Industry News
Dysfunction versus Resilience
Posted: 31/12/08Dysfunction versus Resilience: an exploration of the opposing organisational reactions to Recessionary times
Anton Fishman, Catfish Solutions – 16th December
The purpose of this session was to consider some of the difficulties which many organisations currently face, and to what extent this has created opportunities for Business Psychologists which perhaps were not there when the economy was growing rapidly. While the session was led by Anton, there was considerable participation by those present, with the review below reflecting the exchange of ideas.
The session started with a case study involving a troubled retailer (not Woolworths!). The company was still very solvent and was well backed financially, but poorly led in an uncertain market. Characteristic atmosphere and attitudes of employees were summed up as:
* Fear, Confusion, shock, denial withdrawal, blame culture, irrationality, helplessness, aggression, selfishness, disconnection, disengagement, unresponsiveness, defensiveness, stasis, rigidity, drift, demoralisation.
So, given that this case study is hardly a case of a business being resilient, what defines business resilience?:
- more than delaying liquidation and closure
- more than just surviving
A possible definition is: “Doing everything through the difficult, unpredictable and challenging times as a strong and robust business, capable of taking advantages of the opportunities that will abound in an upturn”. But is resilience really the opposite of dysfunction? And, crucially, can psychologists determine some frames of reference in which they can make a contribution to resolving a dysfunctional situation?
It might be instructive to look at and analyse the attributes of an organisation:
* Individual dynamics, team dynamics, cognitive perception, decision making, relationships, locus of control, pace and agility, learning, stress, trauma, search for meaning, motivation, change, creativity, “dark side”, shadow behaviour, authority, leadership, personality, engagement, level of commitment, degree of fear, complexity, deviance etc.
Each of this are underpinned by their own research, theories, explanatory models, “gurus” and some even are taught as separate disciplines at “schools”. However, are they all relevant to business psychologists?
Other relevant issues to observe might be interaction between individuals, systems, application of decision theory and economic environment, which might determine bound of rationality, and, of course, power and politics within the organisation..
The short answer is of course that the psychologist might be able to make an impact in all of these areas but will be more effective in some than others. But, arguably, psychologists might be doing too much assessment or even coaching, and not enough innovation: they might be more successful marketing themselves and their profession if they took a broader view and accommodated more of the attributes described above. Business psychologists could almost be described as Management Consultants, but they are better placed to identify key individuals, their profiles, their employee relationships with others, and then analyse the “entry points” which unlock the key to determining the pulse of the organisation.
So why do Business Psychologists find it difficult to sell their services? Part of the answer might lie in the perception of what a BP does and the values which he/she seems to extend. BPs are regarded with deep suspicion in some quarters, for example the financial sector and in rapid change situations where private equity is involved. The BP is perceived as bringing their own values rather than empathising with the organisation. Even this may not be a big problem, provided that BPs work on the old business principle of working on being close to the customer. However, the narrow focus often displayed by psychologists can alienate even warm clients.
Having said this, examples abound of areas where psychologists are successfully branding themselves. These include, for example, Appreciative Inquiry, and Positive Psychology. These have a common thread, which is targeting the budget holders (HR) with a view to offering enhanced performance in HR capability, through use of tools such as audit, assessment and monitoring of performance, followed by a broader delivery approach. In this way, BPs might be able to have an influence on the style of management which may in turn have the effect of a sea change in attitudes and performance.
BPs can not be experts in every area of soft skills, for example, culture change, decision making and leadership but they are better placed than HR to make a difference to management style, its direction in the area of people management, and the “pace” and speed at which the organisation can adapt to change. In some cases, BPs might be able to just offer their services as individuals, but increasingly, the solution to attract clients might be work other professionals in related activities, e.g. business systems consultants, but taking the lead.
In summary, BPs should be able to offer the following:
• Identify bodies of psychological knowledge most relevant to the underlying problem of an organisation in recessionary times
• Develop intervention strategies to address needs
• BPs need to be able to position themselves and their relationships, so that they are trusted advisers whose services are actively sought by clients
• Deliver a programme to address identified needs
• Monitor the consequent impact of these interventions and ensure a return on investment for the organisation