If you are like most people that
are part of the daily grind, you wake up in the morning to go to work. It might
be just a simple day like any other. If your phone does not serve as your alarm
clock, it is likely you will check it as you head to the bathroom and brush
your teeth. You will make some coffee or even get some on the way to the office;
get in your car and head to work. What if a phone that also has the capacity of
a computer was never created- a one stop shop for connectivity? Some say the
world would be better off; others cannot live without that multitasking lifeline.
What if someone said the water that flows into your home, which is often taken
for granted, that enables you to easily brush your teeth was a ridiculous,
impossible idea? Can you imagine if someone challenged the way coffee used to
be made (however that was) prior to the invention of a coffee pot or Keurig
machine? To take that a step further, what if someone said no one would stop to
pay for coffee when it could be made at home cheaper? And the automobile… there
was someone that probably said that a metal box on wheels is the craziest death
contraption they could imagine. For better or for worse there were
organizations along the way filled with a full spectrum of individuals that
were bound together as a collective to bring us into a new era.
It is said that no two
individuals are alike and that we are all unique and important because of our
differences. If we lived in a society of sameness, what would that be like? After
all, variety is the spice of life. The same is true of the DNA of an organization;
it requires a healthy mixture of power players, visionaries, pragmatists, the
crowd and yes, even the pessimist. Exploring the changing organizations of the
twenty-first century companies are evolving and have become focused on being
faster and maintain quality in addition to being smaller and involving the
employees to focus on the customers of their organization. (Brown, 2011) To achieve
organizational survival, I would argue that a diversely rich composition of
varying attitudes and outlooks bound together through organizational culture
are required to bring meaning and innovation.
To explain this further, I watched
a video that can be found on YouTube, A
Tale of Power and Vision, a simple video with a thought provoking message
about types of people and how they handle obstacles. A pessimist and pragmatist
encounter two cliffs labeled the present and the future with a deep divide
separating one side from the other with no bridge provided. The pessimist says
it cannot be done, sits down and gives up. The pragmatist being unambitious
looks at the situation, almost embarks on a journey and sits down with the pessimist.
Good luck, it cannot be done. Power and vision run by with stick figure smiles
on their faces and vision becomes the human bridge and power crosses it. Once
across, power calls the crowd and the pragmatist and pessimist follow suit.
Vision is helped up and everyone has arrived together into the future, some
still in disbelief.
So what does that mean? It means
that everyone has a purpose even if you cannot see it. I have worked in many
different organizations and have yet to encounter the right ingredients to see
real change occur. I have the utmost confidence I am where I need to be right
now to see that happen, I just have to stay tuned long enough. Change is
imminent so when that call to action arises I will be sitting in the front row
if not ready to help make it happen myself. To explore what is necessary and
helpful about each organizational agent, if we are going off of sweeping
generalities, it is clear what certain agents do like the power player and the
visionary. The power player is the doer, the mover and the shaker. While the optimist
and the pessimist argues about how filled the glass is, the opportunistic power
player is drinking it. Power players make it happen. Visionaries see ideas that
would be full of wonder to experience without boundaries and limits. It is a
blessing sometimes to not know that other people think it cannot be done. Together
the dreamer and doer really spark a fire. The crowd is important because you
need supporters to carry out the journey with you. The pragmatist and the
pessimist are just as essential, in moderation, of course. The pragmatist is
the anchor that keeps the dreamers and power players from floating away. The pessimist
can be that challenging voice that makes you dig deep and do it anyway. They
remind you exactly what it is that they think cannot be done. I found a picture
quote online that said, “If the visionary created the airplane did the pessimist
create the parachute?” A healthy dose of fear and practicality keeps everyone
in check, together they can flourish as one within an organization.
With a calculated and encouraging
blend of the characteristics of organizational development, planned change to
improve can be achieved and performance enhanced. All organizational agents can
approach change collaboratively, while allowing opportunity for each agent’s
human potential. The relationships among the elements align and through checks
and balances of the scientific method, success can be a practical experience.
(Brown, 2011)
Reference: Brown, D. R. (2011).
An Experimental Approach to Organization Development (8th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
No comments:
Post a Comment