BUSINESS & LIFE: Viruses that Prevent Organisational Change

We are in the Graduation season, with graduations from preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary institutions of learning.  I was at the Graduation ceremony of the North Eastern Comprehensive School last week Thursday.  It was maybe the most emotional graduation ceremony I ever attended.  On more than one occasion, I was moved to tears.  Last Saturday, I was at the send-off of my Little Nathan from the Social Centre Pre-School, a happy occasion for me and all the parents, guardians and well-wishers of those little ones.  And while many question the need for graduation or send-off ceremonies of these little ones, it is evidence that they are learning and growing!  We also know of the importance of early childhood education and the preschool years are important in the educational foundation. I want to extend heartfelt congratulation to all the graduates as well as to their families and friends, on this milestone and to wish them God’s continued grace and guidance as they continue their lives’ paths.  I also congratulate Ms. Leslassa Armour on being crowned Ms. Carival 2013, and wish her continued success in her other pageants. 

This week we focus on viruses that, according to Ulrich et al, prevent/hinder organizational change.  He argues that every organisation has its sacred cows, norms and patterns of thinking and behavior that can hinder change and growth.  They state, people often think of these things as normal, “the way we do things around here”, in essence, part of the organisation’s culture.  They argue however, that they should not be regarded as part of the culture but as viruses, which can paralyse an organisation and prevent it from learning from the collective knowledge.  They opine that these organisational viruses share some common features with computer viruses: they are dangerous to corporate culture as computer viruses are to corporate IT systems and they are at their most deadly when they are not recognized.  They identified 32 such viruses, however in this article, we will examine eleven and examine the others in two other articles.

1. Over inform – We tell everyone and then call a meeting.  This can be a time waster as we spend time at the meeting rehashing what we discussed and even agreed upon.
2. Have it my way – As we say, “it’s my way or the highway”.  If the idea does not come from me, it is not a good idea.  This attitude oftentimes stifles creativity and innovation and destroys team spirit and teamwork.  The organisation is the one, which suffers the most.
3. Saturday Morning Quarterback – Overly critical of everything, even before the event. These are the naysayers and pessimistic persons who can give you a million and one reason why an idea will fail, even before the idea has been executed.  It is important to look at all sides of a situation, the pros and the cons and to think of strategies to overcome the cons.  Many a good idea has not been implemented because the focus was only on the negatives.
4. False Positive – Speaking niceties and giving compliments even when we disagree, so persons get the impression that we agree.  This can be a big problem for when one believes that there is agreement, there are often subtle objections to implementation.  It is best to speak the truth and state your position respectfully, even if you are the lone voice of disagreement. This can also be useful as it provides another perspective which when taken into consideration may change the course of action taken.
5. Concealed Consensus – We confuse participation with consensus thinking that everyone has to agree before a decision can be acted upon, so we say we agree when we don’t.  This is similar to “False Positive”, and is like the “herd follower”.  We are so afraid of being viewed as different, difficult and to stand up for what we truly believe, we are often cowed into agreement and silence.
6. Forward to our Past: Look into the Rearview Mirror – We are stuck in the past, unwilling and afraid to change; often making statements like “this is not how we do it”,  “before, this is what we did.”  I often say that if our forefathers and the abolitionist kept saying, “this is how we always did/do it,” we would still be stuck in slavery.  We are not to change for change sake however we should not get so stuck in our ways that we are unable/unwilling to change, even when it is clearly in our best interest to change.  Failure to seize the opportunities when they are presented and make the necessary changes, will lead to our demise.
7. Caste: Value by Grade – We judge people based on their title and rank rather than performance and competence.  This is revealed clearly when people are promoted or given opportunities based solely on seniority and not on performance.  We sometimes fail to maximise the talents of young, bright minds or experienced, bright minds based on their position in the organisation.  We need to make the shift from “who’s next?” to who’s best?”
8. Turfism: My Business vs. “Our” Business – We all understand this, when we are so caught up in ourselves, we sacrifice the good of the organisation.  We have to focus on what is best for the organisation first, for ultimately what is best for the organisation in the long term will redound to our good.
9. Command and Control – Relying on the top to make all decisions, even when the decision is clearly within our mandate, hereby eschewing responsibility.  This is called “passing the buck”.  Instead of taking a decision, we hide behind the excuse, that it is not within our power to make that decision or the policy does not support that decision.
10. Activity Mania – We hide behind our “busy-ness” rather than taking time to think or focus on results.  I like to say, “busy doing nothing”.  This calls for us to prioritise and to spend most of our time on the most important things, which includes visioning, evaluating and strategizing.
11. Narcissistic Competitiveness – We like to win as individuals not as teams.  The focus is on “I” rather than “We”.  This is similar to “turfism”.  We must recognise that we are not islands; we can learn so much from sharing with others.  When we hear stories of success, personal as well as organisational, while one person or company may get the glory, behind that success is an entire team working.  A very present example is the recent success of Ms. Leslassa Armour, at being crowned Ms. Dominica 2013 and Ms. Carival 2013.   Leslassa is talented, beautiful, determined, disciplined and works really hard, however she also has an entire team working with her.  She and her chaperone, Ms. Carla Armour make constant reference to Team Leslassa. “Together we can achieve greatness”, and in organisations, it has to be a team approach for sustained and sustainable growth and success.

Until We Meet Again, May God Continue to Keep Us in the Palm of His Hands.

Valda Frederica Henry, VF Inc.’s CEO and Principal Trainer is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR), Certified Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Practitioner, holds a PhD in Industrial Relations & Business, a Masters in Business Administration and a BSc Management Studies. 

VF Inc. is a Human Resource & Finance Consultancy firm with a Training and Recruitment arm, and the producer and host of a live TV program “The Cutting Edge of Business”.