What words do you use to describe the state of health your organisation finds itself in?
In the last few days I participated in a conversation that, although not intentionally, addressed what we called the health of the organisation. It was a painful discussion. When looking at its history over the last 12 months, the organisational narrative has become one of an usurped dream. What do I mean by this? Well, the often used descriptions such as "it's just not the same as it used to be" and "management don't care" are not useful, I feel, in understanding and confronting the state of an organisation's health. Instead, it is much useful to understand this complex phenomenon through the lens of narrative and metaphor.
In this organisations case the dream was usurped by the drive to expand the business and its offerings. The special character that made the organisation magical (the dream) had somehow been lost - or perhaps it was upheld as a constant desire, but became hollow as it's heart was not encouraged. Older thinkers in the management space might call this quality the vision or mission of the organisation.
And then I'm aware that such a manner of addressing the organisations health may be criticised for not fully engaging in the reality of the situation. Some people may be reluctant to embrace the use of narrative and metaphor for fear that it sugar-coats the pain, or even that it makes the situation abstract and intangible. They may say that the only way management will hear, understand and do something is if we use direct language. I agree with this to a certain extent ... in that such descriptions form one level of constructing the metaphor of health. But void of metaphor, such a process runs the risk of becoming what we all know too well - the bitch 'n moan session.
I suspect that the usurped dream is a common state in organisations. One of my favourite literary pieces is the Roald Dahl classic, The BFG (Big Friendly Giant). If you remember the book, the BFG doesn't use his time as the other larger giants do - in terrorising humans, eating them and then sleeping the rest of the day away. Instead, the BFG enjoys capturing dreams and blowing them into the rooms of people at night. These dreams were found in murky nowhere-lands, captured in glass bottles. Placed on the shelves of the BFG's cave, he would mix them together to form great dreams. These dreams were fragile.
The Big Friendly Giant put the suitcase on the ground. He bent down low so that his enormous face was close to Sophie's. 'From now on, we is keeping as still as winky little micies,' he whispered.
Sophie nodded. The misty vapour swirled around her. It made her cheeks damp and left dewdrops in her hair.
The BFG opened his suitcase and took out several empty glass jars. He set them on the ground, with their screw tops removed. The he stood up very straight. His head was now high up in the swirling mist and it kept disappearing, then appearing again. He was holding the long net in his right hand.
Sophie, staring upwards, saw through the mist that his colossal ears were beginning to swivel out from his head. They began waving gently to and fro.
Suddenly the BFG pounced. He leaped high in the air and swung the net through the mist with a great swishing sweep of his arm. 'Got him!' he cried. 'A jar! A jar! Quick quick quick!' Sophie picked up a jar and held it up to him. He grabbed hold of it. He lowered the net and swiftly clapped one hand over the jar. 'The top!' he whispered. Sophie picked up the screw top and handed it to him. He screwed it on tight and the jar was closed. The BFG was very excited. He held the jar close to one ear and listened intently.
'It's a winksquiffler!' he whispered with a thrill in his voice. 'It's ... it's ... it's ... it's even better. It's a phizzwizard. It's a golden phizzwizard!'
Those who head up our organisations need to be cognisant of how the dream needs to be captured and cared for much like The BFG did for his collection of dreams. We need to be aware of how easily the dreams on the shelves of our organisations may be usurped by textbooks.
With it a being a little while since I've posted a thought on organisational development, I find myself stirred by Keith's lament on leaders not knowing what they really want when it comes to leadership development.
