNA: People.  It takes a person to start an organization, and it takes another person to make one. I was going to say next, "Let's get to the heart of the matter", but that IS the heart of the matter, in fact, it is a living, oxygen and nutrient consuming, contracting mass of cardiac muscle - a real, human heart that is at the center of it all.

You see, in small organizations, everyone knows everyone, and everyone usually has a great stake in the game, with genuine consequences for lack of results.  When something doesn't jive with everyone else, then its a personal matter and its resolved. Okay, sometimes its not resolved, but we don't blame the company for it, because we know dang well who is responsible.

In big companies (and this, by the way, is how you tell your company has gone over the edge), we simply refer to "The Company" when something is messed up and systems and processes are stupid.

"Why do we do it that way?"

     "It's 'XYZ Corp', thats the way it is."

"Don't ask questions, this is XYZ Corp."

"XYZ Corp drives me NUTS sometimes!!!"

(sincere apologies to any company actually called "XYZ Corp")

And here's where the dysfunction sets in: we blame a concept, an entity, and organizational name and in doing so, excuse the behaviors of an actual person who created the behavior and the group of people who let that behavior perpetuate into a norm. If you are at XYZ Corp, guess what? You ARE XYZ Corp!!!  It's made up of people, and the company doesn't do anything, only the people in the company do things. Do you get it?  The company can not sign any papers.  The company can not spend any money. The company can not hire, and it can not fire.  The company doesn't know how you perform.  The company doesn't know if you are a rock star or dead weight.  The company doesn't even know you are alive. It doesn't even have a brain, so how could it do all these things that we accuse it of?!  WE did them (or somebody just like us).  People that join the 'company' of others to work towards a common purpose or goal, those are the people that are making the decisions.

It's like everyone points to the company, and it never stops, it goes around and around, from the bottom to the top and back down again.  Its almost like everyone is looking for this person names "company" to show up, but that guy or gal is never at work, or we just miss them every time we want to let them have it.

We have met the enemy, and the enemy is us.  If we want to change our organizations, we need to start changing ourselves - we ARE the company. Without us, there is no real company. There is no company when the company shares no company. (good one)

So, catch yourself next time you find yourself using the company name as an excuse, and find out the real person's name and go pay them a visit. Sit down with them. Talk to them. They are just like you, and they would probably like the company to do something about it just as much as you would.

Your Actions Speak So Loud, I Can't Hear What You Say

Back again.  And, I am finding, as I have before, that no matter the nations and cultures of the world that you find yourself in, the same organizational issues surface over and over and over.  Why?  because, organizations are social structures who, at both their core and their surface, consist of nothing more than people, working with people.

This time I find myself working with a management team with some of the greatest intentions, excellent ideas and a sound knowledge base of principles of high performance, effectiveness and all the other stuff you would want in a work group.  Except, being human, they are having a little trouble leading by example.  We all have that issue in one way or another - it's called "Imperfection", and it's part of the luggage of life.  What makes this situation stand out to me is that this group knows better, and honestly believes the principles they teach, but I am concerned that their direct reports are only hearing the things that their managers are doing.  

Look, an organization, boiled down to the nuclear level is simply one human being working with another. And organizational behavior ends up being the product of the norms that emerge when humans work with humans in organizations. So, to avoid your actions contradicting your words, remember this simple formula the next time you seek to bring about great change in your organizations: Change YOUR OWN thoughts and behavior before you go about changing the thoughts and behavior of an organization.  And if you can't wait for that, then be so open and transparent about the change you wish to see and your own, personal challenge to live and be the change, that everyone will accept your faults and struggles and see themselves managing their own.  They may not like it, but they can't argue with honesty and transparency. You will also find that you will create an air of open communication that empowers others to be and honest with you about their experiences.  We're really talking about trust and communication: Communicating as clearly as you can and in doing so, opening the doors to the creation of an environment where trust drives high performance.

What Would Your Personal Logo Be?

I think I might be drawn to design, due to the sterility of the typical management habitat. But that austere managerial ecosystem is really the goldmine for managers and executives: realizing the tremendous opportunity to market themselves, their brand and leadership style to their reports, consituents and stakeholders, align themselves and produce desired results.  So blend the two.
 
Take a look at this cool list of 20 creative logos from Toxel.  What would your logo be?  Think about it. Keep thinking about it.  Design it. Live it. Manage it. Have fun.
 
Good leaders are good marketers, they may simply not know it, but they instinctively do it.

The Impact of Clear Purpose

“The primary responsibility of a leader in a purpose-based organization is to build, nurture, and sustain the core purpose of the organization… By far the number one driver shared by the masters of purpose is the desire to make a difference… Having a definitive conception of the difference you are trying to make in the lives of all your stakeholders will drive all the tough decisions that need to be made and ensure maximum alignment between all the constituents required to pull it off.”
- Roy Spence Jr.

In the years that I have worked with leaders of organizations, this is a massive chasm that separates the successful from the susceptive.  In the end, purpose is more than guiding, more than enlightening – it is foundational, the very root of enablement towards realization.  People and organizations with clear, guiding purpose find it easier, faster and more economical to marshal resources, focus on results and deliver lasting value to their stakeholders.  They find meaning in action.  They find gratification in existence.  They find greater, continuous joy in life. Period.

Loosen Up on Employee Use of Social Media at Work

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via news.cnet.com

I have worked with several corporations whose fear of losing control of all communications, let alone security, has prompted them to shut down access of all social media from within the company. I can understand that. If I don't understand something, my first inclination is to stop 'it' until I can make some sort of sense out of it. The question is whether or not leadership teams are just stopping it or trying to make sense of it.

While Gartner came out this fall and flat out told IT authorities that "banning access to social media is futile", the real value is understanding how foundational social networking is to our success at work, and how social media is a critical extension of that.

"While a job may be regarded as an economic transaction, the human brain thinks of the workplace as a social system," said Carol Rozwell (shown), a VP at Gartner. That's because organizations ARE SOCIAL SYSTEMS. Not only will employees find a way around social media barriers at work, the reactions to such barriers could lead to an opposite and equal reaction.

The fact is that we want our people communicating. We want them active within both personal and work circles, and frankly, we hope there is sufficient overlap in both of those circles to give our people balanced living while at the same time continuing to build a positive brand for the organization (building positive perception, contributing to corporate and product success, increasing talent pipelines, etc.).

Instead of banning social media in the workplace, find someone on the leadership team with social media vision and make them the champion. If you don't have one of those, then install one, because society is not going to do a social media u-turn and abandon it. Teach employee groups how to use it, when and where to use it, and how to integrate it into work processes. Give them encouragement and parameters to help them grow your brand, champion a winning culture and harness social media to grow the enterprise. Be transparent about your fears and passionate with your vision.

We could easily see in the next few years that there are dramatic financial and people results between organizations that leverage social media among employees and those that do not. Or we may not. Either way, social media is not going away, and performance will be far better for those leadership teams that figure out how to harness its power and enable their organization.