You’re newly responsible for the overall well being of United Cerebral Palsy, UCP, one of the US’s largest health-related charities. I’d like to know: How do you intend to piece everything (the dozens--thousands--millions of moving parts) together? What’ll be your particular way of doing things? The landscape looks chaotic: How will you put it into context?
You won't just wing it, will you?
If it were I
in such a position, I think I’d be inclined to at least experiment with the comprehensive
management approach David K. Hurst introduces in The New Ecology of Leadership. (Columbia Business School Publishing, 2012)
Mr. Hurst’s
approach uses an understanding of natural systems to
shed light on the ways in which organizations work, and how they may be managed. Central to it is an ecological mental model
that:
- serves as “dynamic filing system and a management toolbox that allows you [managers] to store and retrieve organizational experiences and to employ them in taking effective action”
- shows how to use Passion, Reason, and Power to keep an organization on course (destination: a sustainable future) and away from perilous traps
-- which is as clear as mud, I'm sure.
Rather than try to elaborate, I think it’d be better to go straight to trying to apply said model. That’s the only way to learn, ultimately, whether or not it could help UCP become an even better organization than it already is.
Rather than try to elaborate, I think it’d be better to go straight to trying to apply said model. That’s the only way to learn, ultimately, whether or not it could help UCP become an even better organization than it already is.
Mr. Hurst doesn’t offer one-size-fits-all answers. He tries, instead, to get to the heart of the complex and unique issues that organizations face: "If you can name the
pain," he says, "you’re well on the way to resolving them.” Improving the system itself is usually the
solution. That all starts with asking questions...
Next.
No comments:
Post a Comment