Merging into the High-Speed Trust Lane
September 11, 2011
THE 2011-12 ACADEMIC year starts with the Limerick Institute of Technology trying to work out how to leverage trust in the newly-formed large institution. From where I sit, there needs to be a greater awareness of helping people to find their "flow" -- their maximum effectiveness in an organisation -- and to ensure the organisation fosters mutual trust.
At the moment, small tribal teams have encamped throughout the organisation Those teams feed on implicit trust. But when the tribes surface inside the larger organisation, trust often breaks down. This leads to the growth of process and the oozing lethargy of bureaucracy.
Nurture trust and results will follow. Sprinkle some trust my way and successful academic modules could be deployed as highly relevant short courses for the business community, helping start-ups become more efficient. Those short courses could become licensed for international syndication.
It all starts by getting people from various tribes working together on something. It could be those short course I described or a charitable cause or a shared online classroom. Co-ordinating guest lecture appearances from one location to another is also a simple way of connecting people to shared goals.
Facing into a new era of consolidation, Ireland's education system will have several cases like the merger of Tipperary Institute and the Limerick Institute of Technology in the years ahead. In each of those cases, organisers will need to bring together different cultures. I believe the best results will happen by building trust through the achievement of common goals.
Sent mail2blog using O2 3.5G from my Nokia E7 in Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland.
Adams, J. S. (1963). Toward an understanding of equity. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67, 422-436.
Bozeman, D. P., Perrwere, P. L., Hochwarter, W. A., & Brymer, R. A. (2001). Organizational politics, perceived control, and work outcomes: Boundary conditions on the effects of politics. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 31, 486-503.
Brown, J. & Duguid, P. (1991). Organizational learning and communities-of-practice: Toward a unified view of working, learning, and innovation. Organization Science, 2, 40-57.