Organizational Bad Habits

Scepticism once served a useful purpose in science at least. As Tim Flannery pointed out in The Weathermakers, 'While sceptism is the lifeblood of science, it can have drawbacks when society is called on to combat real dangers." We are at that point now in the evolution of humanity. The effect of scepticism is to cast doubt which in turn creates uncertainty which typically ensures that a creative or innovative idea ends up with very little stretch to it. There are no shortage of challenges we face in the world; all of them require radically innovative solutions and a totally different mindset from the one that has been operational to this point in time.

Scepticism is only one of the many habits organizations can adopt as vocal patterns. Another deadly habit is that of judgment. Most people do not even notice when they are seeking to blame or isolate responsibility on single individuals. Judgment creates performance gaps when none might exist. The propensity to focus on what is wrong with the individual ignores the impact of the larger system completely. When judgment becomes ingrained as a habit, the old shamanic saying 'Energy flows where attention goes' applies. A stifled, repressed workforce existing in a fear of judgment creates a relatively unsafe working environment. It is tough to perform in a climate of fear.

In my experience, organizations can also become addicted to acting, frequently without a clear sense of purpose, outcome or direction. The signals are a massive to-do list, a sense of stagnation, and a lot of busy people wondering why they are so busy.

For shifts to be made, organizations, just like people, must acknowledge where the energy is flowing and choose to guide toward a better balance on the whole. There is a story of a tribe which exchanged habits on a regular basis as a way to not get too attached. Presumably they were all good ones yet practicality aside, the idea of staying attentive to what patterns guide day to day actions can mean the difference between staying stagnant or staying on top.