We are now concluding week two and these are my all-time favorite type of videos; I love to watch the story unfold as the narrator sheds light along the path in which he wishes us to follow. We were exposed to the upside and the challenges faced when trying to lead and operate under chaotic and fast-paced changing times. For example, in our discussion this week, we analyzed the ability and likelihood of Google being able to continue to operate successfully under constant chaos.
I think that controlled chaos is entirely underestimated in what it can contribute towards company strategies and ongoing commitment, success, and empowerment for our organizations. There simply is no limit to what our teams can accomplish when you “hire as many talented…” people “…as possible, and give them freedom” (Lahoutifard, 2014) to explore and fail at what our next big idea should be. Teams that are orchestrated, such as found within Google, can be seen as a liability to most traditional managerial hierarchies; if a portion of your team’s time is dedicated to side projects, you most likely would assume that you are diluting their capabilities towards achieving whatever strategies and goals are already on the books.
Additionally, our video this week was simply…fantastic! Because we need to find a new way to live in the 21st century; we need to find balance in our chaos; and for us to learn to live differently, we must be able to “think differently” (Taylor, 2010). I think that is because new perspectives often are only brought about when change and alternative perspectives are considered, leading to an alternative way of evaluating the myriad of ways to achieve the same goals. This path allows for ingenuity, creativity, and social interactions which lead to an overall ethical evaluation of the changes we should institute and the impact it may have on others. Taylor (2010) encourages us to evaluate and reflect upon the highly complex and interconnected system that allows for us to recognize the need for change (Taylor, 2010).
Additionally, Taylor (2010) calls for us to change our attitude in order “…to see past simplistic and inadequate ideas of freedom, justice and progress” (Taylor, 2010), and rightfully so. We cannot and should not continue to operate under the assumption that because this is what has worked, it will always work, nor should we assume that because someone hasn’t brought about a better idea, that a brighter tomorrow simply isn’t possible or worth trying for.
I also agree that there is no simple start and no simple finish in which we will find ourselves migrating towards; change is inevitable and possibly the only constant leaders can now count upon. As Taylor mentions, there is also no simple way to identify and implement universal values, norms and lifestyles in which everyone will embrace, respond, or react to in the same manner that will be able to formidably “…shape our collective consciousness of modern people” (Taylor, 2010). This reminds me of what our text demonstrated this week regarding contingency approach. Contingency approach basically states “…that there is no one best way of managing in all situations” (Brown, 2011, p. 41).
I also LOVED how he mentions to have a happier life, have a variety of happier friends. I believe this wholeheartedly; I have recently created space with those that I work with who have highly myopic perspectives of their professional and personal lives which have brought about a great deal of negativity in my life. I was always hearing and focusing on all of the things going wrong and how things weren’t working out and the great deal of stress we are all under. Where in contrast, those that I go to CrossFit with on a regular basis were always focused on self-improvement, working hard, encouraging each other and having a great deal of fun together. I absolutely found that once I changed my friends somewhat, I was able to change my focus and approach towards daily challenges in my life. Honestly, instead of sitting around and bitching all the time, I find I am sitting around the beach more now! Lesson learned and owned! I agree to the highest level with Taylor that our future should “…champion a more self-aware, socially embedded model of autonomy” (Taylor, 2010) because it is only upon self-reflection and self-realization can we identify what our unique contributions and responsibilities to ever situation are comprised of. How else would we be able to figure out our strength and weakness and then formulate goals and plans towards a better future?
We need to bridge the gap from who we think we are as human beings across the idea of who we think we need to be versus who we would like to aspire to become. It is the “…hubris of individualism…” (Taylor, 2010) that can be our downfall which why as emerging leaders we must consistently embrace the value of diversification in our lives, our contributions, our leadership styles and our teams. Embrace the strange more and mediocrity less. This is something I encounter on a regular basis; during times of implementing change, we always seem to have more challenges with our directors that have been with us for many years, versus those that are newer to our organization. When doing workflow analysis, we tend to hear the answer that “this is always how it has been done” but they can never seem to articulate the real “why” we do it. I think that is why it is important, as Taylor (2010) mentions, that we widen our ability to empathize; this allows for our perspectives to allow for alternate ideas that can contribute towards positive and impactful change. It also allows for others to participate in navigating the change we are working to bring about.
After this week, I think that we also need to think more communally, what enhances and what diminishes our ability to be more empathetic and empowered by chance that benefits others and not of ourselves? Is it out of habit? Lack of education or understanding? We need to increase our empathic capacity in order to recognize what exactly is deemed progress (Taylor, 2010). What can we do to maximize human happiness? Who are we to truly define what is success? Is it for advancement in “…science and technological process, the logic of markets, and the logic of bureaucracy…” (Taylor, 2010), or is it more appropriate to refine what individual priorities are and how they fit into the larger picture and impacts of society? Everything has limits; and often our decision-making process is out of habit…it fails to consider the “…ethical dimension…” (Taylor, 2010) of our lives and often distorts our perspectives. We have to maintain balance and focus towards rationally, along with ethical reasoning.
As Taylor (2010) points out this week, by taking the time to look into what develops us to become more empathetically responsible contributors to society requires our ability to become more engaging, deliver more coaching, and by evaluating and guiding ourselves, and our followers, in a movement towards leaders that are “…intolerant in negativity, rigidity in thinking, and self-promotion…” (Taylor, 2010) and keeps our vision towards the horizon of impactful and meaningful change. Small change, by and far, is still change…don’t lose sight of that incremental impact we can make. This is why Taylor (2010) calls for us engage in “collaborative environments” (Taylor, 2010) so we can prepare ourselves from a multifaceted approach to cope and adapt with change.
From a career implementation perspective, we need to think differently of others, ourselves, and our impacts to those around us. We should learn to no longer make decisions in vacuum, conveniently perpetuating what our habitual tendencies are and the impacts they have on others and our organizations. In fact, we should be looking to diversify our intake of information, using alternative approaches and a plethora of sources prior to taking action, and become more dependent upon the importance of interdependency and the laws in which disturb the equilibrium enough to spark dynamic changes in ourselves, in others, and our organizational systems as a whole (Brown, 2011).
What an amazing ride it has been so far in just 14 short days; I cannot wait to see what next week uncovers for us.
Until we blog again!
References
Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experminetal Approach to Organizational Development, Eighth Edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Lahoutifard, D. (2014, November 30). Why Eric Schmidt doesn’t know how Google works. Retrieved from Venturebeat.com: http://venturebeat.com/2014/11/30/why-eric-schmidt-doesnt-know-how-google-works/
Taylor, M. (2010, August 19). RSA Animate - 21st Century Enlightenment. Retrieved from youtube.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC7ANGMy0yo&feature=youtu.be
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