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Modern organisational cultures: are they really that much
different to the old ones?
Have
you ever come up with a good idea or insight and shared it with your manager
only to have it ignored?
Then,
some weeks later or even the same day, heard your manager whole hearted accept
the very same idea from their boss?
Have
you been asked to help someone out during your working day and gone out of your
way to assist, only to have your efforts accepted without a word of thanks, or
even a backward glance in your direction?
Have
you ever experienced or seen a type of behaviour being accepted from some people
in the organisation but not from others?
The
chances are that you have seen some or even all of the above. Why does this
happen? Especially now, when most organisations sign up to aspirations around
empowerment and valuing and utilising their people’s uniqueness and diversity
(wherever they happen to be positioned within the organisation)?
It is
because the old habits of hierarchy, status and command and control through
power are still very much alive, with the rhetoric concerning delayered, flat
and empowered organisations serving only as a convenient camouflage facilitating
their continued existence.
If
organisations do not wish to lose all credibility in the eyes of their staff and
the people they serve, the rhetoric has to become reality, the camouflage become
the material core. Old style habits still being used to manipulate and control
staff need to be identified and overcome, and replaced by new behaviour that
encourages true empowerment, participation and a sincere respect for
individuality.
This
article describes how command and control and the old hierarchies of power and
status have stealthily, much like an urban fox, survived by insinuating
themselves into the fabric of their new cultural surroundings. It will show how
the new, enlightened cultures are under threat from these throwback instincts,
and how covert and aggressive uses of power can be brought out from the shadows,
challenged and changed.
Hiding beneath the cultural camouflage
Organisations
now have inspiring vision statements supported by values that deal with valuing
diversity, encouraging participation and working in partnership with colleagues
and clients. They make a great play of gaining Investors in People and other
like standards. They have staff assistance and welfare services. They have
worker representation on executive boards. They allow and encourage part time
and flexible working. They have initiatives that are child friendly. They allow
their staff to dress casually on set days and insist on everyone being addressed
by their first names.
All
good stuff that you cannot really argue with, but of itself just an immense
superficial gloss that if scraped at a bit reveals the true picture of the
organisation. A picture that in fact has not changed very much at all over the
last 100 years and shows that the organisation still relies on the subtle uses
and abuses of power in order to not so much get things done, as to ensure the
survival of the fittest (those fittest to continue to hold and wield power in
the same old ways that is).
Over
the last few decades organisations have changed the way they look and feel but
not necessarily the way they operate or truly treat their people. In fact if
anything organisations have become even more complicated places to work within.
As a new officer recruit to the Royal Navy said: “You know where you are with
the navy - who has the power and who gives the orders. The same people are
present in civilian business organisations
- it just takes longer to find them”.
Do as I say not as I do
Every
management course that deals with giving feedback and improving performance
insists that to be effective feedback must be balanced, credible, specific,
aimed at helping to gain improvement and above all not personal; not aimed at
the characteristics of an individual as superficially perceived by the giver.
Why is it then that many very senior managers and leaders find it acceptable to
use this superficial type of judging when looking at and dealing with staff in
their organisations?
Why is
it that when staff lower down the pecking order making these types of comments
they are quickly reprimanded and sent on courses to address their attitude, but
those higher up are just thought of as ‘decisive’ or at worst
‘eccentric’?
Doing
as I say but not as I do is one of the most obvious ways in which the old power
and control culture has kept itself viable.
The players of games
Okay, so the official,
politically correct culture is in place and this will keep the majority of the
organisation busy for a while. So senior management can now set up its own
‘hidden’ culture which is based on skill at the game, on being political, on
being able to identify the key players and form alliances with them (for as long
as it suits). They can proceed around the board, climbing the necessary ladders
and avoiding the snakes and, even more fun, encouraging some to slide down the
snakes while others go up the ladders.
At the top of the
hierarchy of the organisation skill at this game is valued above all else and,
just like in Ian M Banks novel ‘The Player of Games’, success at the game is
rewarded by access to even more of the pass times of the elite, one of which, as
mentioned above, is being able to make arbitrary judgements about those that are
‘below’ you, thus consolidating your own position. The more successful you
are the more rules you can break.
Success at the game is
valued above actual effectiveness in the job and credible evidence can always be
found to satisfy the organisation’s official appraisal system. Those that are
not players can always be relied upon to continue to be effective in their jobs
and get the results that the organisation needs, so those that play the game can
do so without being interrupted. Very seldom will you find that those successful
at the game are also effective in the job. It would just take too much energy to
be good at both things.
Using Human Resources
The
organisation might have nice comforting, participative mission statements and
values that espouse the importance of the individual, but these are offset and
contradicted by the way staff are talked about and treated. They are talked
about not as people but as Human Resources.
This
language makes people immediately anonymous. Thinking and talking about people
in this way makes it easier to treat them as just another resource; just another
brick in the wall contributing to the overall structure of the organisation. If you do not know someone’s name it is easier to abuse
them - to move
them around and out like any other type of asset.
Imposing conditions of personal worth
We all
accept that it is good practice and that all organisations have the right to set
recruitment and performance criteria for their staff. The use to which these
criteria are put, however, does sometimes go beyond making sure the right shaped
pegs get into the right shaped holes and that the required performance targets
are met.
If we
take a closer look at the language used and the mix of criteria commonly
presented it becomes obvious that some organisations wish to not only select
appropriately skilled staff and encourage them to perform well, they also wish
to shape staff into their own image, whatever that may be, and ignore any
intrinsic worth arising out of an individual’s unique personality and gifts.
A
minority of organisations have recognised this tendency and attempted to address
it by keeping their selection criteria simple and to a minimum, even selecting
the person first and only then finding the organisational position best suited
to them.
It is
probable that unnecessarily detailed recruitment and performance criteria are
more about the ego of the organisation and its attempts to control and mould its
staff, rather than about ensuring effective recruitment and acceptable
performance.
Using negative interpersonal power transactions
As
shown at the top of this article, it is routine and everyday behaviour that is
the real and most potent weapon for those that wish to keep the command and
control culture alive. It is the habitual use of interpersonal transactions that
serve to make a point about who has power and who does not: speaking over and
across people; not saying thank you; not recognising contributions; dismissing
people and their ideas with a wave of the hand, or even just turning away from
them as they are contributing.
These
are types of behaviour that most people would not use or tolerate in their
personal lives, but when working within organisations they become acceptable
ways in which to assert power and position, shore up the command and control
culture and keep the organisational game alive.
Getting stuck in win/lose relationships
In
organisations where there is a strong hierarchical, top down power dynamic it is
not unusual for the types of behaviour referred to above to result in
interpersonal relationships getting stuck in win/lose, aggressive/passive,
superior/subordinate loops. These relationships can be much like those to be
found between over bearing, smothering parents and their passive eager to please
children.
The
parent figures take all the responsibility and make all the decisions, whilst
occasionally admonishing their adaptive offspring for being so dependent. The
children take this admonishment stoically, but they have learnt that the way to
survive is to not rock the boat but do as they are told. So that is what they
continue to do.
This
type of relationship can be seen almost everyday in almost every organisation.
The team leader admonishes the team for not being proactive, but then promptly
shows that he/she has sorted things out anyway. Thus emphasising how lucky it is
for everyone concerned that he/she is around and willing to take things on.
The
team take their criticism quietly and professionally, but once the meeting is
finished they mutter to each other that the team leader really likes all the
attention and is a bit of a control freak, so best let him/her carry on so as
not to upset things. Anyway what is the problem if they can always rely on the
team leader to sort out any problems that arise? Really, it all feels quite
comfortable.
The
trouble is that as time goes on the relationship between the team leader and the
team becomes stuck. The team leader becomes the powerful parent figure who
perpetually makes all the decisions and gets their own way and the team become
colourless, passive caricature Peter Pan figures - children who have never grown
up and who have no personal capacity for creativity or autonomy.
The
team leader becomes the winner at the expense of his/her team, who are the
losers. In the end though, in this type of situation everybody loses. The team
leader becomes more and more isolated and resentful. The team becomes less and
less proactive and flexible.
Recognising, challenging and changing the hidden command and control power
culture.
If
organisations want to address the above problems, they do not need to spend even
more time on senior management away days (these will only serve as breeding
grounds for even more subversive command and control behaviour and the forming
of powerful and unhelpful alliances). They do not need to spend even more time
formulating new mission statements and researching supporting values (the ones
they have are probably good enough). They need to make a difference at the level
of the everyday and routine, and address the unhelpful language, behaviours and
interpersonal transactions that permeate their organisations. This may not be
very glamorous or high profile, and it will certainly involve a great deal of
ground work and continuous application, but it is the one thing that in the long
term will make a positive difference.
The
good news is that the approaches that need to be applied are straight forward
and, deceptively, simple. But like any habits worth forming they do take
continuous practise and commitment. It boils down to:
- Developing
self awareness and awareness of others in order to recognise unhelpful
behaviour, language and interpersonal transactions.
- Using
assertive feedback to challenge unhelpful behaviour.
- Changing
unhelpful behaviour and unsticking win/lose relationships.
Developing self awareness and awareness of others
Self
awareness is being aware of your own behaviour and language and how it affects
those people around you. Similarly, awareness of others is being aware of others
behaviour and language and how it affects those around them.
Giving
and receiving feedback is one of the main ways in which this type of awareness
can be developed. This is dealt with in the next section. Self
awareness and awareness of others can also be encouraged by:
- Looking
out for and listening to the reactions caused by your behaviour and
language.
- Actively
watching and listening to what goes on around you.
- Looking
out for inconsistencies between the way you behave at work and elsewhere and
asking yourself why this happens.
- Looking
for inconsistencies between how you behave towards one work colleague and
another and again asking yourself why this happens.
- Asking
yourself whether your intentions are reflected in your actual behaviour and
language, and if not asking yourself why not.
Using assertive feedback to challenge behaviour
Assertive
feedback is the main tool for challenging unhelpful command and control
behaviour. Therefore, it is not surprising that every training course since
training courses began has dealt with giving and receiving feedback.
It is
still the skill, however, that most people struggle with at some time or other.
This is because the theory is straightforward but the practice is hard. Facing
the reality of giving another person, perhaps even the boss, some difficult
feedback can make even the most confident of individuals flounder and stumble
over their words, their intentions becoming lost through less than adequate
execution.
When
giving and receiving feedback remember the following:
- Always
ask yourself what the intention of your feedback is and whether or not this
is reflected in the words you use. For example, if your intention is to give
strong praise do you say “That report you wrote was excellent in its
presentation of recommendations and their supporting argument” or do you
say something unintentionally much weaker, such as “ That report was quite
good really. The recommendations were pretty clear and I could work out how
you arrived at them.”
- Remember
to focus on behaviour and results. Never criticise a person personally or
allow your subjective judgement of them to colour your comments.
- Try
to be open to all feedback and not take it personally, even when it is badly
presented or includes personally directed comments.
Remember you can always ask for clarification and for specific
examples that relate to your behaviour and results.
- Remember
that you do not ever need to be defensive about feedback because at the end
of the day it is you that can choose to accept or reject it.
- Be
active in looking out for and asking for feedback. Do not wait for it to
come to you. If you do you will find that the majority of feedback you get
will ignore your positive contributions and highlight the things you have
got wrong or need to improve.
- When
you have received feedback always ask: “What new insights have I gained
about myself and the person giving the feedback?” Then ask: “How can
these insights help me and the other person?”
- Remember
feedback is the major tool of assertiveness. It is about saying what is
happening, how you feel about it and what you would like done about it.
Remember these three steps:
When you....(identify
the behaviour that needs addressing).
I
feel....(say how the behaviour affects you personally, including the
emotions you feel).
Next time
could you….(identify the change in behaviour that will help you and
the other person deal with the task or situation better next time).
Step
three above is the most important step and the most often left out. If we want
feedback to be accepted and result in improved relationships and performance we
need to give the receiver a clear idea of what they need to do differently.
Changing behaviour and unsticking win/lose “stuck” relationships
To
change stuck relationships you first have to recognise them. This is done by
practising and developing self awareness and awareness of others. Stuck
relationships then have to be challenged. This is achieved through the use of
assertive feedback and the three – step model.
It is
also worth remembering that questions are good for challenging the status
– quo: “Why do you behave in
this way? Why do you sort things out before asking us about things? Why do you
allow me to take all the decisions? Why do you try to put me/us down all the
time?”
Using options to unstick relationships
Actually
changing or unsticking relationships is done by acting on feedback and
developing new interpersonal behaviour.
The
concept of behavioural options is helpful here. All of us have many different
ways in which we can behave and react to others. We can be adult, ask questions,
be logical and give rational explanations. We can be spontaneous and humorous.
We can be judging and critical.
Unfortunately,
in certain situations we can forget that each of us has these options, or assume
that they are not appropriate to the situations we find ourselves in. We can
become a little like a person who is just starting to learn to play the piano:
we stick to the middle of the keyboard and forget that there are many octaves
available to us on either side, which can provide many new sounds, feelings and
sensations.
Consciously
trying out new options of behaviour when we sense that a relationship has become
stuck in an unhelpful way (e.g. permanently win/lose, dominant/subordinate,
assertive/passive, aggressive/passive, overbearing parent/dependent child) can
lead to helpful changes in a relationship.
For
example if a manager/staff member relationship has got stuck into something
resembling that of a patronising parent talking to an errant child, either or
both people can consciously choose to change the behaviour they exhibit when
they deal with each other. The staff member can choose to stop complaining or
apologising and start to ask for specific feedback or give an objective factual
account of the subject under discussion. The
manager can likewise start to behave in a more objective way, listening to and
acknowledging what is being said. Or he/she can react in a spontaneous way and
show genuine joy at the comments or changes of behaviour coming from the staff
member.
All
these options are valid and part of the way we naturally behave, and we all have
the capacity to choose to use them in any situations we find ourselves in. It
just takes the willingness to do so. With practise this new flexibility of
behaviour gradually becomes easier to achieve.
Using options – the 5 step model
If you
would like to improve a stuck relationship go through the following 5 steps:
Step 1
§
Think of a
relationship you believe has become ‘stuck’ in an unhelpful way.
§
When do you
know you have entered the stuck relationship?
§
What do you
or the other person say or do to start the relationship off (try to think of
specific examples)?
Step 2
§
What do you
feel and think to yourself during the relationship (try to be as specific as you
can)?
§
How does what
you are feel and think demonstrate itself in your behaviour and reactions to the
other person (try to think of specific examples)?
Step 3
§
Double check
whether or not you are happy with the way you react and behave towards the other
person. Do you really feel the need to unstick your side of the relationship?
Step 4
§
How do you
want to react and respond to the other person? Avoid thinking too generally such
as wanting to be more confident, spontaneous, assertive etc. Think instead of
how these general aspirations could be shown in your behaviour e.g. asking
questions, clarifying, saying thank you, maintaining eye contact, smiling,
laughing, nodding.
§
Select one or
two specific behaviours to try out the next time you enter the stuck
relationship. Do not try to do too much.
Step 5
§
Review the
reaction from both yourself and the other person to the altered behaviour.
§
Is the
outcome what you wanted? If not what can you change next time? If it was,
remember what you did differently so that you can do it again.
One last thought – do the simple things well
Lastly,
one of the simplest and best ways of changing a stuck unhelpful relationship is
to start remembering to do the simple things well. Most relationships benefit
from both sides remembering to be consistently polite and respectful of each
other.
Use
people’s names and give your own name. Make sure you give acknowledgement to
people through comment and appropriate eye contact. Have a genuine interest in
people rather than thinking of them as cogs in a wheel. Always remember to say
thank you.
And
always remember and guard against a failure that we all have - don’t judge
others by their behaviour and yourself by your intentions. Other people do not
always see your intentions, but they always see your behaviour.
In summary
- Despite
all the rhetoric, organisations are still very much based on command,
control and the expression and use of power. These traditional ways of
working are hidden under a cultural camouflage.
- This
camouflage consists of the superficial adoption of visions and supporting
strategies that are designed to achieve organisational goals through
inspiration, empowerment, encouragement of inclusiveness, and the fulfilment
of personal potential.
- For
organisations to maintain both credibility with their staff and the people
they serve, and relevance to today’s society, the rhetoric around
inspiration, empowerment, inclusiveness and the fulfilment of potential
needs to become reality.
- An
organisation’s senior management can continue the command and control
power culture by following a ‘do as I say not as I do’ approach to
management. It can reinforce this approach by tolerating a type of behaviour
from its own ranks (for example, subjective and personalised feedback) but
not tolerating it from anywhere else in the organisation.
- The
official inclusive culture can be undermined by a hidden culture based on
power and people’s ability to use it to their advantage and the
disadvantage of others (being skilled at the political game).
- By
not perceiving staff as people but as human resources the organisation can
distance itself from the adverse consequences of decisions made concerning
them.
- Detailed
recruitment and performance criteria, as well as being an attempt to assure
an acceptable standard of performance, can also be about the
organisation’s attempt to control its staff by overlaying the intrinsic
worth of the individual, his/her personality and unique gifts, with its own
conditions of personal worth.
- The
most potent weapon for assuring the continuance of the command, control and
power culture is the habitual use of routine, everyday negative power
transactions, as manifested through specific language and behaviour
(examples given above).
- The
way to address the hidden command, control and power culture is not by
spending more time on senior management away days, or giving additional
consideration to mission statements and values, but by explicitly addressing
the unhelpful language, behaviour and interpersonal transactions that
permeate organisations.
- The
approaches needed to do this revolve around three headings: self –
awareness and awareness of others; giving and receiving constructive
feedback; recognising, challenging and changing win/lose “stuck”
relationships:
Self
awareness is about developing an awareness of your own behaviour and
language and how it affects those people around you. Similarly,
awareness of others is about being aware of others behaviour and
language and how it affects those around them.
Self
awareness and awareness of others can be developed by following the
approaches outlined above.
Giving
and receiving feedback is straightforward in theory but not in
practice. To help with
giving and receiving feedback, follow the guidelines given above.
Sometimes
the relationships within organisations can become stuck in unhelpful
ways (aggressive/passive, superior/subordinate, win/lose loops etc.) Recognising,
challenging and changing win/lose "stuck relationships can be
achieved through: developing self awareness and awareness of others;
pointing out unhelpful behaviour and language through feedback; choosing
to alter unhelpful behaviour and language.
- One
way of altering unhelpful command, control and power behaviour is by using
the 5 step options model outlined above.
- One
of the simplest and best ways to change stuck unhelpful relationships is to
remember to be polite and respectful of each other. Always acknowledge
people through your comments and behaviour. Show a genuine interest in
people. Always say thank you.
- Lastly,
judge yourself by your behaviour not your intentions. Other people do not
always see your intentions but they always see your behaviour.
If you have any questions or comments about this article
please contact Charles Lines at tallistraining@tiscali.co.uk
To
find out more about the author click Here.
To
find out about the Tallis Training 'Kick Start Conference' (an event designed to
help organisations realise their potential) click Here.
Sources:
Working
with emotional Intelligence
Daniel Goleman
TA
Today
Ian Stewart & Vann
Joines
Management
and Organisational Behaviour
Laurie Mullins
The
Theory and Practice of Counselling Psychology
Richard Nelson Jones
Process
Consultation
Edgar
Schein
Control
and Isolation in the Management of
Empowerment
David Collins
The
Player of Games
Ian M Banks
Chase
Manhattan Recruitment Procedures People Management
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