“Get used to it. Spirituality is creeping into the office…
and companies are turning inward in search of a “soul” as a way to foster
creativity and to motivate leaders”. - Business Week, June 5, 1995, page 82
“Employees
want to be involved in work that gives meaning to their lives” - Asmos & Duchon. 2000
THE VAST UNTAPPED POTENTIAL OF PROJECTS
Many organisations have realised the value of projects to focus on
important and urgent work and get the job done quickly and effectively.
A number have moved to becoming project-based organisations as a result
of the tumultuous times in which we live, where the power of project teams to
carry out tasks may be fully leveraged.
But surprisingly few have seen the wood for the trees and understand the
vast untapped potential of projects to shift leadership culture.
Workplace demands and complexity, and emerging new and sophisticated
project management tools, will reinforce and accelerate the trend to
project-based organisations. And there exists a huge opportunity to leverage project-based
organisations in a new way – not just the running of projects to get work done
in discreet chunks, but also by using
projects to positively change the soul of the entire organisation.
CHERISHING ESPRIT DE CORPS
The key is to tap into
project ‘esprit de corps’ (the proud spirit of a body of people, a team or
group). Note that, although usually associated with small teams or groups, the
definition does not preclude large organisations. When this dynamic, a function of benevolent leadership,
is palpably present – then it can be transplanted to the rest of the
organisation. (Benevolent leadership Model that brings together all the
components of the separate fields of study that have become known as authentic,
ethical, conscious, spiritual, and
servant leadership).
Aronson et al refer to “strategic project leadership” of which “project spirit” is a major dimension. Project spirit “deals with the excitement, passion and
enthusiasm, as a driving force, which energises teams, unleashes talent,
enhances project performance” and is “the
collective emotional state of a project team as nurtured by management and
stated by all team members”. (Aronson, Z.H. et al 2001). It is an attitudinal and behavioural
construct. One that includes shared everything: purpose, real belonging,
adventure, risk, discovery, responsibility, ups and downs, results and rewards,
having each other’s backs, caring ……
I
have been directly involved in and witnessed this dynamic in my own career:
- A re-engineering project taught the entire organisation how to plan from right – to – left, to make sure everything got done right, on time, to budget and without endless meetings, reviews and over-planning
- A 24/7 multi-function, in and outbound contact centre, recruited from scratch, employed (in both absolute and percentage terms) more Black staff in skilled labour positions than the rest of the company put together – in South Africa at a time when such jobs were dominated by White incumbents
- Setting up the first Motorway Service Area in Africa required a paradigm shift both internally in the organisation and externally (by the controlling Government body, the Department of Transport) – from a vehicle-based to a people-based mind-set
- Designing and executing a local level margin-management pricing system also needed a paradigm shift (away from national and regional pricing; and taking a more nuanced approach to price-setting in a highly competitive retail market) that then pervaded the entire organisation
The
impact of these projects was impressive in monetary terms – but exponentially more
so in terms of introducing positivity, a growth mind-set and ‘possibilist’
thinking throughout the entire organisation.
There is no denying the power of a small team’s shared experiences.
WHAT ARE THE CONSTRAINTS TO LEVERAGING PROJECTS AS INCUBATORS
OF BENEVOLENT LEADERSHIP?
Holding on to the old
As we inexorably transition from machine age to modern
organisations, a number of leadership - culture pull
and push forces are at play (some obvious, some obscure, even unconscious).
They direct how we think, feel and act. Inherent
in this shift is a search for soul, an awakening to the spiritual (not
religious). (Williams,
G. & Cooper, E. 2018)
Ashmos
and Duchon pointed out the emergence of strong workplace spirituality (inner
life, meaning, purpose, connection, community …) nearly two decades ago. (Ashmos, D.P. and Duchon, D. (2000)
This reinforces the need for leadership that does not command and control, but
achieves outcomes via the building of sound, nurturing relationships with
employees, and a simultaneous self-emptying (kenosis). When times get tough
there is temptation to revert to the old way. This impacts on both
organisational and project leadership.
Simply not perceiving the potential
People
and organisations tend to become trapped in their own limited thinking and
behaviours. Rather like being in Plato’s
Cave – a situation where we are shackled and face only the back wall of the
cave and are able to see only the shadows of the fire that blazes outside, but
not the fire itself. We have only an illusion, a limited internal reality.
Morgan refers to this using the metaphor of a ‘psychic prison.’ He suggests
that “In thinking about an organization this way, we are thus
alerted to the pathologies that may accompany our (own) ways of thinking”.
(Morgan, G. 1086)
Project
Managers should be free to break organisational culture bonds as they pursue
their important projects, and to find new realities that can help set the
organisation free beyond the bounds of their project. This requires deft,
nurturing action by savvy organisational leadership. The rewards that beckon
for individuals, teams and the organisation include freedom of action, adventure, discovery, trust,
collaboration, empowerment and sharing of everything (from purpose to measured
outcomes).
The Project Manager’s Status and Credibility
It is common in some organisations for
project managers to be perceived as having less status than line managers, and
less power (for example, to influence the careers of their team members). This
is partly because of the relatively short life-time of projects, that when
finished, see the team members returning to their original, ‘more permanent’
roles.
The project manager’s status needs to be
elevated to overcome such perceptions. So senior project sponsors ought to make
it clear that project managers carry responsibility for organisational change beyond the immediate task parameters, and
carry primary influence in terms of their member’s career progression.
Suitable reward is indicated. As is recognition
- of what project team members are exposed to during tough projects. Their personal
growth can be facilitated when remuneration is based not only on a rate for the
job, but also on carefully weighted competence and contribution components.
Moderating factors that restrict the
development of ‘spiritual’, benevolent leadership
Sense and Fernando draw attention to a number of factors that act as
moderating influences on the development of spirituality in a project. These
need to be countered by the empowered project manager. Their moderating factors
are:
- Organizational culture – the culture surrounding the project may shape or inhibit the development of a suitable desirable project culture. (Refer the Plato’s Cave discussion above)
- Attributes of the individual – the values and attitudes of the individual team members, their cognitive style and preferred way of doing things.
- Project work process – an individual’s conception of the worth of the project can be affected by its aims, strategies, structure, and work design.
- Attachment – project participants emotional link to the project outcomes. (Sense & Fernando. 2011)
The latter three factors can be countered to quite a large extent by coaching,
counselling, positive peer pressure, shared involvement in determining purpose,
running the project, making decisions, appreciating diversity, and other
project esprit de corps factors.
Rules based operating
Challenging projects in a dynamic business environment progress best when
there is freedom to explore, decide, do …. Without direct ‘outside’ interference,
hampering cultural baggage and rules-based leading and operating. This is not
to say that rules are unimportant, but that they become pretty much redundant
when mature behaviour is in play. When behaviour is guided by values that have
translated into character-virtues.
Take ethics as an illustration. British doctors when interviewed about
their training and practicing, “… complained about the over-estimation of
compliance and the under-estimation of professional judgement”. (Symons, X. 2015) I believe that “All the
laws, rules, regulations, ethical principles in the world will not guarantee
virtuous behaviour”. (Williams, G, Fox, P & Haarhoff, D. 2015)
Organisations and projects
should look at ethics from an agent-based perspective, not an action-based
perspective (Oberlechner, T. 2007, citing Dobson). This of course
requires Individual development and maturation along a self-managed path
of self-interest, meeting the expectations of others , then becoming principled
through independent reasoning. (Oberlechner, T. 2007, citing Kohlberg, Levine,
and Hewer). Of course such maturing
doesn’t happen overnight but can be role-modelled and applied in projects. Agent-based
seeds are sewn.
Taking the focus off people
People carry out the work, so an over-emphasis on process, technology,
over-planning and over-strategising, is unhelpful. A focus on people and
relationships gets the job done, allows for upskilling, broadening,
cross-functional appreciation, the development of an internal serving culture,
and a way of becoming more customer and stakeholder-facing. It is people who
produce the innovations, improved products, services, processes and technology
applications, improved relationships with customers and other stakeholders. “The field of project management is one that
has always been characterised by its joint emphasis on a blend of technical
elements ... coupled with its vital connections to behavioural and management
concepts”. (Slevin, D & Pinto, J (2004)
Failure to harness diversity, real inclusion
and genuine belonging
Social scientist André Laurent, Emeritus Professor of
Organizational Behavior at INSEAD “… offers useful guidelines which
harness cultural diversity and shows decision makers around the world how
differences can become a source of synergy and competitive advantage when they
are recognised, understood and appreciated”. (Laurent, A. 2019)
“Laurent
discovered a fascinating phenomenon. In brief: the best teams rely on the
difference and uniqueness of their members to create something better than can
be produced by a mono-cultural team. But people who fear difference and put
their energy into seeing differences negatively produce little of note.
Concerted
effort to bridge the productivity gap between best and worst is a critical
challenge. It requires recognition that potentially, diverse group wisdom is
greater than individual wisdom; team solutions, innovation and output is greater
than individual output; collectives are more secure and powerful than
individuals; adaption and adoption of change smoother. Diversity is a positive
must.
Every
member must feel that they belong, share accountability and can contribute.
That they are accepted, valued, respected and trusted by the other members.
Mother Theresa: “The biggest disease
today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of not belonging”.
Failure
to appreciate and harness the richness, power and value of difference can cause
barriers, threats, irritation, friction and destructive behaviour. And promote
a limiting culture of conformity”.
(Williams, G; Fox, P & Haarhoff, D.
2015)
Overcoming limiting differences
(religious, departmental, team, roles, ethnicity, gender, thinking style …)
that could detract from a family and esprit de corps environment, and even
result in conflict, is a key success factor for any project.
Insufficiently developed Project Managers
Last year I convened an MSc in Project
Management at a prominent university and was aghast to discover no mention of
the potential power of projects to bring about wider organisational change in
addition to their specifically assigned task.
Project Managers require training in being and in applying a benevolent and serving
approach to leadership (that includes the components of self-emptying, larger
thinking (metanoia), unconditional positive acceptance of employees while still
being fair and firm, being adept at handling diversity, open to adventure and
learning, skilled at activating reflection and story, and being able to get the
job done!
If we waited for all of this to be in place
before initiating a project then we might never have any projects! There has to
be a balance aimed at the project leader gaining mastery before and during the
course of a project, aided by astute top leader mentoring and coaching.
Punitive measures applied when projects are
seen to have failed
Kellogg points to the sort of scapegoating
organizational culture that should not
be project-based. Such cultures permit defence mechanisms like displacement and
projection to be used as self-preservation and bullying tactics. Clearly a
number of other toxic behaviours will also be present.
“For
individuals who assume responsibility for assignments or projects that prove
less than successful, they could find themselves isolated to what I call
"organizational purgatory".
Organizational
purgatory is a wasteland where experienced or up-and-coming leaders can find
themselves if they are perceived as having failed or fallen short on a key
project or assignment”. (Kellogg, R.
2019)
Projects fail for various
reasons, including a lack of effective sponsorship and championing. Such
failure should be shared, lessons extracted, and new knowledge applied to
cushion future projects from similar failure.
TOP 5 TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL LEVERAGING OF PROJECT TEAMS
My top 5 suggestions for CEOs of
organisations wanting to successfully spread a benevolent leadership culture, and leverage projects as
incubators of spiritual leadership (a notion referred to in a previous article
for Culture University (Williams, G. & Cooper, E. 2018), are:
1.
Learn to operate in benevolent leadership mode. Behave, apply, coach and train benevolent leadership.
This requires ‘leaving the action’ and doing regular, deliberate inner
work. (Sometimes, like the homicide
chief in Richard Rayner's Murder Book, busy leaders
and managers are too busy to do anything else but be busy: “Reflection invited danger. Better and easier
to be on top of the surfboard, where the action was, riding without thought to
a shore your skill might help you reach....” (Rayner, R. 1997) Reflection and contemplation (in a context
of developing deeper mindfulness) results in better leadership action and
results. This requires:
o Self-emptying
(kenosis), developing the larger mind (metanoia) and appreciating
interconnectivity
o trusting
that relationship building does lead to improved performance results
o having a
process for walking the talk and converting stated values to
consistently displayed virtues
o
widening the notion of ‘customer’ (internal and
external) to include suppliers, citizens, and other stakeholders (especially in
the sustainability arena)
o
utilising advanced conversational processes (not
meetings!) to guide culture change deftly and speedily (especially in a world
of rapid, turbulent change on many fronts) Refer https://culturescan.biz/the-magic-of-perspective-the-culturescan-process/ and https://culturescan.biz/test/organizational-assessment-sample/
2 Don’t rely
on unfounded, untested theory. An Imperative is to have a healthy balance
of real live experience and formal learning and qualifications. In developing
project leaders, major on coaching (where process is provided under the
umbrella of valid experience and content), counselling, reflection practices,
collective sense-making, decision-making and problem-solving.
3 Blend bees and butterflies. To imbed and
connect projects to the rest of the organisation, have natural checks and
balances in place, ensure that projects are not ‘secret’ and hidden, enhance
the probability of wider ownership, and success, and feed the culture change
process, use the butterfly and bee approach.
Project team members are bees - devoted to the hive of activity
happening within the project. Wherever
possible, they actively encourage visits by, progress sharing with and inputs
from affected internal departments, external stakeholders and HR and IT (to the
extent that these functions are not sufficiently embodied in the project membership)
This is an open, accepting, inclusive technique.
4 Harness diversity and democracy. Better results
are sure to follow as wide-ranging a diversity, inclusion and belonging as is possible.
Such composition of project teams is a necessity not a luxury. This can
profitably be extended to include customers and other stakeholders, the
capturing of their unique insights, their buy-in, world views and valid
contributions to business process design and redesign, problem definition,
change plan, solutions. Engaging with rather than ‘managing’ both internal and
external stakeholders adds a wonderful, too-often-neglected resource to project
teams. It also sets the tone for relationships and establishing agile-feedback
loops in future. This goes a long way to establishing esprit de corps. Worsley offers a useful model which covers
the project continuum from stakeholder-neutral to stakeholder-led engagement.
(Worsley, L.M. 2017). In this sort of environment, the learning axe is
kept sharp as people learn from each other’s knowledge and discoveries as the
project proceeds, and excitement and passion transplanted to the wider
organisation.
5 Trust.
Think of trust as an increasingly valuable asset in an increasingly divisive
and non-collaborative world. Give your trust to project teams. Ensure that
sponsors run interference for them when needed. Pop in frequently as a
‘butterfly’. Encourage the sharing of story at all levels inside and outside of
the project team (an Ubuntu process that includes metaphor,
imagery, symbol, myth, archetype, anecdote …), that when used appropriately
(not to persuade or convince but to share and allow insights to arrive) adds
greatly to building trust. This helps project leaders to ensure that the spirit
of the project team is maintained or enhanced in order to improve performance (Aronson et al. 2001)
CONCLUSIONS
Project teams within organisations, irrespective of
their nature or scale, can be used to shift wider
culture and carry new ways of relating and working back
into the organisation. (Gareis, R. 2010)
Indeed, failure to go to required lengths as outlined
above, would be a huge opportunity gone to
waste.
The cascading of esprit de corps and positive cultural
elements into the wider organisation is
also made possible by the nature of benevolent leadership and
spirituality that influences individuals.
According to Milliman et al, “spirituality
can be conceptualised as three levels of engagement; individual, group, and
organizational”. (Milliman et al. 2003).
These are described as:
·
Individual
level - Meaningful work
o
Enjoy
work
o
Energised
by work
o
Work
gives personal meaning and purpose
·
Group
level - Sense of community
o
Sense
of connection with co-workers
o
Employees
support each other
o
Linked
with a common purpose
·
Organization
level - Alignment with organization values
o
Feel
connected to organization’s goals
o
Identify
with organization’s mission and values
o
Organization
cares about employees (Milliman et al. 2003)
It is an
outside-in and inside-out dynamic.
The
lessons from a recent (strategic rewards and recognition multinational) global
research into key culture trends for 2019, are that engagement improves
dramatically when employees in conducive workplace environments experience
belonging, feel appreciated and respected, find meaning in work relationships
and work, have access to technology that facilitates and enhances their
connectivity and relationships, share and collaborate in project settings,
receive regular feedback in frequent one-on-one communicating. (O. C. Tanner 2019)
I
am confident that sound project management meets all of these engagement
experiences. Projects can provide the needed psychologically-safe space
for learning and personal growth (in confidence and competence), promote
connectedness and bonding as members work closely together towards clear goals,
and promote a sense of worthiness that emanates from being involved in
satisfying and worthwhile activity.(Sense & Fernando. 2011)
It is arguably easier for project team
leaders (rather than busy line managers and leaders) to influence or bring
about their team member’s transformation. And project team members then passionately carry their learning and
development back into the wider organisation.
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