Organization Survival Management
By Alan Perry
August 3, 2014
I think that many public safety administrators and their organizations
struggle with attitudes and traditional beliefs supporting the notion that they
are somehow insulated from change by the slow moving wheels of government. The recent
history of public safety organization survival challenges can be easily related
to the organization’s ability to manage change. Redirecting this traditionalist
mindset that believes rapidly changing best practices, regulations, and political
pressure do not affect them is truly challenging. There are several
constructive pathways out of this situation if the leadership and each of its
members are truly committed to improving the organization. There is no silver
bullet, every organization is different and must work within certain parameters
defined by local government, a budget, human resource limitations or a myriad
of other possible roadblocks. The obstacles to improving your organization’s
agility, effectiveness and value can be stubborn and will persistently test
your resolve.
Our Duty
Our duty, as public resources who exist because of public
need and financial support, is to provide the highest quality and most cost-effective
service we can with the resources we are provided. We do not have the power or
authority to go beyond that; or do we?* we can analyze the attitude of our
organization toward change and look in the mirror ourselves asking the
questions that need to be asked. Change is a two edged sword, it is rarely a
clearly defined or single item that is involved. If not carefully made, changes
get bad reputations, leading to skepticism and push-back when implemented. If
not made in a timely manner, other less desirable organic solutions may take
root or we may miss the opportunity altogether appearing inept and unable to
catch up. We cannot prevent change from occurring, it is desirable to recognize
and implement timely, appropriate and responsible change in an efficient and
predictable way.
Promotion
The attitude of the organization will mirror the collective
attitudes of the members of the organization, with those placed in leadership
roles exerting greater influence in most cases than the front line
professionals. We have after all; given those we promote the ideological nod,
reaffirming their personal characteristics and management style. These ranking
members are frequently the source of information, and direction for the
organization even though they may not be functioning on the front line and may
not have done so for a considerable length of time. An organization can easily
fall into the trap of hiring and promoting those who do not challenge the
status quo and fit a narrow ideological and personality profile. The survival
and vitality of the organization will depend on creating diversity in this
process, providing a more balanced resource for managing change and avoiding
groupthink. We should look for those who respectfully challenge the status quo
and explore new and better ways of delivering service in the promotional
process and abandon the search for dinosaur eggs.
Hiring
Those entering public service are frequently termed “type A”
personalities which loosely describes people who are self-motivated, enjoy
challenges and are assertive; all desirable qualities in public safety. Those
we hire tend to fall into even more narrow categories depending on the evaluation
criteria. The lack of diversity in public safety is widely known. Any selection
process can allow personal and organizational bias to affect an objective
outcome. Much like a promotional process, the individuals selected to review
the applications, do back ground checks, and conduct interviews are selected by
the administration because of some characteristic that is valued. These
individuals in turn will seek out individuals that have characteristics they
prefer, likely similar to their own, perpetuating the organizational culture. Does
your process intentionally exclude those who challenge authority, are too
analytical, or confrontational? The body is made up of many different tissues,
each one essential to our existence, an effective and responsive organization must
have variety in its membership, each working cooperatively to help it meet its
mission and survive.
Communication
The dissemination of information throughout an organizations
structure is essential to effective management, including managing change.
Clear communication of new ideas, better ways of doing things, discovery of new
challenges, and solicitation for feedback, must occur unimpeded by artificial
barriers and tradition. Every organ system in the human body works together to
assure the survival of the body, every member of your organization should be given
the opportunity to do the same for your organization. An open communication
system that permits sharing of ideas and providing bi-directional feedback
laterally and vertically within the organization will remove obstacles and
improve the speed of communication of ideas and needs. When you burn your
finger two things happen; a message goes to your brain informing you that it’s hot,
and a message goes directly to the muscle resulting it the reflex removing your
finger at nearly the same time your brain feels it. Wouldn’t it be great if
your organization could perform that efficiently? How do you think a homogenous
workforce reacts to detecting and managing change?
Justifying Change
Not all change is good or necessary and change occurs for
many reasons. Legitimate change improves
performance, efficiency and effectiveness, positively affecting the value of
the services provided by the organization. Other changes occur due to
regulatory or legislative mandates, budget priorities, politics, special
interest, personal preferences, changes in administration, because everyone
else is, and because it is the path of least resistance. In these cases there
is frequently an unsubstantiated need for the change with no tangible benefit.
True change will have a defined goal, represent an evolution rather than change
alone, and have a purpose with measurable results. In public safety change should
have the added objective of improving the value to the public.
*Or do we?
Insert can of worms here. We affect the attitudes and
perception of the public on a daily basis. We engage in public safety education
and are routinely in the public eye. Our organizations are held in the public
trust and administered by Federal, State & Local Government bodies that
control the environment we must operate in including our administrations and
budgets. Many of us are prohibited from inducing the public to intervene in
governmental affairs affecting the organization we are affiliated with, others
are not-but the activity is still frowned upon. If public policy or legislation
is affecting your ability to make a meaningful change, then confronting that
limitation, and compelling its justification, or requesting that it be modified,
should not be construed as a hostile act. Any public safety worker, or
administrator working for the public good could, and should, seek to educate
the public of the particulars and seek their support, if not their active
participation, in removing the obstacles.
Get out of the office
As soon as a public safety worker comes off the front line
their perception of the organization (and reality) changes, yet they are now
tasked with guiding the path for the organization. The only way to overcome
this is to get up and get out on the street with some frequency and understand
how your staff are interacting with and serving the public today. It is a very
dynamic environment we work in today, things change almost daily, a sabbatical
from the street of 3 months may as well be 3 years. It will be impossible to
relate with the needs of the public and your personnel from a desk, an open
communication policy will help, but it is no substitute for the raw nuances of
the personal interactions and the spontaneity of the feedback you can
appreciate in those encounters. You can more genuinely understand you
organization and its needs through close personal interaction and more
effectively recognize the state of your organization.
Thriving is preferable
Change is
required for survival in public safety management. If you put this article down
thinking you are safe with surviving and managing change, you have missed my
message. Change is inevitable, learn to master it, embrace and love it. Loose
the negative attributed to change, it’s not a negative, the changes you make and
instill in your organization will be grounded in need and produce value for the
public and your people. You and your whole organization can come out of the
bunkers and silos, skip through the fields of success, and bask in the sunshine
of positive public perception. You and your organization will become agents of
change, showing others the way to high performance in public safety.
Be
Adaptable,
