The modern workplace remains ethically deficient and dysfunctional. Why?
The complexity of the modern organization breeds dysfunction. Despite 150+ years of industrial management theory and learning, issues persist. While most lay dysfunction at the feet of owners and managers, it is a collective issue. Given that we spend the majority of our lives at work, work should provide both material and deeper fulfillment. We can do better.
Solving widespread dysfunction means addressing the experiences of everyone in an organization. This includes owners to front-line employees; many feel alienated from their experience. Through a comprehensive approach, we can study and solve much of our dysfunction. I do this through a combination of cultural study, strategic planning, and coaching. It takes hard diligent work. Sophisticated quantitative analytics are often deficient; they commonly reduce or oversimplify problems, creating false impressions around the effort required to solve the issues.
To improve processes, we need aggressive ideas and tools. Common and popular tools such as "extreme ownership," or the creation and use of "vision" and "values" remain abstract and unhelpful. Open and pop workplace design, "fun at work," free food, recreation, and even remote work are largely superficial or create odd social dynamics. The modern organization needs practical, engaged and durable action, often in the form of broader access to decision-making, capital and strategy, a meaningful and genuine social mission, distributed wealth, and job security.
Organizations that focus on improving the experience at work through practical solutions realize healthier outcomes and contribute to the broader social good. This often delivers a stronger bottom line, sustainable and stable growth, widespead wellness, retention, organizational stability versus chaos, and helping everyone find genuine higher meaning in their professional lives.
In my work with organizations, we target common workplace pathologies and dysfunctions, including financial short-termism, management socio/psychopathy and narcissism, presenteeism, alienation, and resistance. The right partners are interested in addressing the long term financial and holistic health of their organization and its members.
My skills and expertise:
executive coaching executive team interaction and facilitation employee insights and wellness
talent management compensation and incentives design workplace design social enterprise
mission and vision design process mapping and improvement strategic planning
employee relations onboarding teamwork and collaboration remote work issues and design
alternative structures ESOPs and worker ownership democratic workplace diffused decision-making
charitable program design succession planning leadership development organizational development
More about me:
Extensive theoretical and research background (PhD, MA)
Equally extensive practical and applied background (MBA, 10+ years in leadership and organizational development roles in various sectors)
Professionally published on leadership, management and organizational design
20 years as a reserve Marine Corps officer (currently assigned to the Pentagon)
Global travel and work (Europe, 15+ countries in Africa, East Asia)
Married, father of three
References and Resources