Richard C. Holloway wrote (in part in LO18776:
> As I mentioned to a recent client, e-mails that CC the boss(es) and other
>coworkers also allow a person to "stab" one's foe in the front and the
>back simultaneously. I know that more and more workplaces are setting
>standards for e-mail correspondence--but these often fall short of the
>mark.
There are two ways to reward and punish behavior- through organizational
means such as an email procedure or via market means such as copying the
email to an intranet, not rewarding the person who is doing the stabbing
and so on. I would rather moderate the communication using market
mechanisms- rather than having a formal company policy I would follow
market mechanisms such as email forwarding. After all, onlt rankers and
not branders, i.e. no decent honest person will stab their colleague in
the back anyway and no leader will reward them for doing so. Market based
mechanisms are better because formal policy setting is intarnal-facing and
not helping the customers whose are the lifeblood of the company- and the
invisible hand of the market moderates the exchanges in a much more
sophisticated way than the heavy hand of managers- it can determine
nuances and tailor "punishments" accordingly. Same end, different means!
>From what I have seen, having email tends to IMPROVE performance within
companies- people can quickly easily and widely share their progress with
others, which stimulates them to share their progress with others and so
on. There is an implicit message e.g. look how great I am and what I have
achived today, but that is a call for recognition and not a negative
reflection of anything anyone else has or has not done. In fact, your
email Doc readily proves this- your comment "As I mentioned to a recent
client" implies to the list that you are have clients and that they
listen to your advice- it is a positive side comment which is typical for
this medium!
As usual, the medium (in this case email) can be used for negative or
positive purposes- depends on the person doing the communicating and who
s/he is communicating with. Both formal and informal means of
accountability are both social constructs- but in my opinion, the
market-based mechanisms are the best way of extrinsic behavior regulation
where intrinsic attitudes deviate from excellence.
regards sincerely simon buckingham NEW http://www.unorg.com
--"Simon Buckingham" <go57@dial.pipex.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>