Gregg has some interesting thoughts on compliance versus commitment.
Lack of someone accountable
to drive and be accountable for the project has frequently been blamed
as the reason for the death of it. "We just need someone to push this,
to keep it a priority".
I started to think about the need for a driver, which resulted in
thinking about Senges ideas about compliance vs commitment. Utilizing
a driver or someone to be accountable is an example of an
organziational model based on compliance. That is fine and a lot can
be accomplished with genuine compliance. My feeling is, is that this
may create a self fulfilling prophesy. That is, if you treat people
like they need to have someone to hold them accountable, to comply
with a driver, then the normal mode of operation in the organization
will be compliance. If you want to build an organization of commited
individuals, utilizing "drivers" and holding people accountable will
not get you there, and may result in the endless need for people to
drive projects. This may create an organization that lacks innovation
and initiative to spot problems and work on them more spontaneosly
(but very well behaved and compliant).
== end quote ==
There is some validity to this, but there is a more important reason for
having a driver. A project needs a leader precisely because that project
is only one of many things we have going on. Even if we are committed to
the outcomes of the project, it is inefficient and ineffective for
everyone to invest their scarce resources -- time -- in trying to figure
out what needs to be done and when. Having a leader can be a wise use of
resources.
Your point about having everyone involved and participating is not
invalidated by this, either. The historical project was to build a
bridge, and we would put a leader in charge of that. We can get more
people involved by changing the nature of the project from 'build a
bridge' to 'communicate with people on the other side of the river'. Then
the leader can organize, fcilitate, schedule, prioritize, and so forth to
find and implement a solution to the problem. The solution might be to
build a bridge, or invent a telephone, or build a dam with a road on top,
or relocate all of us, or some other change. Everyone can participate in
finding and implementing the solution. I think you will find that even
this needs a leader.
--Rol Fessenden LL Bean, Inc. 76234.3636@compuserve.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>