Thirty-two years ago, I stepped into a "real" organization for the first time. A Swedish company with about 600 employees. Most of them were women, with little formal education. This new world was a mystery to me. How can grown-ups make themselves so small at work, silencing themselves in the presence of managers?
These women were super conscientious and responsible. They never left work until the job was done. Outside work they were in charge of families, investment decisions, navigating the ups and downs that life offers. I was marveled by how passive and compliant they became in the presence of hierarchical power. And I was convinced that their silence was hiding important knowledge and wisdom.
I was proven right. With the customers’ needs at the heart and center, I initiated a development project. Staff from different departments connected to share their knowledge about their link in the chain with one another. It resulted in a much better care for, and meeting with, the customers. That was of course a good thing. But for me, the greatest joy was seeing these women stand tall, realizing their importance for the whole, and caring more for one another – with the task and the customer at the heart and center. This was achieved despite the rigid and hierarchical structure of the organization, with no incentives for agility and innovation.
I went on to new organizational adventures where employees had master’s degrees and more, but my observations were the same; people giving up their power, making themselves unnecessarily small.
What prevents us from finding better ways
In the late 1980s, it felt as though I was the only one that questioned the hierarchy. Today, most people do. Yet, in 2020, just over thirty years later, we are still struggling to find ways to organize, manage and lead, that enable us to be the best we can - together. Ways of working that help us navigate responsibly in a fast-moving and uncertain world.
I think there are some concoctions, or illusions, that stand in our way. One is that organizations can be managed. Or that you can plan and organize creative human interaction, or manage change. Few think that you can control your bloodstream, or even what will happen during the Christmas holidays when the family gets together. We know that we can’t force plants to grow in our garden, but that we can enable it with good soil, sun-light and enough water. But in some miraculous way, as we step into an organization, a belief in linear cause and effect kicks in. We are programmed to believe that measurable goals produce desired results, and that colorful strategies are enough to arouse employees' passion for their work.
Let go - and lead together
There are many organizations that are letting go of these illusions. Organizations that trust in self-organizing and self-governing principles. They are more common in newer businesses, but we also find them in traditional industries, like manufacturing and Health & Care. And there are many who teeter - do we dare to let go, or ...?
My new book Team Power for a New Era – workouts for teams that want to strengthen their collaboration muscles can hopefully support us to let go of top down control, and lead together. In almost all organizations, most people work in some form of team or work group. When teams strengthen their collaboration muscles, they become wiser together, they become more responsive to their surroundings, more aware of their capacity, and more autonomous. They simply become more powerful. When those with more power see that happening, it becomes easier for them to step by step let go of some limiting illusions, and put more trust in self-organization. When you let go of trying to manage and control, there’s time and space to put structures in place that support self-organization and self-regulation.
In the book I describe eleven muscle groups that teams may need to strengthen. From ESSENCE - why we exist, DIRECTION - how we make sure we are on the right path, to CANDOR - how we build a safe space, and GUIDING PRINCIPLES - how we agree on things we need to agree on. And seven more muscle groups. The book offers practical workouts, and there’s a deck of cards with questions related to each muscle group. The book is currently only available in Swedish, an English edition is in progress. If you want to pre-order the book in English version, send me an email. You find the Swedish book and cards here.
If you and your team want a virtual live introduction to the book and how you can use it to strengthen your collaborative muscles, get in touch. [email protected] +46 707796033
If you want to take a next step towards self-organizing and self-management, learn and grow together with others, join our Release Party, September 21, 15.00-17.00 CET. In collaboration with the Gestalt Academy of Scandinavia we are launching two Learning Playgrounds where we will explore this shift.
One of the Learning Playgrounds is this one year program: Self-organizing Leadership - Navigate in the unknown with curiosity, awareness and courage.
If you want to subscribe to my blog for Excitement and Growth, click here.
I hope our paths will cross during 2020.
Warmly,
Greta Rask
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