Brian Gordon asks:
>What can organizations do to help individuals grow, given that people at
>all levels have insecurities of their own to deal with?
In industry, I have learned to be an existentialist on the matter of
security. There is none. Mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and all of
the other financial games that are played in the boardrooms are cyclonic
to the insecure. I, personally, have been downsized, right-sized, and
treated as a cost improvement by replacement with inexpensive and
inexperienced people.
In my own organization, I raise the question of security early with my
teams. I teach them that they must be proactive (the good Rev. Schuler's
"If it's going to be, it's up to me.") with their life and their mind.
For technical people, and especially, the 'home-grown', non-degreed
'engineers' and managers, I stress education and professional
certification while grounding them in principles and teaching them trust.
I do not try to stop divorces or treat addictions. That is beyond my ken,
but if the general learning model works at all, the study of systems and
behavior may help them to stop it themselves. When insecurities are seen
in peers, I counsel. When seen in 'superiors' I confront. When seen in
myself, I throw them to the wolves and make absurd light of them that my
peers and my superiors, and especially, those who report to me know that I
know and hopefully, will support me in overcoming them.
John Zavacki
jzavacki@greenapple.com
--"John Zavacki" <jzavacki@greenapple.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>