So many gorillas. I've just finished reading Hilary Cottam's book "The Work We Need," which reflects much of what you're talking about here, and in many ways a reflection of what we already know from Maslow. The part that interests me most is the idea of time. The difference between the linear time of getting through the day, getting through the week, getting to retirement, Chronos time, and then looking around noticing what's going on, enjoying the moment of time, Kairos. Workplaces are organised around Chronos. Our lives, depending on how we want to live them, are based around Kairos. It's the difference between the drill square and a walk in the woods. Our leadership programmes are producing drill sergeants.
I’ve been a leader where my span of control went from 1:8 to 1:22 all to cut costs. And as part of that, it was imposed upon me to no longer be responsible for strategy and planning, but to now only focus on people management.
This is something that has happened to many who were in people leadership roles over the past decade. Because companies were sold a bill of goods from the large consulting companies that they can form self organizing teams. Those teams tend not to exist in highly complex organizations. And neither are those companies willing to simplify the systems because the executives ego gets in the way and they don’t want to relinquish the power they have. Anyway… that’s another story.
But very little help is given to coach the middle layer managers to whom these changes are happening to.
When the span of control increases, it becomes even harder to spot the invisible gorillas. Of course you can rely on feedback and observations from others but not everyone provides what you need and in the time you need it.
The people who put out the fires tend to also be the people who create them and then get all the praise and rewards. It’s up to leadership to put the effort into seeing past that. Not to go on witch hunt but to look across the entire team and the interactions they have with one another and the rest of the organization they interface with.
I will say, It’s not easy. There are those who you have very good relationships with, you may gel more with than others, but you have to put those biases to one side too and make the effort and time to get to know all team members equally.
Another big topic :) more than I have time to write about!
That sounds awful, Dan. Getting rid of middle managers doesn’t give you self-organising teams, it gives you chaos. Self-organising is a completely different way of working, not screaming of the org chart. That sounds like a case of bosses wanting change (well, just cost reduction really) but not changing what they do at all.
Your point about the arsonists getting praised for putting out their own fires stuck a chord. I’ve also seen that too.
Kudos to you for putting in the effort to get to know all of the team but I fear most managers don’t or just can’t find the time.
So many gorillas. I've just finished reading Hilary Cottam's book "The Work We Need," which reflects much of what you're talking about here, and in many ways a reflection of what we already know from Maslow. The part that interests me most is the idea of time. The difference between the linear time of getting through the day, getting through the week, getting to retirement, Chronos time, and then looking around noticing what's going on, enjoying the moment of time, Kairos. Workplaces are organised around Chronos. Our lives, depending on how we want to live them, are based around Kairos. It's the difference between the drill square and a walk in the woods. Our leadership programmes are producing drill sergeants.
Where do I start :)
I’ve been a leader where my span of control went from 1:8 to 1:22 all to cut costs. And as part of that, it was imposed upon me to no longer be responsible for strategy and planning, but to now only focus on people management.
This is something that has happened to many who were in people leadership roles over the past decade. Because companies were sold a bill of goods from the large consulting companies that they can form self organizing teams. Those teams tend not to exist in highly complex organizations. And neither are those companies willing to simplify the systems because the executives ego gets in the way and they don’t want to relinquish the power they have. Anyway… that’s another story.
But very little help is given to coach the middle layer managers to whom these changes are happening to.
When the span of control increases, it becomes even harder to spot the invisible gorillas. Of course you can rely on feedback and observations from others but not everyone provides what you need and in the time you need it.
The people who put out the fires tend to also be the people who create them and then get all the praise and rewards. It’s up to leadership to put the effort into seeing past that. Not to go on witch hunt but to look across the entire team and the interactions they have with one another and the rest of the organization they interface with.
I will say, It’s not easy. There are those who you have very good relationships with, you may gel more with than others, but you have to put those biases to one side too and make the effort and time to get to know all team members equally.
Another big topic :) more than I have time to write about!
That sounds awful, Dan. Getting rid of middle managers doesn’t give you self-organising teams, it gives you chaos. Self-organising is a completely different way of working, not screaming of the org chart. That sounds like a case of bosses wanting change (well, just cost reduction really) but not changing what they do at all.
Your point about the arsonists getting praised for putting out their own fires stuck a chord. I’ve also seen that too.
Kudos to you for putting in the effort to get to know all of the team but I fear most managers don’t or just can’t find the time.