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Beyond Management Taking Charge at Work Mark Addleson © Mark Addleson 2011 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978–0–230–30816–9 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Group, Bodmin and King’s Lynn For Rob and Kate (a.k.a. Dan and The P) – they have always been beyond management This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS List of Figures Acknowledgments 1 The end of the line Talk about a revolution The story in outline The view from the top The view from practice x xi 1 1 6 6 7 2 Getting into work Breakdowns large and small Large-scale breakdowns Smaller-scale breakdowns Breakdowns with tragic consequences Systematic disorganization Looking the wrong way, at the wrong things Going “inside” work “Inside” or “outside” is a matter of involvement Work from the top Work in practice Behind the breakdowns 8 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 18 20 22 3 Organizing: getting the beat Organizing is full of life The two challenges A first-hand account 24 24 26 29 4 Jeff’s journal: project work on the inside Part 1: questions that keep coming up What’s your problem, Jeffrey? A management malfunction The “client” view of project work 31 31 31 32 34 v vi Contents Where is the customer? Where to from here? Part 2: how things actually work Jeff’s cloud theory The connections matter Part 3: structure in organizing Organizing = effort + magic Work emerges Self-organizing Networks of conversations Relationships Spaces for conversations 35 37 38 38 40 42 42 43 43 44 46 47 5 Left-brain management and right-brain organizing Parallel universes at work Left-brain management and right-brain organizing Tools and talk Organizing practices: talk and tools Taking on the work of organizing 51 51 54 56 58 60 6 Knowledge-work in close-up What is knowledge-work? A definition Picturing knowledge-work Network maps are traps Networks are never complete Knowledge-work is social and in “the spaces in-between” Where is knowledge-work? Social spaces Sacred places The qualities of social spaces 62 62 63 65 67 69 70 71 73 74 75 7 The work of organizing with giant hairballs and wicked problems What is the work of organizing? The case study The work of negotiating meaning The work of creating the work Hairballs and orbiting The work of building networks and negotiating boundaries Boundaries as bridges and barriers Fragmentation contributes to boundaries 77 77 78 80 81 83 86 87 88 Contents vii Multitasking makes connections tricky Put it down to wicked problems These are collective problems The work of aligning (the “bottom line” of organizing) What aligning is and isn’t 89 90 92 94 94 8 Tools are the empty heart of management or why strategic initiatives fail Management myopia Work practices that are missing in action The genie that turned ugly BPR at Jet Propulsion Labs BPR through a management lens What is a process? Lay down those tools A Department of Homeland Security Redesigning processes or structures isn’t the real work The work of reorganizing 98 98 100 103 104 105 106 107 107 109 110 9 Practices that break the mold with agility and care Agile methods and knowledge work Problems with the waterfall method “Scrum”: an agile method Caring about work Nursing practice: the work of caring Bringing back care 113 113 115 118 120 122 123 10 In search of low-control organizing practices: community, care, cooperation, and commitment The catch-22 of new practices Alternatives to control and compliance Communities of practice What is the secret? Caring relationships make the difference The spirit of ubuntu Crossing boundaries 125 125 126 128 131 132 133 134 11 Taking on the work of organizing Closing the divide between work and organizing Where to begin Like being on a trapeze Letting go while catching on 136 136 137 138 139 viii Contents Relationships and accountability Talking the talk Cultivating a new narrative is tough New language for new conversations Walking a tightrope What is your story? Three words that must go: management, organization, leadership 12 Conversations for aligning: openness, commitments, and accountability Aligning Three domains of conversations Illustrating the framework What to do with the framework Missing conversations Conversations for openness Conversations for commitments Conversations for accountability Accountability as a way of being There is a place for rules Conversations for accountability serve a dual purpose Keeping talk and tools separate 140 142 144 146 146 148 149 152 152 153 155 156 157 159 161 162 164 166 167 168 13 Organizing moves We are still short of an answer to “how” Organizing moves from above Letting go Transforming relationships Promoting accountability Organizing moves from below: extricating yourself and your work Moving up Facilitating open discussion Negotiating accountability 170 170 171 172 173 173 174 175 176 177 14 Handling hierarchy and more Change that pushes all the buttons Handling hierarchy “Orbiting” is not a solution Reframing the problem of hierarchy 179 179 180 181 182 Contents The object is aligning Conversations for openness, accountability, and commitment From the dance floor and balcony Negotiating an end to apartheid Slow and steady or bold and brave Change “on management’s terms” is not practical Under the radar The IT cavalry to the rescue? Most IT departments don’t understand collaboration Putting tools in the hands of users The importance of being present Casting around for partners Keeping an eye on your purpose Encourage active participation ix 182 184 185 186 187 187 188 190 191 191 192 193 194 196 15 Good work wanted Who knows good work? Work is human to the core In the eyes of the beholders A god’s-eye perspective and a human one Everything exceeds our grasp Hiding from the humanness of work Management has colonized life Going topless 198 198 200 203 204 207 209 211 212 Notes References Index 216 257 267