Teamwork v. Collaboration per Patricia Martin
The book is called "RenGen," by Patricia Martin. Her thesis is that we are in general, and the USA in particular, on the edge of a new Renaissance. That many of the social signs marking the onset of the first Renaissance are in place today. One of the highlights of a Renaissance is the emergence of droves of creative people.Creative people demand collaboration rather than top-down management. Top-down management, known to some as "command and control," is an artifact of the Industrial Revolution, and was probably at the peak of its influence in the USA in the 1950s and 1960s. I have talked before about war-monger managers, who read works like Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" and draw management inferences from them. These guys are the ultimate top-down types. Please don't get me wrong, by the way: command and control management has its place, for instance in the military, where instructions tend to be simple and imperative, and many things must be learned through repetition until perfected. I'm just saying -- and I think Martin is saying it too -- that you can't run a whole business with that technique. At the very least, you won't draw creative people to work in that environment.
Creative people can lead as well as follow, which is different from the critical "team-player" concept seen in many contemporary job ads. The concept of the team-player suggests someone who can only follow. There's a limit to how much mileage you can get from a company full of followers. Some managers don't like leaders, however, because they want to avoid discussion and confrontation over all tasks in the company. LOL But many creative people, as said above, can do both -- and if they can recognize (or be taught) when leadership is needed, and whom it's needed from, then you'll find very valuable employees who can switch roles to fulfill specific needs. Martin gives an example of an orchestra that doesn't have a conductor. How would that work?
Sociability matters in this context. People who get along with people, and who are creative, are the most valuable players of all in this new context. Martin gives numerous examples of highly creative companies who find these people and succeed as a result.
Finally, talent attracts talent. The leader/followers tend to have specialties that complement one another. And these people love to work in companies where other such people work. Even if they must work harder and for less.
Labels: history, recommendations
posted by Ron @ 2:16 PM
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