Tag: Organizations
When organizations are performing well, the whole is more than the sum of its parts. That’s the whole point of building teams: together we can accomplish more than if we work solo. But many organizations get stuck: suddenly, the whole becomes less than the sum of its parts! When this happens, it can be difficult to understand what’s going on: everyone can be working hard, and yet as a whole, the team just seems to be treading water.
When this happens, I’ve found a useful model for understanding what’s going on. I like to ask: is the organization stuck on vision, strategy, or tactics? Within an organization, there are three kinds of power structures: role power, relationships, and expertise. Understanding these kinds of power — how they’re built; how they’re wielded; ethically and otherwise; what they can and can’t accomplish — is key to understanding organizations at a systemic level and maximizing your effectiveness at work.March 15th, 2021
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organizations
power I believe that autonomy is one of the most important values of effective organizations. But I also think it’s a value that’s misunderstood and misapplied. In this post, I’ll (1) define what I mean by “autonomy”, (2) explain what autonomy isn’t, and (3) try to articulate why autonomy, as an organizational value, leads to higher effectiveness.