Читать книгу NEXT STOP: UNSTOPPABLE - Malte Stöckert - Страница 11

Hell from Within the Organization

Let’s take the manager Thomas as our main example. Thomas represents middle management, i.e., he passes on company values to his team and at the same time makes sure that his part of the workplace is up and running. He deliberately chose this job. Though he still needs guidance, he has an urge to give something to the world; he’s driven by his ambition to achieve something for his family and himself. Thomas is shaped by the ideals he absorbed in his youth and carried with him throughout his studies. He wants to change the world because that’s simply what drives him.

On his first day on the job, he encounters an abundance of tasks and is quickly overwhelmed.

On the second day, he meets members of his team who aren’t under the illusion that they can really achieve or change anything, and, for the first time, he asks himself, how can that be? Wasn’t it different in the interview? Didn’t it all sound so different, even much better? Isn’t the company all about wanting to fashion the very best for customers and employees alike?

On the third day, Thomas meets his “peers,” the other department heads and managers, but all of them seem to pursue completely different goals than the company. The first meeting is not confrontational, yet it feels strange because they wish him good luck in his new job, and he suspects that the remark wasn’t completely sincere. Why is wishing that the customer be respected suddenly something to question? Why does everything suddenly revolve around costs? How can Thomas explain to his team that he will have to deviate from the noble goals he promised only yesterday? Confused, he goes home.

On the fourth day, he perceives not everything is being done the way he thinks is best, and for the first time, he doubts whether he has chosen the right job after all. But he decides it’s not over yet and he shows up for the fifth day.

Fridays aren’t that rowdy in this organization, he finds out. He has time to gather his first impressions and realizes that a lot of work lies ahead of him.

Still euphoric about his first week, Thomas enjoys the weekend with his friends because he has probably chosen the best company to work for, he believes.

The next week goes quietly and he slowly gets used to it. He doesn’t go to every meeting with confrontation on his mind (and there is a hell of a lot of meetings); instead, he holds back here and there because it’s probably not the right time. This is all okay for doing his job, he thinks, but as far as the assertion of his goals and the values he represents are concerned – which he thought the company also represented – there’s nothing but big question marks.

In the third week, he creates a master plan for how he’ll set up his department to meet the challenges that’ll come its way. He’s pleased with the plan; it’s a brilliant masterpiece in its own right.

In the fourth week, he sets out to communicate his plan to his team, when he encounters the first bit of resistance. His team doesn’t seem to understand what he wants. He picks up on a general feeling of refusal here and there. One of them says, “we've always done it that way,” and another one doubts Thomas’s competence as a manager. He senses he still has a lot to learn and has by no means understood everything. In the evenings and on weekends, he racks his brain about what he can do better so his team understands what he wants. What he wants: isn’t it obvious? He washes his hands of all the time spent so far, figuring it’s better to just keep going.