Business management during the 20th century focused on preparing the workplace to meet the criteria of an industrial age mentality and structure. It has been very top-down and mechanistic. That doesn’t work today as evidenced daily in the statistics reported for business performance. It certainly doesn’t provide the innovation required for progress in a fractured and disrupted global economy.
Think about the complaints you hear from staff and what you hear from management. Both express the frustration in getting things done—the goals that are set and the means of getting there.
I've talked to many business owners who say they don't have that problem; everyone feels quite comfortable. When pressed to elaborate, they say they haven't really audited the situation and have never asked their staff what they (management) do to serve them in getting their jobs done, and what they do that gets in the way.
You have to ask regularly. It's an on going dialogue.
Your company culture defines the health of your company. It requires conscious awareness and effort.
For over twenty years I’ve been facilitating a program that creates company culture, called Management by Responsibility (MBR). It’s not dogmatic or exacting in implementation. As a matter of fact, it was created 30 years ago as a highly mutable culture development program to serve the diversity of businesses.
It represents a philosophy that says, “Each person takes 100% responsibility for his/her life, in every respect whether at home or at work. The act of taking 100% responsibility and becoming self-aware of how this plays out creates psychological maturity. The more developed one’s psychological maturity, the higher is one’s ability to enjoy interrelationships with others and to achieve personal potential.”
As a companion to MBR, I use the Focused Conversation method developed by ICA (Institute of Cultural Affairs of Canada). In short, this method makes meetings and discussions powerful, because it concludes with a decision to act on something. You may know this from your own observations, but most people hate meetings beause they are usually boring and disorganized, and usually don't result in action. It's simple to learn how to make meetings and discussions meaningful to all participants. Most of all you'll take action that is informed and in context.
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