rivercrow

Today we had a kickoff meeting for the “culture change” project our department is embarking on.

As small groups, we discussed why the venture might fail. Responses ranged from lack of visible senior organizational support to the classification/compensation study last year. The consultants leading the kickoff referenced doubts we may have–management gimmick “flavor of the month” –and mentioned that doubts were healthy. Well….

I’m reminded of what I’d heard about the Jesuits, that they are taught to doubt, and by working through their doubts come at last to a greater faith.

I’ve worked where I am for nearly eight years, in about three discreet roles. My “job descriptions” always fall short of my actual efforts–I have far-ranging skills, talents, and interests, and tend to exploit all of my resources. Where the work-provided tools fell short, I would invent or procure my own. I’ve earned the title “Swiss Army Knife.”

During my time there, I’ve watched the nature of the place change. Like anything, not all of the change has been bad and not all has been good. It’s a maturing environment, growing from a small group supporting a non-unified and diverse “place with computers” to a large group supporting enterprise-level technology. Scale and scope. A larger group sacrifices some of the allowances for quirkiness in favor of iterative processes.

I had often commented in the early years of my employment that the department needed to grow to better serve the organization. A small-scale perspective prevailed–the greater vision of a unified enterprise didn’t exist. Even when people claimed to see the larger vision, they usually acted in accordance with the small scale–even when it made little immediate difference and left room for more flexibility long-term.

Now, here we are, facing more growing pains.

The consultants asked for volunteers in a small focus group. In the past, I have volunteered for these things. I know I have the Observer’s ability to size up the situation. I question my sanity, though; I’m sure people get tired of my sarcasm and pointed statements. So I didn’t raise my hand, although both my manager and my teammate urged me to.

After the meeting, I introduced myself to the consultant who was taking the volunteers names. My goal was to put out a feeler on MBTI and organizational psychology. I ended up volunteering as well.

So, yet again the Crow embarks on a Quixotic quest to improve the work environment. Wish me luck.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS