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LECA Philosophy on Organization and Development
About "Necessary Evils"
One of the things that drives techies crazy is what
they perceive to be red tape. Most techies want to be left
alone to do their jobs without a lot of "unnecessary interference"
or "roadblocks." Processes, in-depth planning, and approval
chains become "necessary evils" because the work performed
by techies (especially when it involves research and development)
is an iterative process.
In Leading Geeks, author Paul Glen states:
"Geeks are notoriously difficult to manage and lead. Their
work is frequently difficult to understand. Their demands for
funds often seem insatiable. Their deliverables are always late.
And, perhaps most frustrating of all, they don't respond to traditional
methods of command and control."
If you've ever tried to lead technical people (e.g.
scientists, IT personnel, engineers, trainers, designers, technicians,
etc.), — whether or not you'd choose to call them geeks
— Mr. Glen's comments will certainly strike a familiar chord.
Leader's Edge CA has adopted a practical approach
to the "necessary evils" of doing business. The organizational
techniques and approaches that we espouse take into account the
frustrations on both sides of the equation, i.e., techie vs. management
and non-techie. We don't offer any magic solutions, just simple,
straightforward approaches that minimize the frustration through workable
compromise and collaboration.
Developing Teams and Work Groups
As with Rome, good teams and work groups are "not
built in a day" — nor are they static in nature. We help leaders
understand the dynamics of teams and work groups as those groups
evolve through various stages. We also focus on this evolution from
the bottom up. Some engineers, for example, believe that any group
effort is doomed to failure, i.e., "design by committee"
never works. Although this can be true, we help our clients explore
ways to effectively work both alone and with others in order to
take best advantage of available talent while still achieving a
desirable result.
Managing Change
Change can be very disruptive to individuals and organizations.
Change can also offer opportunities for creative improvement. The challenge is
to recognize the symptoms in either case and then to chart a course of action
that will result in a healthy organism when the evolutionary process matures.
Our experience has shown us that the keys to successful change management are
balance, persistence, and active participation. These are the foundation upon which
we encourage our clients to build their own change strategy — whether personal
or corporate in nature.
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