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CM Journal Articles Personality Matters: do Standards threaten one's individualism and creativity?
CM Journal Articles Personality Matters: do Standards threaten one's individualism and creativity?
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 According to one world-view, everything in life can be separated into 2
polarized categories such as "those who ____" and "those who do not ____." Then
there are those in the opposite camp who claim that the world does not follow
any such pattern. : ) Whether or not you agree with such quick-n-dirty
categorizations, most readers would probably concur that well-defined standards
enable employees to at least be on the same page with regard to company
procedures. Decisions regarding exactly what those standards should be and how
rigorously they need be enforced are frequently as dependent on personality as
they are on purely technological, cultural or financial factors. In this
month's column, we will explore how individual and group dynamics can impact
the use of standards within an organization.
IT development teams deal with 2 distinct types of standards. Process standards are designed to help create an identifiable and repeatable methodology for successful execution of deliverables. Product standards are the specifications which ensure that the deliverable itself meets certain specific predetermined criteria. As with many other situations in life, however, there is frequently no perfect and ABSOLUTE standard that stands out. Instead, one is faced with a continuum of possibilities, with plusses, as well as minuses, found at each point along the spectrum. How then, to decide the proper balance to strike between strict adherence to rigid requirements and the creativity that leads to progress. The majority of successful senior executives rely heavily on cost-benefit analyses when selecting between the various options related to standards & productivity. In choosing an appropriate standards policy for their organization, managers must weigh the perceived benefits in quality versus the estimated costs in additional time and/or personnel. The decision must also take into account the amount of risk generally tolerated by those in that particular industry. For example, traders are frequently much less averse to risk than are accountants. Many people who work in financial services (although probably less than could be found a year ago) would prefer an occasional loss due to software glitches rather than wait two weeks for an application to pass a full battery of regression testing that could take weeks - and ultimately miss a profitable trading opportunity. Overlooked so far in our discussion is another messy reality which appears unavoidable: every single individual involved with a given CM project joins the team with their own unique history (which in this case includes personal comfort levels with regard to both standards and compliance issues). Erik Erikson, one of the giants of Developmental Psychology, theorized that all people must navigate through eight distinct phases of Identity Formation as they mature from babies to adulthood. At each level, they struggle to find balance between the extremes of some key personality dimension such as trust vs. mistrust or industry vs. inferiority. One's ability to form a stable and solid self-image and one's general response to authority can vary tremendously depending on their particular idiosyncratic interplay of genetics and experience. Although the study of human behavior is complex and confusing, researchers and clinicians have discerned patterns which can provide much insight for business applications. For instance, if "Jane" has a very strong sense-of-self, she is likely to have strong opinions about how things should be done and might need to be "won over" before accepting standards chosen by her peers. "Pete", however, may be an easier "sell" if he emerged from adolescence with low self-esteem and a tendency to believe others know more than he does. This internalized sense of one's worth and competence then interacts with one's capacity for following directions and respecting authority. The world is full of talented and capable individuals who can't manage to succeed because of their oppositional tendencies. The expression "to cut off your nose to spite your face" aptly describes the phenomena of employees who refuse to comply with company directives even while they realize that such behavior is probably detrimental. Thus, it should be evident that for individual employees, "buying into" the specification of CM standards and complying with such guidelines are two distinct behaviors, and that each may depend on personality as much as it relies on logic & reason. Similarly, at an organizational level, the ability of senior management to select, implement, and enforce standards will depend on the leaders' personal characteristics, as well as the group dynamics (particularly with regard to the factors discussed earlier) that exist in that specific work environment. Successful managers would do well to consider these factors in their interactions with others especially if they would like to successfully implement compliance with standards based practices. Leslie Sachs is a New York State Certified School Psychologist with over 20 years of experience. Ms. Sachs has worked in a variety of clinical and business settings where she has provided many effective interventions designed to improve the social and educational functioning of both individuals and groups. Ms. Sachs has an M.S. in School Psychology from Pace University and interned in Bellevue's Psychiatric Center in NYC. A firm believer in the uniqueness of every individual, she has recently done advanced training with Mel Levine's "All Kinds of Minds" Institute. She may be reached at LeslieASachs@gmail.com
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 February 2008 17:15 |
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