Tradition Expiration Date

In reading some of the blogs, I think it was Todd’s I was stuck by the idea of traditions holding an organization back.  I never really gave thought to that.  The phrase “That is the way we have always done it” can have some real stuck in the mud impacts.  Right now in our department we are seriously looking at budget cuts and are also seriously looking at programmatic cuts. Some traditions might not fit with the vision of why we do what we do and might need to be put on hold or cut forever.   

It is interesting to me that we have been talking about trimming the tree of programs since many of our staff are over-tired and burnt out.  We have been having this conversation for the past 3 years.  Not until the budget cuts came along have we actually gotten buy-in from people.  Not sure, right now, how this fits into leadership, but it seems that we, as the leaders, did not have the nerve to step up and say we are cutting things. Not until we had money pulled from us do we have the ability to obtain buy-in from the staff we lead.  We are a very collaborative decision making unit and want input from all.  But sometimes, as the decision making group, we struggle with making the tough, maybe unpopular decisions. 

Having a happy staff is important, but to what end?  We talk about looking out for our young professionals and saving them from themselves with burn-out and over investment/involvement… then how can we learn to lead a little different.  Is this a tradition, potentially an unhealthy one, that we are steered/driven by the young and energetic and have a hard time saying “No”?  (Don’t get me wrong, I work in one of the best housing programs in the country, and have great leadership, just curious how this evolved).     What we do good totally outweighs where we struggle… but I feel this could be an area that we could do a little better at.  

Family Structure

Since my presentation the other night in Dr. Valentine’s class I have had an opportunity to make a connection that works for both courses.  The organization that we are looking at for one of our projects has made me look differently at a question posed to me in my presentation debrief session.

It was a question addressed the thought that too much heart in an organization and not enough structure or framework could lead to dysfunction.

It was a good question.  The org we are looking at is fully aware of the heart/family style of leadership they have and are also fully aware of the lack of structure, since they “have no budget.”  It was a choice.  Now this had me wondering.  How does this play into success?  Knowing and deciding not to act and pursue this action is a decision.   It made me think, the leader is obviously knowledgeable and it appears that the staff knows this….  To this end I think it has made the family style they value so much stronger.    An organization can be run like a machine, mechanical and step-by-step without personal care or heart.  But it can be lead in a different direction with emotion and “touch.”  This touch piece whether physical or symbolic can lead to a better organization and better output. 

However, there does need to be structure…. How much, I don’t know, but without it people will be able to hug all day and hold hands to unemployment line….  There needs to be a balance, but finding that balance is the trick. 

Good luck everyone with finding this balance…

Weild an aura of trust

SO I know the title of this blog might sound a little “Lord of the Rings” but I am trying to find why the battles I fight in my life and in my organization are not full of “bloodshed”.  The weapon I have somehow acquired in my life, whether it be innate or learned, is the an ability to gain people’s trust quickly.  Now, there are times that I have been feared and called cheeky (one elderly English lady at a wedding I attended) did not trust me and looked at me out of the corner of her eye the whole night.  Granted she probably had one to many white wine splitzers, but it really shook me up.  I love people, treat them  well, and they like me.  What the heck was going on here…  people are always comfortable with me... and sometimes too comfortable....

OK, so to the point of my blog, I am curious about an interaction we had on our first site visit.  It had and still has me wondering, was it this aura of trust that I (we) wield that made the setting safe to share more than necessary or were the people we were sitting with unprofessional?  Time will tell and to be continued…

Positive Impact... positive attitude!

In one of the readings Gareth Morgan proposes some essential strengths to organizational culture.
"What impact am I having on the social construction of reality in my organization?" "What can I do to have a different and more positive impact?"
The piece that really jumps out at me here is the "more positive impact."  I have been in places that people bring a negative energy to the organizational culture.  This always intrigues me.  I get it, but I don't at the same time.  One of the first things I tell people that work for me is that working for me is a choice.  If they are unhappy, they can leave.  And if they are unhappy and expressed their concerns and things could not or did not change and they remain unhappy, they SHOULD leave.  I don't want people working for or with me that are complainers.  At times I have heard people talk and ask what the organization can do for them.  Well, I lean towards the JFK phrase.  "Ask not what your [organization] can do for you, but what you can do for your [organization]".