>We are taught, implicitly if not explicitly, to leave our
personal beliefs baggage at the door, and apply our analytical
powers to the understanding and solution of the
problem/puzzle which lies in front of us. <
I would agree that my general teachings explicitly or implicitly were as
you describe. I chose to not believe them. As you might remember, mine was
a conscious choice after having listened to some folks who wished they had
not made the choice to leave their personal beliefs at the door. This
handful of retired folks said they would live their life differently if
they were to do live it again. I asked myself which I wanted to be. One
who left behind their personal beliefs, values, purpose when entering the
workplace? Or one who attempted to live them at work and away from work? I
chose (not a heroic measure) to live my values even to the potential
detriment of my career.
>In some benchmark "excellence" organisations we are
expected, implicitly or explicitly, to lose our sense of self, if
we want to get on. It doesn't mean such organisations are
immoral or amoral - but that there is an expectation that the
greater good will come from an alignment behind a vision or
values set that is the organisation's - not (necessarily) yours.<
Yes, I know. Is it not possible for my values and vision to align with the
organizations? Cannot my values and vision co- exist with those of the
organization? One of the groups I led developed a strong sense of "group
self". This led to some folks leaving voluntarily. If memory serves me
correctly, 6 out of 43 left. Each one in some way professing to have
something different they wanted to do with their life. If you were to ask
the original 37 about their own values and beliefs, I believe they would
have said they had "more latitude", not less, to fit their own beliefs,
values, vision since they had a clearer picture of what the group was all
about.
>We're trying to get to Dublin, for real, aren't we? And we
have to start from here! So I believe there is a great
opportunity to think very creatively about "should be"
organisations, as long as we don't forget the
"as is". <
Agreed, we are trying to get to Dublin. I prefer talking about Dublin and
current reality from a sense of a wide gap. John, I believe my concern is
that we will mistake current reality for the desired future Learning
Organization. The current model of reality somehow may play itself out as
the future preferred model. And, we will sense change occurred while
things stay the same.
>I don't have a reference (again, except for my current
favourite book "Built to Last" which might do), but I recall a
very senior manager in a very big (American) firm based here
telling me, in response to a question about producing "clones"
- "If you can't control your organisation's culture, it will
control you". Hmmm....<
I suggest that controlling culture is one of the myths of management. In
this day and age, external focus is getting close to being a "must for
survival". Any external focus will have uncontrollable impact on the
organization's policies, behaviors, plans, products; over the long-haul
culture. Although there is a myth that management controls the
organization, I think that it is a relic of the past. It just "ain't as
easy" as it used to be due to information flow.
A quick example: Right now I am consulting with an union person via
Internet on a topic dear to his heart. He got involved with me through
this digest. I doubt if his management has any idea he is reading Learning
Org stuff. If the two of us can make an "intellectual" hookup, what he
wants to do will forever impact the culture of the company. And,
management will only observe something changed without having "been in
control of the past, present, or future".
Second example: Management IMHO is reluctant to espouse and follow the
Learning Organization disciplines. To justify not doing so, they say very
few organizations are entering into this domain. And, until they see broad
scale application, they cannot know its value.
Until access to Internet, that might have been acceptable to me and a few
others. The few of us out on Internet are finding a different story than
that which management wants to exist. The external environment is making
itself known and management cannot stop that from happening. Perhaps this
is one of the real lessons being learned today. The customer has such fast
access to information that we no longer avoid telling them the truth or
seeing reality with them. Management who believes we can force beliefs
onto customers, employees, the community, governments will have another
think coming in the very near future.
Have a great day!!
-- Dave Buffenbarger Organizational Improvement Coach Dow Chemical Company dwbuff@aol.com (517) 638-7080