From a perspective that contributes to people's cooperation and motivation.
At the start of a recent workshop on business cooperation, one of the participants wanted to make it clear that she was not comfortable working in a group. She considered that she worked better alone and concluded: "I don't work in a group."
Although it seems to me that she was referring to working as a team, her comment helps me to reflect and, I hope, stimulate the reader's reflection on how far it is possible to stay isolated from a group to which they belong.
I will also take the opportunity to propose a way of conceptualizing individual-group relationships that can serve, through individual action, to make one's work shine brighter and contribute to the better functioning of the group to which it belongs, and provide a possible source of personal motivation at work.
To think about the possibilities of belonging to an organization staying isolated, we can use what scientists call a thought experiment.
We want to imagine an isolated situation where an individual, who is part of a group, manages not to influence or be influenced by that group.
Let's assume the premise: Antonio works for the OZÚ company. Antonio decides, authorized by the bosses, to take to the extreme his desire to work alone and remain completely isolated. To do this, in the morning, after entering through the door of the offices and signing, he goes into a room and remains hidden there until the end of his daily work. Then he sneaks out without being seen or spoken to and disappears until the next day to do the same.
Being in complete isolation from his colleagues means that nothing from them reaches Antonio: neither emails, nor reports, he does not receive phone calls, he does not converse with anyone… nothing. In addition to not receiving any influence, in his isolation, he does not give anything to anyone in the organization, avoiding any influence on him.
Could we conclude that, indeed, in this situation, Antonio achieves his individualistic desire?
Even ignoring the stimulus that this situation would exert on the imagination of the group, who is that? What are you doing there? I saw it once,… which would suppose a small but certain influence, there is, in addition, at least one other more concrete influence.
If he belongs to the company, Antonio will collect a payroll. This will suppose that a part of the profit produced by the group (the organization) will be consumed by Antonio.
In short, although he remains completely “isolated” in a room, the mere presence of Antonio as a member of the group will have an influence on him.
The idea of group membership can be imagined as a few people talking and arguing to finish a job, decide something, etc. Also as two linked entities, individual and group, in continuous interaction and influence.
This last perspective can stimulate an interesting review of the contribution that each individual makes to the organization as a whole and to what that individual, in turn, needs the group to provide to better carry out their work.
I will encourage you, dear reader, to do such a review by inviting you to answer four questions. In this first article we will attend to the first of them:
1.-What is the objective of my work?
The normal thing is that for anyone the answer seems so obvious that it is not worth answering: after all, if I come to work every day and dedicate myself to doing things, those things that I do are the objective of my work, right? ?
However, my proposal is that, at least this time, the question be answered considering:
- that you are a member of an organization, and that what you do in it always has some influence on others in your organization.
For example:
If the receptionist of a company wonders what the objective of his work is, a possible answer could well be: inform those who visit the offices where to find who they want to visit.
This answer describes what the receptionist does but not what the objective of his work is from a relational perspective and from his colleagues (the organization).
We have all been visitors who have needed a receptionist to guide us: perhaps working as commercials when we entered the offices of a client; or getting interested in a job going to an interview; or visiting a museum; or going to buy in a store (here more than a receptionist what we find is people eventually playing that role to indicate, for example, where the yogurts with fruit are).
Depending on the response and, above all, the receptionist's attitude, we may have felt well or poorly treated, which often predisposes us initially to categorize the rest of the organization we visit in the same way: friendly, unfriendly,… generating a feeling of attraction or rejection towards her.
If, in addition to this, we take into account the point of view of the group to which we belong and what each of us, with our actions, deliver to the rest of the organization, the receptionist's answer to the question what is the objective of my work It could well be this other:
Predispose the visitor to interact with the organization in the best possible way.
Now, thus conceptualizing the objective of his work, the relevance of the receptionist's contribution to his company becomes visible: his work will not only indicate where the fruit yogurts are, but will also encourage visitors to recommend the super to their friends; Or it will not be limited to telling the candidate to a job where the Human Resources department is where they are going to interview him, but will generate in that certain predisposition to work in that company, etc.
2.-What is the main result of what I do?
The term "result" refers to anything.
Your actions within the organization, dear reader, can generate something tangible, for example:
distribute the mail received in the company or prepare experimental animals for someone.
It could also be something tangible but not so evident, for example cleaning: leaving a facility ready to be used again by those from Department Z.
In other cases it will be something intangible as information: you provide relevant information that someone else needs to do their job.
One might even consider people: if you are a trainer, perhaps you provide trained people to certain departments of the organization or, spinning with the above:
Visitors predisposed to interact with the organization in the best possible way.
The usual way to answer this question is by imagining yourself in action at work, doing things, and listing the significant things that I give to others as a result of my habitual actions.
It is normal for this reflection to make visible aspects of the relationship of one's work with the rest of the organization that, initially, were not evident, and this leads to reformulate the answer given to question nº1.
For example, suppose I work in an experimental laboratory. I wonder (nº1) what is the objective of my work? Without much thought, I reply, my job is:
Clean the facilities.
Now I go to question no. 2 and, considering what was stated in the previous article, I could answer:
Leave an installation ready to be used again (that is, I hand over to my installation colleagues ready so that they can use them to their advantage).
The answer to this second question can make me discover that the influence of the result of my work on the rest of the organization is more profound than I thought and, to underline it, I reformulate my answer # 1 like this:
Contribute to the success of the experiments
Indeed, their success depends critically on the perfect sanitation of the facilities where they are carried out.
There may be several possible answers. The "best" will be the one that has the most meaning and coherence for those who reflect, their colleagues and the organization.
3.-To whom do I give what I do?
That is, those who, of my colleagues, are influenced by the result of the things I do.
Sometimes those colleagues within the same organization to whom you deliver something you do are called: internal customers.
Reflecting and answering this question can shed light on who we should cooperate with and coordinate with so that our work shines more and better and contributes to the proper functioning of the organization.
It would also help us identify other types of internal clients with whom we must also cooperate, although the benefit for the company is not so evident, but which must be addressed considering the inescapable political dimension of any organization.
In practice, the reflection that promotes questions 2 and 3 is usually done at the same time. When you ask yourself what things you produce with your work, you do it by imagining yourself working and giving something to someone. At the same time, by remembering who you regularly interact with at work, be it face to face, by phone, email, etc., you will identify what things you deliver to them.
4.- Those to whom I give things, how do they need me to give it to them?
As with the first question, this may seem irrelevant as obvious. However, this is far from being the case, among other things, because the answer to the question should be based on what your internal clients say, not what you suppose they would say, and it is not very common to have bothered to find out..
However, I insist, to adequately answer the question, you must ask these internal customers (or, without many, a "sample" of them) how they would like to receive what you deliver.
For example, if what is delivered is a periodic report for a certain department, you should ask if it is preferred in Excel or Word; chart types; your extension; if you prefer to receive it on Monday first thing or Friday at noon, etc. Logically, often, before going into detail, a generic question is enough, something like: are you satisfied with the reports I give you? Do you need me to change something?
Since you will not always be able to fully satisfy the wishes of your internal client-partner, he may prefer to receive your reports on Fridays but it is easier for you and the report gains quality if you deliver it on Mondays, sometimes it is necessary to explore between both a alternative way that satisfies both.
All of the above can be represented as follows:
Individual and group work management
The first three questions are very simple, after all they only require individual will and reflection! The fourth needs prior exploration with others, but this can be done through informal chats at coffee breaks, while sharing an elevator, or on lightning visits to the neighbor's office.
One last thing, they may have deduced that if the work of others depends, a lot or a little, on what I do, equally my own work depends, a lot or a little, on what others do.
Thus, to complete the image of the organization of which it is a part from a relational perspective, I must ask myself three other questions:
What do I receive? (from my colleagues to meet my goal)
Who provides it to me?
How do I need it?
Everything already exposed to answer the first questions serves to do with these.
Now, a complete representation could be this:
Individual and group work management
For those who are encouraged, I suggest that you do not respond in a hurry and that you review, at least once and after, say, a week, the answers that you initially gave. The result improves.
I assure you that you will discover very interesting things!
