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Management Structure: A Basic Need
Most organizations are still in need of good basic-management
practices. Like a jazz combo that requires a basic beat from the drummer,
organizations require a basic structure that includes their mission,
goals, objectives, agreements, and standards before they can begin to
improvise. Even if there is a high degree of shared responsibility and
trust, there still needs to be a basic-structure as to, depend on
or fall back on.
Organic Management: Current and Future Stage
Some units or organizations experience a high energy state referred to as the flow
state, as optimal or peak performance. It is purposeful: fluid, flexible
and focused. Employees act intrapreneurially, taking initiative in
programs and decision-making and maintaining networks.
The line of authority is replaced by a "line of response," which
provides easy and quick access to resources such as current information,
policy perspectives and contracts. There is no ruling elite. Development
of human capital is the highest priority. And the establishment of a
psychologically safe climate is essential in order to glean maximum
creativity. Communication, innovation, initiative and productivity from all employees. Each
employee may require situational leadership in some areas, yet each
employee benefits from an organizational climate befitting the "gold
collar employee."
New Purpose: Organizational Transfunction
In developing human
capital, organizations turn their attention to enriching and empowering
the employee so that he/she transforms, i. e. faces his/her fears and
moves
This open, explicit approach to growing
human beings can further our evolution as
a people, our revolution as a nation, and
provide energy and creativity that will make
us competitive.
through them. In moving through fears, the employee-releases more energy
that can be directed toward results. The manager, meanwhile, practices
a judicious mix of support and challenge to the employee as a way of
being "of service" to that employee.
But the major change is that the organization no longer sees its
purpose as producing widgits or gastros. or of delivering a particular
service. The main purpose of the organization is to provide the optimal
environment and climate in which human beings can transform. This
is the transfunction, ie, a change in the basic function of the
organization from producing "X," to transforming its employees. This
approach moves from the deeper purpose of life and work and accesses
deeper reserves of energy. which are more clearly focused and directed, more soul refreshing.
Organizations ensure the outcomes for which they were created,
whether productivity, or service, by first establishing a clear set of
goals. They then must hire employees who take initiative and share the
responsibility for completing the tasks required for product or service
outcomes.
Challenge to Managers Who Would Lead. Managers who would lead in
this type of endeavor enter into the organization with a special
challenge to self-develop. They choose to be role models, to stretch and
challenge themselves, to mature beyond where even their role models have
shown the way. The position implies a commitment to grow, evolve and
deepen oneself. . . to be one of a kind. Those who find that they are
moving in consort with their deeper purpose provide a guiding light for
others.
This open, explicit approach to growing human beings can further
our evolution as a people, our revolution as a nation, and provide the
energy and creativity that will make us more competitive.
So what is this deep personal reserve of purpose and energy that
can be drawn upon while propelling us into the 21st century?
Each of us has had moments of supreme aliveness on and off the job.
Each of us has felt a sense of exhilaration, pride, confidence, and peace
which seemed a singular occurrence. We felt privileged to feel that way,
yet did not think it possible to recreate that feeling at will. Even
when we might have tried to relive it or recreate the conditions that
brought it about, we fell short. However, this feeling can come about
more frequently than Haley's comet, and we can choose to have it. Or,
put another way we can choose to experience ourselves as thriving more
of the time.
Find within yourself a sense of rising inspiration. Recall a time
when you were truly on beam and thriving... at your very best. You were
moved, felt a swelling within your chest, found a peacefulness, serenity and
satisfaction within. The circumstances are not as important as the
memory of the feeling. With the feeling comes a sense of inner
connected-ness that is possible to sustain and maintain over time.
Managers have only to review the practices
at their workplace that are based essentially
on fear or motivated by survival to
understand the effects of this mentality.
Some of us live a lifetime with only fleeting moments when we feel
this way. Each time we do feel it. there is a sense of sadness that follows
because we do not know how to sustain ourselves in that thriving
sensation. For most of us there is a "Miller Time" quality to enjoyment.
You have to earn it after your day is done. Some of us are driven to a
lifetime in quest of this feeling and are always waiting for "when I go
on vacation, this weekend, when I retire, when this project is completed...
when the budget gets restored to prior levels. "The truth is that
we can function with this amount of connected-ness and good feeling on
the job, or any time in spite of our circumstances. We simply have to
establish that contact and be well within ourselves. We need to develop
a peaceful core.
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