Getting Off First Base
June 1st, 2005When does the bureaucracy of success become a company’s undoing?
An example from our case studies.
PROBLEM: Despite being in a new facility with good people, the company had not satisfactorily progressed over the previous three years.
PARTICIPANTS: Market Research Division – Vice President, Managers, and 200 employees
REVELATIONS: Starting with the management teams, we went through Data Dome’s process of “Understanding Self and Others with Behavioral Style”. Then we performed an objective work environment analysis, wherein we study the behavioral demands and limitations of the working environment. This was to capture an image of what the management team thought was currently expected of the job position.
They all agreed, without exception, that although they had a good diversity of styles, they were not able to utilize the strengths of that diversity for more productive teams. The current environment required strict adherence to established rules & procedures.
We revisited the work environment analysis process to study what really needed to be done in an ideal work environment. Again, without exception, they all agreed that the existing rules and procedures were not going to get them anywhere. They needed to start over – talk with their people, be open to new ideas, and allow limited risk-taking.
For three years, they had all been doing the opposite of what they really thought would work, but they could never talk about it.
BOTTOM LINE: Objective, user-friendly tools were required for them to safely put their thoughts into black & white. With the assistance of the tools, and the direction of the seminar, the management team left with a workable action plan that produced an effective reorganization – completed in just six months.
Tools Used: Customized Understanding Self and Others Seminar
Advanced DISC Behavioral Style Profiles
Job Analysis of the Working Environment
