Hello all - first time in.
>>In LO2265, Andrew Moreno writes...
>>>The only thing staying constant would be the belief in
>>>what the organization's business was. <<<
>
>>Viewpoint: I simply cannot walk into a group and change my beliefs. I
>>believe what I believe. I might be able to fake it for a while but sooner
>>or later what I believe will show through and I will than come across as
>>less than sincere/authentic/truthful; come across as a fake.
>I guess since I can't change my beliefs, it's impossible
>for me to change organizations and get high results in each. Oh well.
I would think most of you know more about psychology than I do, but am I
not correct in thinking there is a Jungian derivation of psychological
types which says that people have an "analytical" ie situation arising
approach to events, or a "beliefs-based" approach. This is basic
psychometrics isn't it? Myers Briggs has an element of it - another
psychometric instrument I have encountered uses it directly.
If that's the case ie we learn or are preconditioned towards analysis or
beliefs (doesn't matter which, although it's the former!) then:
1. Most of us who have been anywhere near a business school or a real
organisation have a bent towards an analytical, situational, chameleonic
approach, because that's what gets taught, which is why vision-driven
organisations sound great in theory but are as rare as hens teeth in
practice
2. The idea that "personal beliefs are fixed so I have to find an
organisation with congruent belief systems" doesn't really hold. You might
be one of the statistically very few executives whose beliefs side
outweighs his or her analysis side, in which case you could rightly say -
for me, personally, I can't change my beliefs.
Most people can and do mutate their belief systems with surprising and
scary ease if they perceive a (analytically-derived) "benefit" of some
kind. Read "Built to Last" by Porras and Collins - ideological vision
driven organisations are terrible places to work for if you can't adapt or
suspend your personal belief system and subsume it into the organisation's
one - and/or if your belief system doesn't fit theirs.
But ideological cult-organisations one could say are as close as we have
to an actual learning organisation made flesh, eh?
Nice to be here - I look forward to the debate
--
John Peters
Editor, The Learning Organisation Journal (UK) (paper-based as of now, but
with a forum nascent on the Web at http://www.mcb.co.uk)
Director, Red Swan Research & Consultancy
EMail johnpeters@gn.apc.org
john peters (johnpeters@gn.apc.org)