Unleashing Big-Picture Thinking in Your Organization
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Awriter pens mean creatures into existence. They are entrapped in the pages of his manuscripts till they are unwittingly let out. Led by one of them, they go about destroying a town. Then, he has to write another book to ‘recall’ these creatures and shut them up in its pages. A majority of the readers must be aware that this is the plot of Goosebumps, a film based on R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps Series. Having retreated into a shell, the protagonist creates characters to ease his loneliness. This exercise further alienates him from the real world. When these brainchildren take visible form, they are of little use to the real world, least of all their creator. In fact, they are a danger to both. Now, the question is: Are the teams in your organisation creating such brainchildren? Are they oblivious to the realities of your business? Not only that, but by functioning ‘too independently’, are they harming business interests? If they do, they lack big-picture thinking. Enhancing big-picture thinking could be a worthy resolution your organisation may follow.
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Here are a few pointers on how this could be achieved. Most managers are task-oriented and not purpose-oriented. It is through the managers that teams can be enabled to understand how their work helps internal and external customers. So, an organisation has to first work on its managers, helping them develop systems thinking and adopt a style of functioning that has the organisation’s vision and bottom line in view. “Most factory workers tend to describe their work as ‘two-punch, one lunch’. Can you imagine the damage that could be done to an organisation if such an attitude is prevalent among a majority of its employees, across departments? It is the responsibility of managers to let their teams know how their work impacts the work of those next to them on the work chain – who will be their internal customers – and how it ultimately serves the users, the external customers. There is a famous story about how two shift workers in an aircraft manufacturing unit viewed the purpose of their jobs. One employee, who was on the first shift, said he was fixing nuts and bolts. Another employee, on the second shift, who was doing the same thing, however said: ‘I’m making an aircraft’. There can be no doubt about whose work would have been more impactful,” says Naresh Purushotham, management consultant and co-founder of Crestcom India.
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People often work in a transactional work atmosphere that encourages them to just deliver something and get on with their job.To get them out of this destructive, mindless rut, managers have to put the big questions to them. “Do managers ask their team members ‘Why does your organisation exist?’ Or, ‘Why does your job exist?’ Asking these questions and enabling them to find the answers are likely to lead to greater employee engagement. Visioning is a key aspect of organisational development. All the best organisations in the world take the trouble of repeatedly making clear their vision and mission to their employees. Each team in an organisation should be regularly ‘walked through’ how the other teams function,” says Naresh.
Models that promote systems thinking are at best only a guide, and it is up to every organisation to figure out innovative and home-brewed methods that factor in the unique challenges faced by the organisation and the industry they work in, to achieve big-picture thinking.
