Who to Fly With?

A goose cannot fly in formation alone. Similarly, employees cannot survive alone within an organization; they need to be in some sort of "flock." Often the collection of employees is more a group than an organization. Geese in groups are called a "gaggle" when not in flight. Geese only become a flock when they are flying in formation. Similarly, organizations only 'fly' when all the employees are in formation.

Organizations need tradition, ritual, and structure to retain their identity. Before geese take off, they have a pre-flight takeoff ceremony in which they encourage one another (Schwein, 2000). An organization in which the author worked had a daily meeting in which employees met each other and offered encouragement, support, guidance and feedback. The meetings were stand-up affairs that lasted 15 to 30 minutes, with a fixed regular program. On Mondays, projects and work for the week ahead was discussed; Tuesdays were Thinking days on which employees had to solve puzzles in groups; Wednesdays were Learning days where one employee had to teach the others something; Thursdays were set aside to announce and discuss change; and Fridays were for external focus or external speakers. Although the author coordinated and organized the meetings, every employee had an opportunity to lead a Tuesday and Wednesday meeting. Rollins et al. claim that 50 percent of all employees receive no formal feedback on their performance, and of the 50 percent who do receive feedback; only 20 percent believe that it is effective.

"Geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed."

Lesson - "We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one's heart or core values and to encourage the heart and core values of others) is the quality of honking we seek" (Clark, 2000).

Organizations need to fly with employees who want to be in the organization, who know where the organization is headed, and who want to fly in formation.



Managing Globally with Information Technology
Managing Globally with Information Technology
ISBN: 193177742X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 224

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