\u201cTheme of the month: Co-ordination and control mechanisms.\u201d\u00a0 So began this month\u2019s email from the European Organisation Design Forum. Note to self: renew subscription because these guys always bring interesting stuff, like: \u201cControl in organisations. A phenomenon nearing extinction in times of self-management and \u2018flatter is better\u2019, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
The author goes on to discuss how control - read as inhibiting autonomy - goes with the territory when you enter an organisation.\u00a0 Even the most benign and worthy expect you to align with their goals, and it is highly likely that your own goals don\u2019t quite match those of your organisation. This is why \u201cwhatever form it takes, control in organisations is here to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Control can be very structured and rules-based, or it can be much more cultural, with strong purpose and values guiding a committed workforce. In the University I often hear people complain about how controlled we are, with endless permission-seeking and bureaucratic inertia, while at the same time a fair degree of autonomy compared to other sectors, and aspirations towards a shared purpose with common values. Sounds messy, so can culture and values really be about control?<\/p>\n
I recently read a report in which a majority of organisational leaders thought \u201cmanagers don\u2019t enforce the culture we want on their teams\u201d and \u201cwe don\u2019t measure culture effectively.\u201d\u00a0 Words like \u201cenforce\u201d certainly imply this is a control measure, so let\u2019s think about what culture really means. Here\u2019s a description I particularly like from a senior University leader (elsewhere) who is a social scientist. \u201cA complex intangible fabric of stories, practices and policies, laid down over time. More than two-dimensional and always changing. It\u2019s hard to know objectively but has a material external reality, always refracted through an individual\u2019s experience.\u201d That seems rather more subtle and complex than a few defined corporate values and the behaviours we\u2019re expected to display. Certainly it\u2019s hard to see how an ever-changing, complex intangible fabric can be enforced and measured. Perhaps that\u2019s why organisations are more likely to write rules.<\/p>\n
And yet\u2026the EODF\u2019s next seminar is called: \u201cNo Budgets, No KPIs, No OKRs: How Can That Work?\u00a0 Is this truly possible for an engaged workforce, or just a fantasy<\/em>?\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019ve already signed up.<\/p>\n