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| DESCRIPTION | |
| When it's lacking: - Internal competition often flares up between individuals and work units. - Turf wars are the rule rather than the exception. - Work units feel disconnected from the organization as a whole; they have no sense of a mission larger than their own. - There's little understanding of who does what outside the immediate work unit. |
When it's thriving: + There's a prevailing sense that "we're all in this together." + Working relationships are best described as "collaborative" -- not "competitive." + People are united by a common mission, direction, and set of values. + Each person understands how his or her colleagues fit into the system -- what they do, where they excel, how they add value. + Employees trust each other to do the right thing. |
| EXAMPLES |
| As a counselor at a residential treatment center for teens with severe behavioral
problems, Carrie knows what it's like to face stressful situations. Yet she reports
an impressive ability to switch off the stress the moment she leaves her workplace.
The key? Teamwork. "I'm able to leave it (the stress) at the door because I
know my fellow workers will take care of the kids and follow up with whatever needs
to be done." From her perspective as a help-desk specialist for an information-systems department, Carla has seen all too well what it's like to work in a fractured system. She explains: "You've got the help desk, LAN support, PC support, programming -- and everyone speaks a slightly different language with their little idioms and dialects. Do you understand LAN-speak? Maybe you do, and maybe you don't." For customers, the search for help can become terribly frustrating. "If I don't understand some of the stuff that goes on within information systems, imagine what it must be like for the poor sucker from accounting or HR who gets in touch with us for some quick answers. They must feel like they're dealing with a foreign country!" Mark thought he had the job of his dreams when he became director of an executive education program at a local college. "I was very focused on the mission, very focused on doing the right thing," he says. But things quickly soured as different priorities emerged. Key leaders at the college had cash-cow visions of the program. Mark had no problem with generating revenue, but as he saw it, the obsession with profit was distorting all decisions. Certain courses were heavily promoted while others were sidelined -- not because of their inherent merit, but because of their cash-flow potential. "The money-making never seemed enough," Mark says. "I decided that these people simply wanted all the money they could get." The different perspectives never came together, and Mark eventually resigned from his "dream job." |
| ACTION IDEAS |
| Spend time with employees from another part of the system. One idea: Get together
people from two or more work units for an informal dialogue on improvement opportunities.
Likely outcome: People leave with a better sense of who does what. Possible outcome:
The gathering sets the stage for changes that will draw the work units closer together.
Hunt down any and all forms of internal competition. Are there team rivalries that pit people against each other? Does special recognition go to the division that cuts the most costs? Do top salespeople get that wonderful beach vacation? If you're trying to create a true sense of unity, all these I-win-you-lose approaches are leaps in the wrong direction. Hold an open house or "company fair" for employees, suppliers, and customers. Done right, it can be the ultimate bonding event. Picture this: Creative information booths that tell the story of each division/unit/functional area, people engaged in conversation, discoveries being made at every turn ("So that's what you do!"). |
| Copyright 1998-2002 by Tom Terez and Tom Terez Workplace Solutions, Inc. P.O. Box 21444, Columbus, Ohio USA 43221-0444. Tel. 614-571-9529..mail@BetterWorkplaceNow.com HOME | 10-Minute Briefing | Free Online Tools | Insight and Inspiration | Laugh and Learn | Buzzword Bingo | Kits, Books, and Tools | Keynotes and Services | Meet Tom Terez | Tell a Friend | Bronze Access |
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