Whilst Covid is becoming a distant memory (or rather a new, less intense background feature for most people) the post-Covid age is marked by the harsh reality that organisations have limits to how far they can accommodate the wishes of their employees. In addition, the age-old lack of understanding between different groups of people still causes massive failures between what organisations hope for and what actually happens. So, why do organisations get it so wrong? Why is there a constant revolving door of new initiatives that fail to reach goals and delays to projects? Why is sickness due to mental health problems at an all-time high when wellbeing is such a visible element of company strategy?
So much goes wrong because we have assumptions that ignore alternatives. The rest of this little book looks at differences in understanding between organisations (or more accurately the senior layers in organisations) and workers or society. By considering different perspectives, better decisions can be taken; the objective being a win-win for organisations, people who work in them and wider society.
This book has evolved from the growing realisation that the people relied upon to make strategy often make the same mistakes over and over again because they fail to understand that others increasingly act in ways that does not correspond with what organisations had hoped for.
Consciously or unconsciously people often behave not as organisations want, but as society, or their own beliefs about themselves, dictates. The rules and expectations of organisations may even seem bizarre and run counter to what they think makes sense.
As organisations increasingly rely on technology to provide the data to drive change, the frustration of people feeling that the human dimension is missing is increased. Data can be very helpful to spot trends and make assumptions but when decisions rely on administration rather than an understanding of people and society, decisions can be way off the mark. Instead of carrying people along, transition and change can turn into recrimination and a blame game. Data should be used as part of a comprehensive understanding of what is happening within and outside organisations, with the perspectives of all people respected. In this way, the impact of those perspectives will be understood.
This is a departure from the current status quo where the views of employees, customers and other second-tier stakeholders may be researched but are sometimes not taken as seriously as they should be. There is sometimes a feeling amongst the senior leadership layer that they have the correct answers, despite being hit in the face, time and again, with the stark reality that this incorrect.
Not only do some top brass fail to understand the thinking and behaviour of their more junior colleagues, they also fail to realise the bigger changes happening in society that might make their own, steadfastly-held views questionable or even redundant. When people are used to getting their own way, there is often a lot of disbelief that the status quo could be different to the view that they hold and, once again, this can result in poor decisions and even corrupt or malicious decisions.
Working from home started to reveal just how redundant some layers of management are. Whilst this book does not advocate getting of seniority it does suggest that there is more ‘life experience’ amongst senior managers and, in particular, more genuine humility.
So what are the ways that organisations get it wrong?
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