Great Place to Grow

Social physics claims to be a new science*. It takes big data to a whole new level. Tracking human behaviour is a fascination for many of us but getting to understand what really drives what we do has been more about conjecture and inference than hard data. Now a group in MIT is taking social media, buying behaviour, data on feelings and emotions, data on our movements and mashing it together to see what most drives our behaviour. Their early conclusions are challenging:

We overestimate the extent to which we decide what we do
We are more strongly influenced by others than we previously thought
Personality is a factor but not as strong as our peer groups in shaping our behaviour – as they say, if everyone is eating doughnuts in the office you’ll probably have one too
Innovation and creativity is strongly influenced by the flow of ideas in the organisation.

Facebook’s controversial recent experiment on the impact of positive vs negative messages on behaviour gives another example of the extent to which the social or social media environment influences our actions, thoughts and feelings.

In this edition of The OE we focus on the positive organisation dynamics that shape performance at work. It is about the nature of work itself, freedoms to act, the flow of ideas, different notions of leadership and control: how to balance freedom with accountability. The discretionary effort we’ve often discussed in this journal is driven by both intrinsic motivation, and, the passion and belief that come from creating the right organisation dynamics.

Our guest author, Mark Brown sets out his five C’s that drive innovation and creativity in the workplace. Readers also have the opportunity to complete an online tool to assess various dimensions of culture and how your organisation compares to current UK norms.

The phases of organisational existence each brings its own strengths and crises. Ann Gammie and Chris Legge look at how organisations continue to grow by adopting appropriate leadership approaches at each key stage and growing their people as individuals and as a collective capability. They explore the role of ‘energy-releasing leaders’ in engaging the business to deliver success and the notion of ‘mastery’ as a perpetual journey along the growth curve.

Organisation dynamics is reawakening interest in self-managed work groups and in Susan Carroll and Gary Ashton’s article we are delighted to share some of the early findings of our research into autonomous teams. How do we create an environment with the right balance of freedom and responsibility?

Finally, Mark Goodridge writes about a topic close to his heart – the impact (both positive and negative) of rules in the dynamic organisation. He writes about the ‘tyranny of rules’ and their unique ability to drive out life and dynamism when taken too far…

We hope you enjoy this edition and, as always look forward to your feedback!

* “Social Physics: How Good Ideas Spread – the Lessons from a New Science” by Alex Pentland, MIT (January 2014) Penguin Press

Martyn Sakol

Number 8 Issue 2 2014Editor: Helen Pybus

Better Lives, Better Organisations, Better World

by Mark Brown

If organisations are to continually grow and stay in their prime, how do they build in ‘control’ but still stay ‘creative’? Mark Brown explains why the best organisations are ambidextrous and how the caring, crazy, creative ‘can-do’s are helping to shape a better world…

From Start-Up to Grow-Up

by Ann Gammie & Chris Legge

Wherever you are on the growth curve; be it just starting out, going to IPO, fostering collaboration or forming alliances, there are leadership lessons to be learned. Do you consciously shape your culture? Do you have leaders who can tolerate ambiguity? Are they ‘energy-releasing’ and does your environment have sufficient freedom for growth? We look at the challenges and opportunities throughout the organisation’s life cycle.

Teams Reimagined

by Gary Ashton & Susan Carroll

Many believe that it’s Gen Y pushing demand for greater freedom, collaboration and flexible working that’s forcing us to ‘reimagine’ the workplace. But research suggests that values are shared across the generations: teamwork, work-life balance and learning opportunities to name but a few. ‘Autonomous Teams’ is back on the agenda – Gary and Susan share with you some early findings from our own research on the topic.

The Tyranny of Rules

by Mark Goodridge

We create rules and specify procedures so everyone knows how to behave; employees don’t even have to think so work is standardised and risk is managed… And yet we are all striving for innovation, greater freedom and creativity! Mark argues that rules are the enemy of judgement and that innovation does not flow from a recipe.

Number 8 Issue 2 2014Editor: Helen Pybus