”The kaleidoscope is a cylindrical optical device made up of mirrors and several small parts of different colours and shapes. The combinations of these pieces, when you twist the kaleidoscope, create multiple, always surprising, captivating images.
I have always been fascinated by kaleidoscopes. As a child, I could sit for a long time and look through the narrow space at the shapes this instrument gave me, imagining what shapes I would see when I turned it again. I would have loved to be able to insert a different colored piece, a different shape, to see how the images changed. I didn’t, I was afraid I’d ruin the toy. But I can imagine the multitude of possible colour combinations, new shapes, if I had introduced a new crystal from time to time.
Organisations have something of this kaleidoscope.
First of all, I think that a kaleidoscopic way of thinking is necessary to solve complex problems. The business environment has itself become complex, and this reality requires us to look at problems from multiple perspectives. Of course, this requires the ability to think critically, to change the lenses through which we observe and analyse reality, to continually question our filters, our points of view. Stakeholders, the people with a vested interest in the operation of the company, are more diverse, have different expectations and impact on multiple areas of the organisation. The generations are different, the discrepancies between them are quite large because of or due to the environment they grew up in, the impact of technology on their daily activities, the way they spend their time. Kaleidoscope thinking brings diverse groups together to solve complex business problems. This diversity is not just a generational one, but also one of ways of thinking, nationalities, work mode and space, and so on.
In this context, it is essential for organisations to have a culture of continuous learning.
Edgar Schein identifies in his book, “Organizational Culture and Leadership”, 10 dimensions of a learning culture, specific to an organization that prioritizes learning rather than stability, production, efficiency, comfort.
Learning is needed more than ever. Many organisations aim to invest in continuous employee development. But it is often a long way from intention to implementation. The need to be efficient, to meet targets, to ‘do more with less’ – a phrase we have heard for a long time and which is likely to annoy people badly, especially as there is a limit to this, however – seems to prevail, even after the last three years. I thought that these pandemic years had made us more attentive to each other, more concerned also with the human aspect of interactions in the workplace, more empathetic, that they had shown us the need for continuous learning, for trust in ourselves and in others, for humility. Not necessarily
But here are the ten dimensions of a learning culture that Schein spoke of:
- Proactivity
- Dedication to learning to learn
- Trust in people’s positive intention
- Belief that we have some degree of control over our environment
- Dedication to knowing the truth through questioning, research, pragmatism
- Orientation towards the future
- Dedication to open communication
- Cultural diversity
- Systems thinking
- Belief that cultural analysis is a valid set of lenses through which we understand and improve the world.
All this is easy to understand but not necessarily as simple to implement, especially in the post-pandemic world. There is a lot of talk about the “new normal”, about resilience, adaptation, flexibility. But what does this new normal mean? When I think of ‘normal’ I also think of something stable. But now we are dealing more with a new volatile world, where there is more than stability.
People need to learn to operate in uncertainty because that is the reality now and in the medium term. Companies would be well advised to invest in the continuous training of people so that they can operate in some balance in this uncertainty. Dealing with uncertainty also requires analytical thinking. We have intuition, we have emotions. But intuition has to be treated like we treat our muscles: we go to the gym to keep them in shape. To make the best decisions, we need to train our intuition continuously. Short courses and business school education help with this ongoing training. In addition to education, training, community interactions are important, especially if people come from different industries, countries.
I said at the beginning about the kaleidoscope. Organisations are now made up of very diverse generations. Very good people can come from any generation. People with a lot of experience are needed because they can be mentors for people at the beginning of their careers. Those already working in a company are valuable, especially when they have demonstrated that they have the attitude and knowledge to support the company’s strategy. It’s good for companies to invest in them, to motivate them to stay with the company. But it is also necessary to look outwards, to always be on the lookout for new people, who come with new energy, new perspectives, sometimes questioning the status quo. But it is difficult to manage collaboration between people with different backgrounds and from different generations. It requires a lot of acceptance of diversity and inclusion. I believe that for someone to feel included, it requires constant efforts from those who were already in the company, but also openness to integration from the newcomer.
As I said at the beginning, when I was talking about the crystals in the kaleidoscope, a new crystal can bring some variations of the existing shapes, new colours, shades, but it doesn’t mean that all the others don’t exist as they were, maybe they have other shades, iridescence that now stand out. It is the same when a new person comes into a team, into an organisation.
Coming back, I still believe in the old adage: ‘hire people with the right attitude for your company, invest in training them technically and with the right skills’.
A successful company has people who work hard, do their job as they know and can do it best. I would compare these people to a constellation: each star has its role, shines in its place, the power is in their beauty together.
If we bring in a sun from outside that is too strong, too dominant, the stars will soon no longer be seen, they will fade little by little.
I also think it’s important that even when we have all the people we need in the organisation, we meet with different people, of different ages. It’s hard to find the right attitude and values for the culture of our organisation. When we are short of people we risk making the wrong choices, choosing people who are technically good but incompatible with the kind of culture that supports our company’s strategy.
The search for good people, with a good attitude for the organisation, I think should be an ongoing process, as should the continuous training of existing people in the company.
Unfortunately, however, the road from declarations to implementation is paved not only with good intentions but also with obstacles, crises of all kinds, very big goals, stress, fatigue, the effects of the pandemic, concern for mental health, personal and professional priorities that can change, budget cuts, unmanaged conflicts and how many others. Better coherence between what we say at management level and what we implement could reduce people’s stress, maintain motivation (or at least not demotivate employees).
Beyond what companies do or don’t do, I would also draw attention to a relevant aspect of the issue of talent in organisations and how they end up adding value. Often people say that they also know how to communicate, how to plan, how to think strategically, how to sell, how to negotiate, they know themselves. But beyond what we know is the question: ‘what do we do with what we know?’ Of course we’ve read, we’ve been to courses, we’ve learned about communication. But from what we’ve learned to what we do on a daily basis, it’s a very long way, the discrepancies are huge. We often feel that we have communicated clearly what we wanted and others have understood something else. Or that, although we thought we had clarified something, we find out by chance, after a while, that it wasn’t at all. I therefore recommend that we each make a real diagnosis, without mincing words, as a good doctor would do to our bodies. How good am I when it comes to giving feedback? How well do I receive it, integrate it, do something with it? How honest am I with those around me? What impact do my emails have? What reactions do I elicit in others with the way I communicate? Is it what I want? Is there anything I could change? These may seem like simple or even trivial things, but they have a big impact on the impact we have in our organisation.
The continuous training of people requires rigour, planning, personal and organisational discipline. People learn differently, training programmes, both those of a few days and those of business schools need to put the customer, the individual learner, at the centre of their approach. Some will learn best by reading, some by watching a film and then discussing, some prefer multiple-choice tests, some want to interact with colleagues and learn with them, some prefer synchronous learning, some asynchronous, or a combination of the two.
Perhaps schools that offer MBA programs could think nano masters. This means that each student can choose the subjects they are interested in and make their own learning path. Instead of an MBA where you go through statistics, micro and macroeconomics, HR, marketing, finance, operations, entrepreneurship, accounting, you can choose more statistics, AI, international finance, blockchain and sustainability.
Truly creating and sustaining a learning culture therefore requires the concerted efforts of all stakeholders, from the individual to the organisation and its partners. Companies are well advised to work with business schools, training companies, so that the programmes offered to employees are as tailored as possible to their present needs and prepare people for the future.”
via: Revista Cariere