The report from the Columbia Accident Investigation Board is in, and it's not pretty. NASA recently concluded that the Columbia Space Shuttle tragedy had as much to do with failed management practices and a work environment that discourages upward feedback and open communication, as the foam that hit the shuttle's side. This should be a wake up call for all businesses.
Why? Because the report points out that the mistakes leading to the disaster were not random functions of physics and faulty mechanics; they were human, and therefore, preventable. The report indicated that organizational barriers prevented effective communication of critical safety information and stifled professional differences of opinions.
"Within NASA, the cultural impediments to safe, effective shuttle operations are real and substantial ... Such factors interfere with open communication, impede the sharing of lessons learned, cause duplication and unnecessary expenditures of resources, prompt resistance to external advice and create a burden for managers, among other undesirable outcomes. Collectively, these undesirable characteristics threaten safety."
Most companies are not dealing with life and death scenarios, but when we experience "group think" - group decision-making characterized by uncritical acceptance and conformity to a prevailing point of view - there exists a real opportunity for organizations to be less productive, and therefore less profitable. An intimidating work environment and lack of open communication can and will cause missed new business opportunities and failed projects. At a time when many organizations are struggling because of the economic slowdown, we need to tap into the total intellectual power within our organizations.
Take, for example, the merger frenzy underway in many industries for the last decade. When two company cultures marry, the creative atmosphere can become hostile as new management exerts tight control and everyone from senior staff on down are vying for stature as they figure out the new company's internal political structure. We've all seen even the best professional mentally drop out and follow weak group decisions, sacrificing good work to job security.
That said, there are a number of traditional organizational development approaches businesses can use to stifle an arrogant work culture and discourage group think. Some of these include:
- implementing 360° leadership assessments (a feedback instrument used to assess reporting staff, peers and supervisor perceptions of a manager's leadership effectiveness and style),
- annual employee attitude surveys,
- exit interviews with departing staff, and
- expanded leadership retreats, wherein cross sections of employees contribute in strategic planning sessions.
