November 14, 2007	Volume 7, Issue 46
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Healthy Practices

by Rick Brenner

Some organizational cultures are healthy; some aren't. How can you tell whether your organizational culture is healthy? Here are some indicators.

ome believe it's possible to assess organizational health by looking at the numbers. They have dozens of "performance indicators," which they track diligently. Perhaps some of these data streams are helpful, but assessing organizational health by analyzing numerical data alone is a risky approach.

For example, I like to visit facilities in mid-afternoon and smell the air in the office and cubicle spaces. If I can't detect the odor of cold pizza, I begin to think that people are taking lunch breaks, spending time together in the cafeteria or at nearby restaurants. They aren't meeting over lunch, or responding to email from their desks, or racing to meet unreasonable deadlines between sandwiches and coffee.

All from the absence of old pizza smell. But it isn't the freshness of the air that's important; it's what the smell tells us about the behavior of the organization's people. Here are some other behaviors that suggest organizational health.

When things go wrong

When a failure happens, those whose actions contributed to the result acknowledge their contributions perhaps with some embarrassment, but definitely without fear. When people suspect that a problem might appear, they surface it immediately, rather than waiting until it's too late, all the while hoping the problem will go away.

When things go right

People share credit for successes. Supervisors credit their subordinates rather than claiming (or accepting) credit for themselves. When a team succeeds, instead of canonizing individuals, we honor the team as a team.

People look forward to retrospectives

We conduct retrospectives (also known as post mortems and after-action reviews). They're real opportunities to learn, rather than painful blamefests. We learn just as much from retrospectives when things go right as we do when things go wrong.

When we're in financial trouble

When a failure happens, those
who contributed to the result
acknowledge their contributions
perhaps with some embarrassment,
but definitely without fear

When we're in the financial soup, we do reduce expenses, but we recognize that cost-cutting tactics aren't enough. We know that growth and investment are the only long-term answers, and we find ways to grow — with new approaches, new products, new services, and new capabilities. In our search, we listen to everyone — customers, ex-customers, consultants, and employees at all levels.

When we disagree

We recognize that our relationships must survive our debates. When we disagree with each other, we do so respectfully, because we acknowledge the possibility that people on any side of the question can be wrong. In fact, people on every side of the question can be wrong. And they can be right, too — you never know.

Most important, we have a commitment to our people. We want them to develop to their full potential. That means monitoring and mentoring; rotating assignments; holding everyone accountable for failures, and rewarding success with more challenging responsibilities. It means not only training, but ongoing education. Learning — and teaching — is part of the job.

Do you work in a place like this? If not, what can you do about it?  Top    Next Issue

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Public seminars

Person-to-Person Communication for Project Managers

When we talk, listen, send or read emails, read or write memos, or when we leave or listen to voice mail messages, we're communicating person-to-person. And whenever we communicate person-to-person, we risk being misunderstood, offending others, feeling hurt, and being confused. There are so many ways for things to go wrong that we could never learn how to fix all the problems. A more effective approach avoids problems altogether, or at least minimizes their occurrence. In this very interactive program you'll learn a model of inter-personal communications that can help you stay out of the ditch. In those moments of intense involvement, when we're most likely to slip, you'll have a new tool to use to keep things constructive. Read more about this program. Here are some upcoming dates for this program:

• Download to
  your calendarThe Machine Shed, 11151 Hickman Road, Urbandale, IA 50322: February 16, Breakfast Meeting, Central Iowa Chapter of The Project Management Institute. Register now.
   
• Download to
  your calendarThe Hotel Fort Des Moines, 1000 Walnut Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50309: February 16, Lunch Meeting, Central Iowa Chapter of The Project Management Institute. Register now.
   
• Houston, Texas: May 8, Monthly Meeting, Houston Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
   
• Houston, Texas: May 9, Monthly Meeting, Houston Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
   

The Race to the South Pole: The Power of Agile Development

On 14 December 1911, four men led by Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Thirty-five days later, Robert F. Scott and four others followed. Amundsen had won the race to the pole. Amundsen's party returned to base on 26 January 1912. Scott's party perished. As historical drama, why this happened is interesting enough. Lessons abound. Among the more important lessons are those that demonstrate the power of the agile approach to project management and product development. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Download to
  your calendarSt. George Banquet Hall, Kitchener, Ontario: March 6, Dinner Meeting, Canada's Technology Triangle Chapter of the Project Management Institute. Register now.
   

Human-Centered Risk Management

Most of us can assess technological risks, but risks related to human behavior tend to resist our best efforts. This session provides a framework for evaluating risks related to the behavior of individuals, teams, organizations and people generally. Human-centered risk differs from technological or market risk, because objective evaluation requires acknowledging personal and organizational limitations and failures. Since some of those limitations and failures might apply to the people assessing the risks, or to their superiors, there's a tendency to deny them or to explain them away. Our approach examines capability, organization, context, risk mitigation, and workplace politics. It has tools for guiding the assessment and management of human-centered risk, and we show how to extend these tools to suit your situation. You'll learn how to identify sources of risk in human behavior; recognize systemic and individual barriers to acknowledging risk; assess the effects of organizational turbulence; determine the risk associated with inappropriate internal risk transfer; estimate the effects of team dysfunction, toxic conflict and turnover; and measure the impact of workplace politics. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Download to
  your calendarMITRE, in Bedford, Massachusetts: March 20, Monthly Meeting, Boston SPIN. Register now.
   

The Race to the South Pole: Ten Lessons for Project Managers

On 14 December 1911, four men led by Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Thirty-five days later, Robert F. Scott and four others followed. Amundsen had won the race to the pole. Amundsen's party returned to base on 26 January 1912. Scott's party perished. As historical drama, why this happened is interesting enough, but to project managers, the story is fascinating. Lessons abound. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Columbia, Missouri: May 17, Full-Day Workshop, Mid Missouri Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
   

Project Management in Fluid Environments

Most people now work in environments that can best be characterized as fluid, because they're subject to continual change. We never know what's coming next. In such environments, managing — teams, projects, groups, departments, or the enterprise — often entails moving from surprise to surprise while somehow staying almost on track. It's a nerve-wracking existence. This program provides numerous tools that help project managers who work in fluid environments. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Columbia, Missouri: May 17, Monthly Meeting, Mid Missouri Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
   

The Politics of Meetings for People Who Hate Politics

There's a lot more to running an effective meeting than having the right room, the right equipment, and the right people. With meetings, the whole really is more than the sum of its parts. How the parts interact with each other and with external elements is as important as the parts themselves. And those interactions are the essence of politics for meetings. This program explores techniques for leading meetings that are based on understanding political interactions, and using that knowledge effectively to meet organizational goals. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Rochester, New York: May 24, Professional Development Day, Rochester Chapter of the Project Management Institute.