Of Eyes and Line of Sight

I got a call from an old colleague X who offered to help me with a domain I had no expertise in. I was asking around for a friend Y whose resource-strapped sibling had a moral obligation to serve a community impacted severely by the pandemic. X offered me what I would consider as contextualized, judicious and socially responsible advice for my friend Y’s perusal. I got an inimitably sustainable pathway for Y who put his trust in me.

In addition, X shared, that working from home was getting to him in unprecedented ways. “Organizations are also responding in ways one would not expect to in adverse conditions as these” he offered. He was attempting to relate to my interest in organizational behaviour. I sensed that his pathos was genuine. His diplomacy was consumed in relating his domain expertise. There was a wanting for a colleagueship he could relate to. In the sheer joy of being heard for what he had to offer, he held back the direct disclosures that would damn his employer. He then asked how I was coping with my business in these times.

Am closing in on a decade as founder of Workplace Catalysts LLP. Despite restricted revenue opportunities, I owe no one money, and nobody owes me any. That’s not a position many across our land can state. I know this from more than the example above. Evenso, commanding a price and value for the worth one brings to the customer can be challenging; more so in this pandemic. That leads me to a few points below.

1.      Appreciating context is a mark of sensitivity. For the sponsor, as also for the humans engaged in the organization’s system. However, the pandemic stressors are so great, that contexts are reduced to survival signs. Job-security for an employee, profits for the trader, entrepreneur or investor. Existential needs trump the relational and the developmental ones. Our fullest essence is suddenly compromised at the gates of commerce.

At one institution, the top management was gearing up on its part to proceed to actionable phases. They present a paradox, not knowing how to look beyond the immediate stressors. They wish to include more people than they had originally thought of for the intervention. The paradox is this, that they tasted the value of sensing the context with us. Their resources are spread thin and they’re bargaining for more not knowing the ways in which to design for greater inclusion. It is not like buying a BYOD capital class item at scale. Planning for developmental spends is a different proposition.

2.      In the midst of another sensing or pre-diagnostic phase, a senior leader sees resources differently as a pioneer employee of the firm. He wonders aloud with one of his HR leaders as to whether the organization is prematurely planning for anchoring leader behaviour guidelines with me. Operational leadership can be exhilaratingly seductive in growth phases. The pace and scale at which subsequent phases of organizational growth can go untethered from leadership anchors is often imperceptible among line leaders. Their line of sight is increasingly upon dashboards and weekly reports.

Defensive routines to mask deviations from organization intent occur at the strategic core and at the frontline, where employees represent the brand for the marketplace. When lost in translation, leaders miss the content that needs communication and employees miss the process in which the organization needs building.

Clients are themselves stressed to make commitments in behavioural science applications. They acknowledge need for change in behaviours, and yet claim to know that they know how to accomplish it when in trouble.

The eyes that see do not see the eyes from which they see. Merely being able to see, does not guarantee that one sees all that needs to be seen. This is our essential paradox.

To feel like being in control is the status quo ante they wish to flip to, even when the pandemic has us acknowledge several aspects beyond our control. It is not about ambiguity as much as insecurity that is heightened in our midst.

Here’s where I return to the spontaneous sharing from the domain expert above. “Organizations are also responding in ways one would not expect to in adverse conditions as these”. Employee well-being is surely an exigent consideration. In what ways do you feel your latent potential goes undetected and unused by those whom you work with? How about seeking fulfilment beyond those social networks at work and instead relate with those outside work relations - in whom your fulfilment more fully resides?

For needs of organizations that need uncovering and attention, seek views from a fresh pair of eyes. Would you be ready to let go and welcome the openness of those who may have the view pertinent in your organization’s situation? Or even your own?