The course delegates were enjoying a jolly good moan about one of their computer systems which didn't work. They said that it had been slow and lacked functionality ever since it was introduced three or four years ago. I asked what they had done about it and, after a few sheepish looks at the floor they admitted that, apart from grumbling to each other in private, they had done nothing.
I asked what they would say if a new joiner came into their team and asked the same question. How would they explain that they had known about the faults but done nothing to get them fixed? What kind of legacy were they leaving to new people coming into the organisation? We explored other aspects of the business which upset them and unearthed a long list of things which didn't function as they wanted and which had gone unchallenged.
I asked if they feared raising the issue of things that didn't work, or if they were unsure who to approach to get them fixed. They said they had no qualms about approaching the appropriate people to fix the problems and knew exactly who to go to. So why hadn't they done anything about it?
Well the answer was simple: they couldn't be bothered! It was easier to sit and moan than to go and talk to someone and rectify the problems.
It struck me that in a vast number of organisations there are people who prefer to moan about things than do something about them. Now of course there are lots of organisational reasons why they behave in this way and they are/will be the subject of future blogs. But at the heart of this is a real lack of "stewardship" - the idea that we are only temporary members of any organisation and what we leave behind us is inherited by others who continue to work in an organisation long after we have left.
So it's worth thinking, at whatever grade you work, what's your legacy? Are you a real steward for the organisation or is your concern about the here and now and what's in it for you?
Perhaps the best new year resolution you can craft for yourself is to become a steward, so that every system, process and function in your gift works so well that you would be proud to pass it on; you behave at work as a role model for others, passing on a legacy of trust and respect which you would hope future generations in your organisation would follow.
Or you could just not bother. After all, whatever you leave behind is immaterial. You won't be there to see it.
David
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Very interesting post, David! Having worked in the carriage trade custom construction industry for a number of year I have encountered much of this 'stewardship' problem. From my experience the response of each individual to this is innate. People who innately care about what they do, take pride in their work, do so for themselves as opposed to for others. The same is obviously true for those who really don't give a damn.
ReplyDeleteHaving said this I think there is an environmental component as well. An environment that exhibits stewardship will encourage similar behaviour in newcomers, and vice versa.
Finally, I subscribe to the old adage 'the fish stinks from the head'. Those who run an organization can never expect those below them to give their all if they themselves do not do the same, or have no real caring for those individuals outside the context of their work.
John,
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for this. I often use the fish analogy in training. There is another similar one - that an organisation is like an onion, the only veg that rots from the inside out!
I agree entirely that if those at the to of the organisation don't act as role models, those below them can't be expected to give their all.
David