Rol,
I thought your response to Simon was particularly insightful.
You wrote
>My question is, of course, can an individual ever reach their _real_ true
>potential as an isolated individual outside of any organization? Or, to
>go one step further, what exactly _is_ an individual who is a part of
>absolutely no organization? Is that a hermit?
I think that it is one of the myths of Western individualism that we are
self-contained individuals who have the power to be hermetically sealed
from our natural and human environments. I contend that we are far more
complex because we have power over our environments, yet our environment,
i.e.: organizations, communities, etc. also have a power over us which we
do not see or can easily articulate. I think that our identity is formed
through this interplay of forces. How do we describe ourselves? Family,
history, place, racial/ethnic background, values, beliefs, and more enter
into how we understand and articulate our identity.
I don't believe that I can absolutely choose in a purist sense my
identity. It is always in a state of flux because I exist in and move
through a variety of environments which are in conversation with my sense
of self. If I'm going to spend over half of my waking hours in a work
environment, then it is going to have a tremendous impact upon my sense of
identity. I think this is where complexity theory has some benefit.
Rol concluded by saying:
>I guess there are roles for individuals to have absolutely no part in any
>organization, but I cannot identify them. You, for example, participate
>in this discussion, and culture and politics arise in this list all the
>time. Can you clairify?
Finally, politics within an organization is really the fine art of
relationships. It is the art, whether constructive or not, of trying to
influence others. That is different than political adminstration of
governmental programs. Office politics is about the complexity of
relationships in a diverse setting where the grounds rules are not clear.
Some leaders like cut-throat politics because it breeds hungry workers.
Others don't like it because it is a major distraction from the core
purpose of the business. I've worked in some very serious poltical
settings. I hated it because it robbed the organization of attention to
its core business, and limited my ability to succeed in my work. The
challenge is to know yourself, your identity, your values and beliefs and
know what you are willing to do and not do and stick to it. It requires
courage and humility. It may not change things externally, but at least
you preserve your own well-being and integrity.
Thanks, Rol,
Ed Brenegar
Leadership Resources
edb3@msn.com
--"Ed Brenegar" <edb3@email.msn.com>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>