organizational behavior 101

[cellio]

cahwyguy wrote an interesting entry on some basic mistakes the leaders of his congregation are making. While he's talking specifically about a congregation, the principles apply to any voluntary association. And, sadly, the mistakes they're making are not new; I would have thought more people understood how to make organizations run well. "The current leaders (and the ones continuing into next year) like to talk about the strengths of a small congregation, and this one in particular. They like to emphasize the warmth and friendliness of its people, and how they value the contributions of everyone. It's a facade. [...] What they are forgetting is that volunteers need respect, and people remember how they are treated."

Failing to take care of your volunteers -- to thank them, to give them the resources they need, and to keep tabs on them to avert burn-out -- is fundamental. When you start taking people for granted, you send the "you owe us" message -- or worse yet, the "you don't really matter as a person" message. And that's when people start asking themselves if they really need this grief. Maybe it's time to drop back and let someone else organize the events, or do the scut-work, or reach out to new members, or whatever. And then you get into this downward spiral and it's very hard to recover.

I'm fortunate that my congregation doesn't have these issues. Some of that's luck, some of it's clues, and some of it's the fact that we're large (so it's hard to really drop below critical mass). But I've seen occasional presumptuousness on the part of some leaders, and I try to bring it up with them when it happens. Because I don't want us to end up with those kinds of problems. I've also seen it in other organizations, and sometimes I feel helpless to change it.

I thought some of my friends might be interested in discussing this (either here or in Daniel's journal), so rather than just commenting there I'm making an entry here. Besides, Daniel is new to LJ and not all that connected yet. So go say hi or something if you like; he won't mind.

Comments

[cellio]

Here's a toughie -- how does one get the people who are being clueless or petty to realize that what they're doing is going to be bad for themselves in the long run?

If I knew that, I'd be rich from books and giving seminars and stuff. :-)

Sometimes you're lucky and you get whacked with a small clue-by-four before you do anything too stupid. When I was kingdom chronicler I certainly did some clueless things involving my staff and local officers; fortunately, people I trusted said to me "y'know, that was pretty clueless -- next time you should do X" and I got the hint. (Or at least I think I did. :-) ) If you're an introspective person, maybe you realize it on your own when your background analysis process pipes up and says "y'know, that problem might have been avoided if you had done Y". (What, you mean everyone doesn't have background analysis processes? :-) ) But often, people are either dim or stubborn, and this doesn't work. So unless you stumble on some new creative approach to getting through to the person, you're kind of stuck until he changes.

It's always hard to know when to try to get through to the clueless or petty person and when to just save your sanity and walk away.

[lyev.livejournal.com]

It's always hard to know when to try to get through to the clueless or petty person and when to just save your sanity and walk away.

Amen to that ;-) I've been trying lately to look at things interms of the Chivalric writing. Alot of times the question is then, "Am I obligated to employ Frankness and Honesty with that person?" Most of the time the answer is no, and I can happily walk away. If the answer is yes, then the question becomes, "What is the proper way to be Honest and Frank, while observing Courtesy?"

[cellio]

What a great way of looking at it! In particular, sometimes you aren't obligated to deliver the clue, and in that case if you think attempting to do so will do harm, you should walk away.

[cahwyguy.livejournal.com]

One of the best things you can do is to listen, and listen to those who have made the mistake before and learned from it. There really is meaning in the advice to respect and revere your elders, although when we're young, we often forget that in the headiness of youth.

(and note here that I'm talking emotional age, which is distinctly different from physical age)

[cellio]

If you're the person in need of the clue, learning to listen (if you get the clue that you need to do that :-) ) makes a big difference. If you're the person who needs to deliver the clue, things are harder.

I think it's Pirke Avot that teaches that a wise man learns from everyone. This is good advice to live by, I think -- you may be surprised by what people you were ready to dismiss can teach you. (Though in my more cynical moments I have to quash the retort that sometimes what you learn is that some people are idiots. :-) )

[siderea]

I have come to see learning from others, especially in the sense of being respectful of one's elders to learn from them, to be a skill, as opposed to merely a moral choice. It seems to me that insofar as I have it, I learned how to do that, and I have observed people being better and worse at it.

I am particularly mindful of a friend of mine who, when in the presence of someone he thought was an expert in something he cared about, would become a terrible braggart about the topic. The moment that person wasn't there, he couldn't be too efflusive in his praise for the absent expert. But he just didn't know or understand to shut up, sit down, be humble, and ask questions, if he wanted to enjoy that person's respect and attention. So the experts in questions thought the exact opposite of the case: they thought he was dissing them! They thought he must have no respect for their competance, and no interest in receiving correction from them.

[sethg]

YOu think you have to know a subject to get rich from books and seminars on it? Ha!