Organizational styles — In process!
October 26, 2012
I’ve been aware of much work on personal communication styles — how we each can best receive support, advice, criticism, support, validation, etc. And, of course, there are various personality models that help us understand all these things.
But I’m aware of much less work characterizing organizations. Thus I set about to put together this simple model. I present it here as something in process, for discussion and validation only. Please add your commentary. And if you’rereading this through another blog or medium (such as a LinkedIn group discussion), please make sure that you post here any comments that you post there as well .
I characterize organizations along two dimensions:
Traditional . . . Visionary
Weighty . . . Agile
And the, for each quadrant, I’ve assigned a name:
A traditional organization, that has some agility but not vision, is Awkward.
A traditional organization, that is more weighty than agile, ia probably Stuck.
A visionary organization, that remains weighty, is truly Reaching.
And, finally, an organization that is both visionary and truly agile is truly Creative.
Although I suggest that this characterization is for organizations, it may better fit organizational segments, perhaps a department or work group.
How helpful is this model? Are the quadrant names appropriate and helpful? And how useful is this picture to you? Please comment.
Telling my story . . .
April 16, 2012
On Turning the Computer Off
September 10, 2010
Turn the computer off? “Impossible”, you say. And my emotional response is to agree. I’ve a dear friend in the hospital, and I may get e-mails that need to be relayed. There may be an inquiry about the apartment we’re renting, a prospect who wants my coaching or consulting, a client who needs help in a hurry. I need to stay tuned to that information stream!
Or, do I? Will that information wait 30 minutes, or 60, or 90? Can I work on my time frame?
With the computer on, I tend to respond, and pay attention to what might come, even as I’m addressing the opportunities or challenges that are already here. My attention, and my creativity, are diverted from the most immediate task at hand.
I’m not alone. I see this with business colleagues around the globe. Sitting in front of our computers, we may be connected, but too often we’re not focused on the real questions, the deeper issues. We’re probably not our best creative selves.
Neuroscientists tell us that our brains need quiet time to rearrange and reorganize information we’ve taken in. When we’re permanently connected to an on-line data stream, that time just doesn’t happen.
What’s the prescription? Spend some time sitting under a tree, or on a rock by a stream, or even in a quiet room with no electronics. Think, plan, envision, create, imagine. Write with a pencil, and don’t worry about the font or margins. In fact, don’t worry at all. Just be present in the quiet space. With practice, you can even do it in a room with computers, iPhones, and other electronic devices present.
Management requires creative agility!
January 28, 2010
Effective managing involves catalyzing, facilitating, inspiring, modeling, organizing, creating respected methods of accountability, and much more.
But there’s more than just such outward tasks, I believe. Dancers take class every day to keep up their physical agility. Creative and successful professionals need to nourish our right-brain agility. One of the important tasks of management today is to foster that agility, and the kinds of preparation that lead to it.
How to do that? Well, that’s why we have organizations like the Center For Creative Emergence in the Washington DC area. That’s why I do the consulting and run the workshops that I run in New England, that’s why many of us are exploring other initiatives in this relatively new area.
