Are You Thinking ‘Whole Organization’ or Just ‘My Department’?

As a manager, how many times have you made a decision, initiated a project, or took hold of a problem no one else has tackled yet?  Now, how many times have you been criticized by others when you did that? Were you criticized for not including certain people in the decision-making process, for not expanding the project to other departments (even though you’re not responsible for those departments!), or for tackling a lingering problem?  Amazingly, you take action, get things done, and then you are criticized because you did something!  How twisted is that?

Well, is it really twisted or is there some merit to those critiques? Getting things done is huge. It’s why we’re in business. However, if getting things done comes at the expense of not maximizing opportunities to teach others decision-making techniques, or maximizing projects across departments, or jumping on a project others have under review, are our efforts as smart as we think they are?

When managers fail to consider the consequences their individual project or department actions may have on other departments or the whole organization, there is some justification to the criticisms. By thinking of the whole organization instead of just “my department,” managers start to think as leaders. Managers start to think things such as:

• Who else should be involved with this decision to ensure we make the best decision possible for the people most directly-involved and for the whole organization?
• Who or what other departments will be impacted by this project and what can be done to maximize the benefits of this project for them and the whole organization?
• Who else has worked on this problem and why have they stalled? Did they uncover larger issues than may affect the whole organization?

Whole organization thinking by default causes managers to think of consequences more so than individual department thinking. Whole organization thinking helps break-down departmental silos. Whole organization thinking helps create loyalty and focus on the organization, not on individual managers or departments.

If you are criticized because of the actions you take, why? Are your actions for the good of “Your Department” or are they for the good of the “Whole Organization”?

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 13th, 2010 at 2:26 pm and is filed under Leadership Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.