Garth was new to the organization, a non-profit with 75 years of legacy behind it and a boat load of stakeholder members. Each stakeholder faction waiting for the new Executive Vice President to take the fall.
He was an outsider, a second chance for the new board president to test his theory about, “…bring someone in from the outside, the world of business, to turn this organization around and make it more profitable.”
The first week and this was Garth’s seventh interview with a key staff member. The strategy: interview all key staff , get a pulse on the issues, show how much he cares and develop a level of influence with the opinion makers. Finance and accounting first – the Finance Director felt Garth had his priorities straight. Then meeting the Director of Member Services. Again, sending the right message, getting the priorities right.
Number seven, the Director of IT. She didn’t quite understand the lack of importance Garth placed on the function of technology in the organization. Obviously he felt Facilities must have more importance than IT in the organization, since the Facilities Director was number six on the interview schedule.
This was perhaps the first mis-step down the path of making meaning. Every action taken (or not taken) and every word spoken (or not spoken) creates meaning for people in an organization. In their book, The Why of Work, Dave and Wendy Ulrich claim leaders, “…set direction that others aspire to; they help others participate in doing good work and good works; they communicate ideas and invest in practices that shape how people think, act, and feel. ”
Garth continued his journey to build a meaningful rapport with the staff, but without success. There were several ideas he tried to initiate and was eventually beaten down by the inertia of it all. He always entered every business engagement as if he, as the leader, made a difference to the organization. What he missed altogether was the lack of meaning people found in his approach to leading and therefore his presence had little impact in the direction of the organization.
The stakeholders eventually won out and even the board president surrendered his theory. Garth left the organization one year after starting out. He had made no appreciable headway on any of his initiatives. The organization insulated itself well from his influence.
When leader see the ‘why’ behind meaning, they understand the importance of listening for the how. People feel a sense of purpose, belonging and ownership when their voices are heard and the meaning exposed.
