An institution needs to be more than the sum of its parts. And, this must occur as a net effect after accounting for the loss of energy in creating and sustaining the institution. Think about it. The costs of being a collective include creating and agreeing on processes, systems and hierarchies (yes, hierarchies! nature has them, but they don’t lead to the kinds of domination that we have evolved in our human inventions!). And, there are the costs of matching the needs, intentions, and visions of the people with the needs, intentions, and visions of the institution. Anyone who has tried to get alignment in any institution – regardless of size – knows how very energy-absorbing this is.
Yet, with all the energy (elan) costs, there are tremendous benefits that can occur. Anyone who doubts the possibilities must only think at the smallest level. Think of a relationship you have where 1+1 always equals more than 2. Your ideas and intentions spark off each other, and some new and powerful synergistic solution or idea appears. When this happens, you have just experienced elan.
Or think about the energy that flows when a leader really brings formal resources together with a highly motivated and focused workforce. Probably my best story of this explosion of energy is the NASA of the 60’s and 70’s. Combine talented and dedicated scientists and engineers with a strong national purpose and a vision of accomplishing the impossible. Voila!!! Elan!!! I consulted with NASA for over 10 years and saw elan at work. I heard stories and myths – including the heroic epic of bringing a crippled spaceship home by slinging it around the moon. Then, I felt the elan as professionals in NASA centers across the country grappled with the profound technical challenges of the Space Shuttle.
Elan was built into the NASA culture. Virtually every scientist or engineer had stories of sleepless nights in auditoriums during a space flight – waiting to see if the latest grand leap in technology would achieve the mission; ready to tackle the impossible if there were problems. What would any executive group today give to have an organization so united by vision, so committed to delivering, that energy virtually spills out of the buildings. And, all this with very few procedural hurdles. Expensive? Yes!! But we reap the rewards in bigger visions and technology transfers even today.
Then, there’s General Electric Company. It has an elan at the core that allows it to constantly reframe and reinvent itself. It’s elan is an invisible network that carries strategic priorities so quickly into the vast empire’s energy stream, that it continues to be one of the world’s most admired corporations. Where else can you find such an array of technology upgrades, dramatic improvements in cash management, fundamental shifts in portfolio contents, employee-assisted workout, or multi-sigma quality improvements. Over the past 30 years GE has accomplished these and many other transformations – in fractions of the time it would take any other institution even a quarter its size.
Institutional elan is a very powerful but misunderstood phenomenon. I think of it as a network of energy that, when tapped into, can flow everywhere and pop up anywhere. It takes time and energy to set up. To some of us, it is called “culture.” To others it is “the way we work around here.” The words “risk,” “energizing,” “flow,” “challenge,” “trust,” “fun,” “partnership” “together we can do it,” are familiar words in an elan organization. In an elan organization, the management processes (how strategy is developed and communicated, how people set goals, the feedback processes) are open and two-way. They rivet attention and energy. Customers matter and everyone is hooked into some larger purpose of service – including executives – including union leaders.
On the next page, read about the awakening of elan.
