Candor In The Workplace
Now I got you, you SOB! You're mine. Funny but a serious problem that exist in every organization. On Critics, Criticism and Remarkability, Seth, "What people are afraid of isn't failure. It's blame. Criticism."
"We don't choose to be remarkable because we're worried about criticism. We hesitate to create innovative movies, launch new human resource initiatives, design a menu that makes diners take notice or give an audacious sermon because we're worried, deep down, that someone will hate it and call us on it."
Act as if you're a grown up - a mature person with an EQ above a toddler's. We need a lot more action on the candor side as well as more trust and respect.
STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Create Candor in the Workplace (reg req).
Jack Welch. "According to Welch, companies that develop extraordinary products and services do more than gain market share; they represent the very foundation of society. "Winning companies are the only things that matter without them, nothing else would work," the former chairman and chief executive officer of General Electric told Dean Robert Joss on April 27."
Welch continues, "A remarkable absence of candor in the workplace represents one of the most significant obstacles to companies' success, he said. "In a bureaucracy, people are afraid to speak out. This type of environment slows you down, and it doesn't improve the workplace." Bonus one hour video.
One way to encourage candor in the workplace is through web 2.0 and social software applications. But, the big problem with them is employee fear. Fear is a powerful tool not only for the reasons Seth mentions, but for the so-called knowledge-hoarders who use it to manipulate the business and to demonstrate their expertise. What's more, the bureaucracies or culture in many organizations is enough to stifle and kill off any voice.
"The market for somethng to believe in is infinite". Hugh
From The Cluetrain "markets are conversations" to the hughtrain..., both hit on the idea that the conversations and the ideas in them are EVERYWHERE.
This I know - enterprise blogs, wikis, folksonomies will complement any business that is really interested in listening to employees, customers, markets. Web 2.0 applications combined with the right business processes will change how companies innovate, managers make decisions, businesses lower costs, tap talent, and realize new business opportunities.