the emotionally bonded organization

8/21/2019 The Emotionally Bonded Organization

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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



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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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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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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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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

the emotionally bonded organization

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