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Mindtree 2014. Confidential - for limited circulation only
VG Govindarajan, Tuck School
Subroto Bagchi, Mindtree
The Emotionally Bonded
Organization
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Leadership & Infrastructure
We look at the role of leadership as infrastructure building
The Infrastructure Rule: Capacity creation precedes usage
We ask that leaders view infrastructure at three distinct levels
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EMOTIONAL infrastructure
INTELLECTUAL infrastructure
PHYSICAL infrastructure
Leadership & Infrastructure
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Leadership & Infrastructure
Cost to
build
Time to
build
Difficulty
to build
Ability to
imitate
Source of
formidable
competitive
advantage
Types of
advantages
Physical
infrastructure
Relatively
high
Relatively
low
Relatively
low
Relatively
Easy
Relatively
lowTable Stakes
Intellectual
Infrastructure
High with no
Emotional
Infrastructure
High High Difficult HighDifferentiation
and defense
Emotional
infrastructure
Relatively
low
Relatively
higher
Relatively
higher
Relatively
more
difficult
Relatively
higher
Longevity and
immortality
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Proximate
leadership
Rituals
Multi supportnetworks
Bond through
adversity
Richcommunication
Vision
Values
Extremeexclusivity
Emotional
Infrastructure
Emotional Infrastructure
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911
Organization
understands
leadership
priority
Alternate funnelsdeliver leadership
Leaders have
affection for
content
Leaders arepresent in
alternate spaces
Leader is at
ground zero
Leader always
asks across lines
Push-based, pull-based?
Proximate
Leadership
Proximate Leadership
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626,566
Steve Jobs
CEO, Apple and Pixar Animations
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Organization has
Staging
Platforms
Leadership leads
in some, follows
in some
There are active
Narrators &
Narratives Rituals are Life
Cycle linked
from birth to
death
There are small
rituals and big
rituals
Pull people
together for
rituals
Externalization
helps build tribal
identity
Leaders knowthe memetic
value of rituals
Rituals
Rituals
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Leaders train the
organization to
communicate
There is multi-nodal
communication
channel
There is zero-
latencyCommunication has
moved from
command
conveyance to
collaboration
Leadership knowsabout information
overload & ADD
There is constant
organizational
polling
Its not about
swimming with the
sharks, it is about
breeding with the
bacteria
Leadership
understands
communication real
estates
Rich
Communication
Rich Communication
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Jonathan Schwartz
President & CEO, Sun Microsystems
Richard Branson
Virgin Group
John Dragoon
Chief Marketing Officer for Novell
Kevin Lynch
Chief Software Architect, Adobe
Top 10 Corporate Blogs and Technorati Authority
1. Google - Authority: 8492
2. Adobe - Authority: 1797
3. Dell - Authority: 7994. LinkedIn - Authority: 591
5. Ask - Authority: 364
6. General Motors - Authority: 364
7. Yahoo! - Authority: 297
8. Delta - Authority: 2529. Kodak - Authority: 105
10. Boeing - Authority: 67
Corporate Blogs & Technorati
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Jeff Immelt on YouTube
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They are
subscription based
Recognized by
management
Membership,leadership & activity
are legitimateThere is non-
invasive
management
oversight
Organization is seenas a community of
communities
Many internal
networks are piped
out
There is management
mindshare for the
chatter, the buzz and
the groundswell
Visible, inviting andliving. Not just the
boss & HR lifelines
Multiple Support
Networks
Multiple Support Networks
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Organization does
not suffer from
adversity avoidance
Leaders have
adversity quotient
Leaders harvest
adversity learning
Leaders publish
decisional rule,
there is an adversity
repository
Organizationcreates opportunity
in adversity
Leaders lead in
organizational
healing
There is empathy for
personal adversity
There is a sharedunderstanding of
adversity
Bonding through
Adversity
Bond through Adversity
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Vision
Leaders create a
personal vision for
their people
Size of the vision
makes it worthwhile
There is emphasison what is new &
different
Leaders create a
vision community
Leaders celebrate
the vision within
Leaders are learning
from unusual
sources
Leaders help in
sense making when
vision seems dead
Leaders take thelong view of time
Vision
Vision
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Value match is
insisted at
recruitment
Leaders live the
values
There is value
feedback
Leaders are value
ambassadors
People extendorganization values
to personal lives
Value transgression
is handled swiftly,
fairly and
transparently
There is forgiveness
There is valueconcurrency
Values
Values
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Specific hurdles for
the unescorted
Leaders determine
culture over
competence
Network rules applygive to get
Peer is more
important than boss
Dress code applies
There are visible
membership
benefits
Even as people
leave, there is the
alumni
Member getmember
Extreme
Exclusivity
Extreme Exclusivity
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Emotional Infrastructure is
The aggregate of emotional assets of the organization, some are visible tothe naked eye and some are not
assets, not liabilities. The Third Reich was an Emotional Liability. Hence itcollapsed
Emotional Infrastructure can be more abstract than visible, but because itmay be abstract, it does not make it less real
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Emotional Infrastructure is not
Emotional Intelligence (EI). Daniel Goleman describes EI as self-
awareness, impulse control, persistence, zeal, self-motivation and social
deftness
Your brandthough your brand is part of it
Culture; culture can be present in an organization that has a physical
infrastructure only
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Assessing Emotional Infrastructure
Are our leaders real people?
What is the inventory of our memes?
What is our external brand perception?
Does internal behavior of our people live up to positioning of the brand ?
Do we see ourselves as a community of communities? Do we assess thematurity of our communities of practice?
What rituals make us who we are? Do we believe in a strong God and/or
enemy?
How pervasive is internal volunteerism?
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Assessing Emotional Infrastructure
Do we have internal market places? What gets traded there?
How do we view the role of family?
What is the inventory of communication real estate?
Do our leaders create content?
How rich is our communication: what are the channels, content, attentionspan?
How many of our initiatives are top down vs. bottoms up?
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Assessing Emotional Infrastructure
How well do we learn from disasters? Do we generate decisional content
and are rules dispersed?
Are we a nurturing organization?
Are we inclusive in most of what we do?
How much do our leaders give white space time to their people?
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Assessing Emotional Infrastructure
What has the organization punished and how?
How do we grieve as an organization?
What is the forgiveness mechanism and how does it work?
How do the three infrastructures leverage each other?
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Periodically,
predictably publish
the pulse
First with the bad
news
Balance direct &intermediated
presence
Most
Communication
allow instant polling
Not one, but manydipsticks
Communities get
you when they want
Individuals can poke
you when they want
People know what ison your mind
Push-Pull
Leadership
Push - Pull Leadership
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There is a listening
mechanism
There is a hierarchy
for response
No penalty for falsealarm
Over-respond than
under-respond
Show up at thefuneral, the wedding
is optional
Create your own
path where none
exists
Review all calls.
Emergencies teach
us more than peace
does
Everyone knowswhat is an
emergency
911
911
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You report on those
objectives across
lines
Your next level
aligns their
objectives to yours
You review theirobjectives
As priorities change,
you tell people
about them
People know whatyou like
People know what
you dislike
You defend your
priorities publicly
and take push back
Your objectives arepublished
Organization
understands
leadership priority
Organization Understands Leadership Priority
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Intranet
Blog
Communities ofpractice events
Student community
Undergroundplatforms
Social platforms
Business reviews
Website
Alternate funnels
deliver leadership
Alternate Funnels Deliver Leadership
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Speak, write in first
person
Make it anecdotal
Record when youspeak, write when
you record
Take position, build
your point of view
Be interesting
Distribute content
externally
Endorse content,
people love to read
what you read
Content survives thecreator
Leaders have
affection for
content
Leaders Have Affection for Content
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Visit Second Life
Be seen with
customers
customer
Help your supplierssupplier
Show up
unannounced and
have a meal
Support a cause,visibly
Sit in a class
Teach
Be seen withinternal minorities
Leaders are
present in
alternate spaces
Leaders are Present in Alternate Spaces
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Establish line of
command & control
center. Publish it
Communicate, also
spell out what you
will not
communicate.
Abandon normalbusiness
Seek all help you
can
Create your ownrules if none exist
Grieve with your
people
Return to normal
Be there, first
Leader is at
Ground Zero
Leader is at Ground Zero
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Help with ideas
Help with a really
small problem
Help with a speech
Help with
understanding new
technology and
trends
AppropriateSacrifices in crisis
For peoples opinion
on things
Implementation
support on her
priorities
Help with strategy
Leader always
asks across the
lines for
Leader always asks Across the Lines
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Factor Questions Leaders Should Ask
ProximityAm I available to my people on demand? Are leaders up and down the
organization available to their people on demand?
Nonstop CommunicationHow openly, how frequently, and how well do we, as an organization,
communicate? Who can communicate with whom?
Myths and RitualsWhat are the core myths and rituals that define our organization? How
widespread are they? Who owns these?
Bonding Through Adversity How well do we handle adversity? Do we view it as a crisis or an opportunity?
Voluntary Support NetworksDo our people at every level have a support network? Do we, as an
organization, encourage the creation of these voluntary networks?
A Bold VisionDo we have a bold, even unrealistic, vision? Do the majority of our people
understand and embrace it?
Deeper Values
What are our organizational values? Do they go deeper than just business
choices to acknowledge more fundamental societal needs? How well do we
adhere to them? What price have we paid recently to uphold our values?
Extreme ExclusivityHow selective are we in setting entrance criteria? How unconditional is our
acceptance of those who become members?
Eight Factors that Build Emotional Infrastructure
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Organization without Emotional Infrastructure
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India | USA | UK | Germany | Sweden | Belgium | France | Switzerland | UAE | Singapore | Australia | Japan | China
VG Govindarajan, Tuck School
Subroto Bagchi, Mindtree.