Grow Up, Will Ya!
One of the things I hated as a teenager was being told I should grow up already. Whenever I was told that, my immediate reaction was “You don’t understand anything. YOU grow up!”. Undoubtedly a typical reaction for a teenager. Not to say an immature reaction, which is what got me that far in the conversation in the first place.
Time has passed and hopefully I have become more mature (although some people will argue otherwise). How did it happen? I really don’t know. But it was certainly a process — one that never ends.
In my previous post I wrote about the ineffectiveness (and sometimes even danger) of trying to use good tools in an immature organization. Many have asked in response a perfectly legitimate question: how exactly do you turn an immature organization into a mature one? The short answer is I honestly don’t know. But that won’t make a good post, will it? So, let me refine my answer: it depends.
First, we have to understand who we are talking about. How can a virtual entity be said to be immature? Well, an organization is not really a virtual entity. It is made of people. When we talk about the maturity of an organization we refer to the way people communicate, interact, perceive reality, and advance toward a shared vision. Together, they create a culture — an unspoken organizational subtext — implicit, yet known to everyone.
You can try to change the organizational culture from the bottom up — starting with the people at the lowest levels of the organization. In fact, you will find it quite easy to convince these people in the necessity of a change, because they are usually the ones who suffer the most from the immaturity of the organization. But the lower you aim, the harder it is to create a real change.
Saying the truth in a room full of people who don’t want to hear it, is hard. It’s even harder if these people are accustomed to covering up the truth and creating a facade that everything is under control. And if there’s a slight chance the truth will create the impression that they are not in control, you are doomed.
If you’re trying to change that from the bottom up, you have to deal with too many management levels. Each of them can put an unhappy end to your effort.
Don’t get the impression that I argue you should be dishonest and align with your immature organizational culture. But don’t expect to be able to win this battle. You should be ready to face the consequences of your honesty.
So, your other option is to start at the top. Top management cannot dictate an organizational change, but it can lead the way by example. If top management encourages openness and honesty, if it accepts even the strangest ideas and the toughest criticism as a basis for open discussion, people will soon start to behave accordingly. If cover-up and dishonesty are discouraged, people will soon cease to use them.
But here lies the problem. If you want to convince managers to change, they have to acknowledge the fact that they have a problem. They have to be open to criticism. They must have a strong sense of reality. In short, they have to be mature. At least they have to be mature enough to accept the fact that there’s a lot of immaturity they are probably responsible for. And here we are back at square one.
Now, there’s always the chance that the “leaders” of your organization will be really eager to listen to what you have to say, and will even accept it. Maybe they have what it takes to accept the idea that somewhere along the way something got wrong in the way the organization is managed. But I’m willing to take a risk and say that’s rarely the case. I don’t have any statistical data to back me up, but I do have a strong feeling you have to be prepared to face a strong reaction.
So, I’m not too optimistic about changing well-rooted organizational culture without the true commitment of management. Does this mean you should give up? Hell no! You should be loyal to your beliefs and to your ideology. You must trust your instincts and treat others as you want them to treat you. You must follow your heart and your common sense.
If this doesn’t work in your organization — look for a better one. Better yet, create a better one. If you have come this far, you have a great chance to succeed. By the time immature organizations come to their senses, they will be too far behind to be of any significance.
***
Looking for something to read on your way to work? Try The Fifth Discipline.
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November 7th, 2006 at 1:27 pm
Reminds me of this guy’s troubles when he tried to convince his organization to change from the bottom up.
http://www.jamesshore.com/Change-Diary/
November 8th, 2006 at 5:03 am
There we go… just what the doctor ordered.
I’ve had a sort of sinking feeling for a long time that the answer really is “be prepared to stick your own neck out” - after all, so the theory goes, if you can’t effect change, you may as well find a better place to be working.
I’m not quite ready to bite that bullet yet, though… but definitely something to chew on.
November 8th, 2006 at 8:50 am
You are talking about change with a capital C here. Why not start out small and grow some critical mass. That way you can make big changes happen. Your position in the orginasation is irrelevant at that point.
One bit at the time.
November 8th, 2006 at 10:55 am
Hi Arnoud,
You are right — you can try that. But I think that if management does not want a change, you will face a problem before you grow this critical mass.
Small changes can still draw management’s attention. Now, it is up to management again: it can either support the change or… not. If it chooses not to support the change, you might find yourself in trouble (trying to grow a critical mass “against” management)
If management has what it takes to become mature, you might be able to pull it off.
Lidor
November 9th, 2006 at 7:38 am
Sounds like it is my turn ;) (I am managing a software development group). I can tell you from experience that it takes time to make people feel confident enough to speak up and start challenging the way thinks happen.
What is difficult for managers is that when they try to share their own opinions and thourghts they are often mistaken as decisions or policy.
And no I decline for the role of being the facilitator only. I am equally interested in what everybody else has to say and my own opinion.
November 9th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
It’s ironic, but true, that the organizations with problems are those who reject change. Because the organizations who accept change avoid the problems in the first place.
I’ve heard stories of people who have changed their organizations. It take years of passion and energy. I’ve never been able to sustain it. And you’re right that it’s a management problem. Management cannot unilaterally improve the way things are done. But management can allow individual contributors to improve. Or to put it another way, management can’t birth change, but it can kill it.
-TimK
August 9th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
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