This is part of what I dreamt about tonight:
Where two or more people work together the most important in being efficient in a relaxed atmosphere are rules. Rules invented by the community, rules obeyed and transgression exposed and discouraged.
You think I’m talking of Orwell’s 1984 big brother? Not at all- I’m talking about the subtle arrangements we all make, sometimes without talking.
Some are due to education, dome are due to unwritten local rules that separate the insider from the outsider.
Take for example a company dress code: it is rarely written anywhere, but if you transgress it, you’ll feel it. The who talks to whom about what- if you don’t know those rules you get yourself quickly into trouble. Is it absolutely clear to you who makes what decision in your company?
Those can be dictated rules- if you are new to the system, you are kindly asked to comply in order to be one of the crowd. Some people are rebellious- either they get into trouble sooner or later, or they have the gift of being able to subtly change the existing rules.
Rules work best where everybody’s opinion is taken into account. A leader taking on a new group of people is well advised to work out the rules of that group with its members instead of dictating them.
Only when it is clear and agreed with everybody what is expected of each person and what is the process of decision, when the leader controls his troops but covers them also, when conditions are fair and unfairness discussed and treated well-being of the individual AND productivity reach its peak.
Unfortunately, a lot of leaders lack self confidence and thus need the continuous proof of power over their subordinates to make them feel important. They will tend to be vague about decision processes, responsibilities and rules. Usually the rule:’ the boss is right’ will then replace common rules. The vagueness enables this leader to shift blames and to reward the courtesans. Management is conducted by fear , for this manager is convinced that work is only done through pressure and employees often leave if they get any chance to do so.
A management position is not only a position of power over other people but a position of responsibility for their evolution and well-being.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Myth
Î was witness at the marriage of my best friend. She got married for the second time to the same man ( I'll spare you the details).
Listening to the speeches of the major and afterwards the mother in law and having heard my friend innumerable times on the topic I started wondering about myths and how they are created ( for what I heard at the wedding was far from reality).
A myth is created when you single out elements of a story and leave out others so that it conforms to an archetypical story. If you work the myth well and with consistency, the myth will be remembered for generations- it can even end up in the history book. Most celebrities nowadays have professionals working on the creation of their myth.
Archetypical stories are a bit like fairy-tales: the washer that became a millionaire, the poor that had a special gift that was singled out, the guy who wins against all odds because he's true, the finally found real love.
Myths are written over time in looking back and the perspective then often goes beyond the life-cycle: looking back at the life of...., or ...happy ever after. Any continuation of life risks not to fall in the picture and thus destroy the whole myth. Like my aunt, condemned by cancer told me one month before she died- it is better to leave the scene, when everybody has good memories about you- meaning: when you have the chance to leave a myth behind.
But not only celebrities care about their myths, all of us do. Brain-science found that our memory of an event is rewritten entirely every time we think about it- we are continuously rewriting our own myths. If you don't believe me, listen to a family story of your grandmother and of your grand aunt- chances are that they have very different versions of the very same event- unless...... unless they regularly have rewritten the story together in the collective memory at every family gathering- do you remember when.....?
Listening to the speeches of the major and afterwards the mother in law and having heard my friend innumerable times on the topic I started wondering about myths and how they are created ( for what I heard at the wedding was far from reality).
A myth is created when you single out elements of a story and leave out others so that it conforms to an archetypical story. If you work the myth well and with consistency, the myth will be remembered for generations- it can even end up in the history book. Most celebrities nowadays have professionals working on the creation of their myth.
Archetypical stories are a bit like fairy-tales: the washer that became a millionaire, the poor that had a special gift that was singled out, the guy who wins against all odds because he's true, the finally found real love.
Myths are written over time in looking back and the perspective then often goes beyond the life-cycle: looking back at the life of...., or ...happy ever after. Any continuation of life risks not to fall in the picture and thus destroy the whole myth. Like my aunt, condemned by cancer told me one month before she died- it is better to leave the scene, when everybody has good memories about you- meaning: when you have the chance to leave a myth behind.
But not only celebrities care about their myths, all of us do. Brain-science found that our memory of an event is rewritten entirely every time we think about it- we are continuously rewriting our own myths. If you don't believe me, listen to a family story of your grandmother and of your grand aunt- chances are that they have very different versions of the very same event- unless...... unless they regularly have rewritten the story together in the collective memory at every family gathering- do you remember when.....?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
