The scientific search for the basic building blocks
of life has revealed a startling fact: there are none. The deeper
that physicists peer into the nature of reality, the only thing they
find is relationships. Even sub-atomic particles do not exist
alone. One physicist described neutrons, electrons, etc. as “.
. .a set of relationships that reach outward to other things.”
Although physicists still name them as separate, these particles aren’t
ever visible until they’re in relationship with other particles.
Everything in the Universe is composed of these “bundles of potentiality”
that only manifest their potential in relationship.
We live in a culture that does not acknowledge this scientific fact.
We believe wholeheartedly in the individual and build organizations
based on this erroneous idea. We create org charts of separate
boxes, with lines connecting the boxes that indicate reporting relationships
and alleged channels of communication. But our neatly drawn organizations
are as fictitious as building blocks are to physicists. The only
form of organization used on this planet is the network—webs of
interconnected, interdependent relationships. This is true for
human organizations as well. Whatever boxes we stuff staff into,
people always reach out to those who will give them information, be
their allies, offer support or cheer them up. Those lines and
boxes are imaginary. The real organization is always a dense network
of relationships.
The sad irony of reorganizations
Communities of Practice (CofPs) are a powerful example of such
networks. These self-organized, non-mandated relationships are
created by people engaged in similar work. Staff form these relationships
to become better at what they do. From these self-created networks,
new practices and knowledge emerge and often develop into the core competencies
of the organization. These skills develop not through training
or performance reviews, but because people find each other and form
good relationships. In those relationships, just as with elementary
particles, potentials manifest and new capabilities are born.
Reorganizations always create a host of unintended consequences because
leaders either ignore or are blind to these and other networks. Strategists
focus on rearranging the boxes of the organization without realizing
that they’re ripping apart the networks of relationships employees
constructed to help them perform better. After a high-level corporate
reorganization, one senior manager I know went to her CEO and told her
she’d need three months to recreate the relationships that were
essential to her global team’s performance. Most leaders,
however, don’t notice the relationship-havoc they wreak with every
reorganization. They blindly tear apart all those networks of relationships
that employees carefully wove together. The sad irony is that capacity
is reduced by reorganizations, no matter their stated goal of improving
performance.
Many of our frequent and recurring failures in organizations are a consequence
of not comprehending the importance of relationships. We approach
major organizational issues--mergers, accountability, knowledge management,
implementation and change—as if they were engineering issues.
If we develop the right plan, work flows, job descriptions and project
deadlines, everything will roll out smoothly. This mechanical
approach doesn’t work with humans, because (big news!) humans
are not machines. We’ve developed quite a robust mythology that
humans are machines who can be bossed around, told what to do,
given a minor part to play in a large enterprise, and enticed with external
rewards. This is becoming ever more common these days. I
hear many people asking of their employers: “Why can’t they
just treat us like human beings?”
What even money can’t buy
Since we’re not machines, who are we? In my own
work in many different cultures, I’ve discovered that we’re
a wonderful species. There are common human yearnings: We want to be
together; we want to learn; we hope to contribute to others; we want
our children to be healthy and have better lives. These desires are
inherent, they do not require external motivators. But sadly,
in this time of fractured relationships and human horrors, it’s
difficult to see these traits. However, these positive traits
are absolutely necessary if we’re to work well together.
If we fail to deny them, or provoke other behaviors with external rewards,
we’ll continue to struggle to motivate employees, worker disengagement
(now at historic highs) will continue to escalate, and we’ll become
more cynical and disgusted with each other.
These basic human qualities are evident every time there’s a disaster.
While official agencies and government struggle to get their act together,
neighbors and strangers rush in to provide assistance and comfort.
In moments of tragedy and loss, kindness is our normal response.
We reach out to find one another. Is it possible that such powerful
relationships are available at work? (I had a client who, after
experiencing the Oklahoma City bombing, asked: “Why are we at
our best in the worst conditions, and at our worst in the best conditions?”)
Human kindness manifests only in relationship. Archbishop Tutu
says: “We can be human only together.” If we’re
to evoke kindness, intelligence, accountability and learning in our
organizations, we need to promote healthy relationships. So much
of what we do as leaders, even actions that are well-intended, works
to disrupt relationships. Here’s a story I’ve seen
played out many times. A boss decides to reward individual staff
for their contributions by giving generous bonuses or pay raises.
Yet the employees reject these because they’re aware of how individual
rewards will impact their relationships with colleagues. I’ve
seen this happen many times, even amongst employees who really needed
the money. The most startling example I witnessed was in England, where
a leader decided to reward outstanding ideas with up to $25,000 bonuses.
After a few months, his employees asked him to disband the program because
it was interfering with their relationships. When he recovered
from his shock, he asked them what they wanted instead of the money.
They asked for simple things--a thank you, a night at the pub, a box
of chocolates.
The leader’s work: Reweaving relationships
I picture you reading this shaking your head in disbelief, or
quickly noting how this could never apply to your association.
But I’ve seen this response often enough to realize that employees
are far more sensitive to their relationships at work than leaders are.
In survey after survey of what people value about their jobs, good relationships
with colleagues is always one of the top three motivations. (Pay and
money are far down the list. Other top motivators are the ability
to learn, and the ability to contribute.)
As leaders, it’s important to notice where you reward individual
performance, or use competition to drive results, or remain blind to
or interfere with the networks that staff weave together. How
are you taking advantage of the capacities that develop from good relationships?
Have you experienced times when people came together and surprised you
with new competencies that didn’t exist before they came together?
A simple means to support and develop relationships is to create time
to think together as staff. Time to think together has disappeared in
most organizations. This loss has devastated relationships and led to
increasing distrust and disengagement. Yet when a regular forum
exists where staff can share their work challenges, everything improves.
People learn from each other, find support, create solutions, and gradually
discover new capabilities from this web of trusting relationships.
This is no surprise. We’re all “bundles of potentiality”
that only manifest in relationship.
Bio
MARGARET WHEATLEY, Ed.D.
Margaret Wheatley writes,
teaches, and speaks about how we might organize and accomplish our work
in chaotic times. She invites us to attend to the quality of our relationships
to weather the increasing turbulence. She knows that whatever the problem,
community is the answer. She is co-founder and President emerita of
The Berkana Institute, a charitable global foundation that connects
and supports pioneering, life-affirming leaders around the world who
strengthen their communities by working with the wisdom and wealth already
present in its people, traditions and environment. (www.berkana.org)
She has written four books :Leadership and the New Science (in twenty
languages and third edition), Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations
to Restore Hope to the Future, A Simpler Way and, most recently, Finding
Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time. Her numerous articles appear
in both professional and popular journals and may be downloaded free
from her website. www.margaretwheatley.com Wheatley received her doctorate
in Organizational Behavior and Change from Harvard University, and a
Masters in Media Ecology from New York University. She has been a global
citizen since her youth, serving in the Peace Corps in Korea in the
1960s. She was a practicing consultant for 30 years to a very wide variety
of organizations on all continents.
