Meridian Group - Company Culture Consultants

One of the many threads that led me to consulting was the book Something Happened by
Joseph L. Heller of Catch 22 fame. Heller chronicles the inner life of Bob Slocum, a corporate middleman acutely conscious of company politics and power. His fears and struggles with what to say and what not to say in a meeting. His interpretation of comments and glances in a hallway. His constant uncertainty about where he stood in the eyes of those above him. The striking contrast between all he was thinking and the few things he said. The blurred lines between what was real and unreal, true or false. All this and much more seemed to describe my own experiences first as an employee, and later as a supervisor and manager.

I was in my 20's and I thought that if Slocum's experience of corporate life mirrored my own, then perhaps others also felt the same way. I wondered, "If they do, why don't we talk about it at work?" I now see that in work settings, convention holds that we mostly discuss the quantitative details of production-the numbers-not the hard data of our life experience. If, as many argue, our experience is life, why don't we get it out on the table? Why do we sit in meetings thinking one thing and saying another? OK, we do talk, but at lunch, at the water cooler, in the restroom, after the meeting, to our spouses, our friends, or to ourselves. Why don't we address such important things directly?

Take for example some of the struggles we experience with delegation. You have probably had some thoughts like these.

Manager-"How can I share my ideas without you taking them as prime directives?"(I don't want you to feel that it is a top-down company because that leads to the very passivity, lack of responsibility, work overload, low morale, and low productivity that we are trying to get away from.)

Employee-"How can I accommodate your concerns without abandoning mine? If I don't put your concerns first, you might think of me as being unresponsive."

Employee-"How can I discuss my problems or try out my not-yet-clearly-formed ideas on you without you judging me as unprepared?"

Employee-"I want your input but I don't want to lose control of problems in my area."

Manager-"I want to give you my input but I don't want to take on your problems."

Ideally, you will discuss these underlying concerns with your manager or employees.
Pick a quiet time when you are not under pressure to make an immediate decision. I have found that this is an excellent subject for a team discussion.

When I recently suggested this to John, a regional director in southern California, he felt that he and his managers were not quite ready to share their deeper emotional perspectives directly. Instead he chose to expand step one of the Four Step Decision Process (see www.meridiangrp.net\4step.html ) as a coaching style to achieve similar results. John wanted his managers to come to him with their problems and ideas. He decided to do this with questions, not statements or answers. This way, he could keep an open door, not take their problem away, and be sure they included areas he saw as important.

John was there for his managers. He was dependable without creating dependency. These are a few of the many questions John developed:

Through questions, John avoided the corporate political shoals that terrified Bob Slocum in the 1960s. Today, directly or indirectly, many managers like John have found ways to discuss their thoughts and feelings about relationships. By talking through these important subjects, they improve the quality of people's work-life and build outstanding company performance.



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	A Better Workplace --- Meridian Group's Newsletter, Number 6, 4-17-02

	Foster Openness: Improve Work Life and Workplace Productivity One of the many threads that led me to consulting was the book Something Happened by Joseph L. Heller of Catch 22 fame. Heller chronicles the inner life of Bob Slocum, a corporate middleman acutely conscious of company politics and power. His fears and struggles with what to say and what not to say in a meeting. His interpretation of comments and glances in a hallway. His constant uncertainty about where he stood in the eyes of those above him. The striking contrast between all he was thinking and the few things he said. The blurred lines between what was real and unreal, true or false. All this and much more seemed to describe my own experiences first as an employee, and later as a supervisor and manager. I was in my 20's and I thought that if Slocum's experience of corporate life mirrored my own, then perhaps others also felt the same way. I wondered, "If they do, why don't we talk about it at work?" I now see that in work settings, convention holds that we mostly discuss the quantitative details of production-the numbers-not the hard data of our life experience. If, as many argue, our experience is life, why don't we get it out on the table? Why do we sit in meetings thinking one thing and saying another? OK, we do talk, but at lunch, at the water cooler, in the restroom, after the meeting, to our spouses, our friends, or to ourselves. Why don't we address such important things directly? Take for example some of the struggles we experience with delegation. You have probably had some thoughts like these. Manager-"How can I share my ideas without you taking them as prime directives?"(I don't want you to feel that it is a top-down company because that leads to the very passivity, lack of responsibility, work overload, low morale, and low productivity that we are trying to get away from.) Employee-"How can I accommodate your concerns without abandoning mine? If I don't put your concerns first, you might think of me as being unresponsive." Employee-"How can I discuss my problems or try out my not-yet-clearly-formed ideas on you without you judging me as unprepared?" Employee-"I want your input but I don't want to lose control of problems in my area." Manager-"I want to give you my input but I don't want to take on your problems." Ideally, you will discuss these underlying concerns with your manager or employees. Pick a quiet time when you are not under pressure to make an immediate decision. I have found that this is an excellent subject for a team discussion. When I recently suggested this to John, a regional director in southern California, he felt that he and his managers were not quite ready to share their deeper emotional perspectives directly. Instead he chose to expand step one of the Four Step Decision Process (see www.meridiangrp.net\4step.html ) as a coaching style to achieve similar results. John wanted his managers to come to him with their problems and ideas. He decided to do this with questions, not statements or answers. This way, he could keep an open door, not take their problem away, and be sure they included areas he saw as important. John was there for his managers. He was dependable without creating dependency. These are a few of the many questions John developed: "Tell me more about the problem.what's behind that?" "Whose problem is it?" "Who else is affected by this problem? How could you involve them?" "Do we know what the problem costs us?" "What will solving it save? (What is the value added?)" "How does this fit with our long-range plans?" "What can I do to help you move this along?" Through questions, John avoided the corporate political shoals that terrified Bob Slocum in the 1960s. Today, directly or indirectly, many managers like John have found ways to discuss their thoughts and feelings about relationships. By talking through these important subjects, they improve the quality of people's work-life and build outstanding company performance.