Leading an Organizational System Holistically

Leading an Organizational System Holistically - Nu Leadership Series

“I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition.”
Martha Washington

Everyone knows that knowledge workers are important to an organization’s effectiveness. Leader, why don’t you use them? Why do managers make the same mistakes without ever involving the impacted employees? Executives are then shocked when their employees don’t buy into their latest management craze. My claim is that organizations don’t focus on long-term strategies. With fierce global competition, managers move toward the quick fixes for short-term gains without analyzing long-term impacts. I’m not suggesting that this approach is easy. Davis, author of Future Perfect, advocates a strategic approach for future planning in competitive environments. Davis explains, “In the industrial context, organization always lags behind strategy….That is a sterrible state of affairs.” If management fully utilized their employees who have personal contact with their customers, organizations could anticipate market changes sooner. Hamel and Prahalad, authors of Competing for the Future, state that one issue facing organizations globally is individual estrangement; this relates to workers’ levels of anxiety and disenchantment in the current marketplace. These feelings are a direct result of downsizing and of undervaluing employees during the 1980s, 1990s, and beyond.

Therefore, I’m suggesting that applying long-term strategies will make organizations stronger, thereby creating an optimum environment where man and machine can coexist. Don’t get left behind globally. Start today!

References:

Hamel, G. and Prahalad (1994). Competing for the Future. MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Bennis, W. and Mische, M. (1995). The 21st Century Organization: Reinventing Through Reengineering. San Diego, CA: Pfeiffer & Company.

Davis, S. (1996). Future Perfect. Reading, MA: Addision – Wesley Publishing.

Wren, D. (2005). The Evolution of Management Thought. Hooboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

© 2006 by Daryl D. Green

Learn how to improve your bottom line by empowering your workers. Seriously! Nu Leadership is a column that explores the changing workforce and social environment as it relates to leadership development. Learn how to manage the new workforce of Generation X and Y employees.

Daryl D. Green has published over 100 articles in the field of decision-making and leadership. Mr. Green is also the author of two acclaimed books, Awakening the Talents Within and My Cup Runneth Over. Mr. Green has a BS in engineering and a MA in organizational management. Currently, he is pursuing a doctoral degree in strategic leadership. For more information, please visit www.darylgreen.org.

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