The Rapid Response Institute

Month: October 2022

  • Hierarchy of Team Needs in Challenging Times

    Hierarchy of Team Needs in Challenging Times

    First it was Covid-19 and now a Recession?  Is a Global Military Conflict on the Horizon as well?

     

    Social, economic and personal pressures continue to mount.  There is already evidence of Reductions in Force, (RIF) aka layoffs are underway or planned.  With consumers stretched to the max, higher interest rates, equity markets in retreat and a struggling real estate environment, one wonders what the holiday season will bring.

    Cross Cultural (Diverse) Teams

    Ronald Reagan is credited with saying, “Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours.”  Would that it would be that simple.

    As we have addressed in the series on several occasions organizational teams consists of different types of people with diverse background and perspectives on life.  More importantly team members can be at different levels of maturity (both personally and organizationally).  We will address this in more detail.

    Maslow’s Hierarchy

    Many are familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  While a simple physiological (group level) safety model and as my colleague Rob Jones discusses in his new book, A Hole In Science–Grammar of The Sociological Problem.  He takes a very sophisticated and well thought out approach to addressing this group dynamic problem.  For our purposes in the blog, his in-depth analysis is really for professionals and not the casual reader.  However, for those interested, I highly recommend this newly released publication.

    Released in the early 1940s, the hierarchy consists of these five levels of needs that humans progressively move through (these levels were take directly from the aforementioned linked article and should be treated as direct quotations):

    1. Physiological–Air, water, food, sleep, health, clothes, and shelter, etc.
    2. Safety–Include personal and emotional security (e.g., safety from abuse), financial security, and wellbeing.
    3. Belongingness and Love–Family connections, friendship, and intimacy.
    4. Esteem–According to Maslow, there are two subtypes of esteem.  The first is esteem reflected in others’ perceptions of us.  That is, esteem in the form of prestige, status, recognition, attention, appreciation, or admiration.  The second form of esteem is rooted in a desire for confidence, strength, independence, and the ability to achieve.
    5. Self-Actualization–Examples include the acquisition of a romantic partner, parenting, the utilization and development of one’s talents and abilities, and goal pursuit 

    Maslow and others continued to advance the model, but readers can get the gist of it from these definitions.  Moreover, the following short (2.17 min) video covers this model very effectively.

    We can look at Maslow through the lens of a Maturity Model.  For example, certain Teams and/or Individuals might be higher up the hierarchy than others.

    This may change team interactions.  Usually, such models reflect the maturity of the lowest member.

    With the stress of an economic setback, some members may move from of a position of feeling good to one of Safety if jobs or personal cash flow are threatened.

    Guidelines for Going Forward

    In one sense,, teams composed of individuals in different phases of the Hierarchy are no different than other diverse teams.  Teambuilding techniques such as found in our Cross Cultural Serious Games are good tools to teach team member about the state of mind of their team members and/or competitors.

    We have been through tough times before and we will all get through this one as well.  Be sure to learn from history so as not to repeat it.

    How are you helping your family and organization deal with challenging times?

    Note: The definition of a recession is a political football and this is a blog about organizational excellence and not politics.  Investopedia has a good and generally accepted definition of the term (recession) and it is provided herein for completeness.  Readers can decide for themselves as to  its relevance to their individual situation.

    For More Information

    Please note, RRI does not endorse or advocate the links to any third-party materials herein.  They are provided for education and entertainment only.

    The author’s credentials in this field are available on his LinkedIn page.

    “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” (Martin Luther King speech at Cornell College, 1962).  For more information on Cross Cultural Engagement, check out our Cross Cultural Serious Game.  You can contact this author as well.

    For more insight regarding the economics of Climate Change, check out our recent blog, Crippling Green.

    For those start-up firms addressing energy (including renewables) challenges, the author is a member of Global Energy Mentors which provide no-cost mentoring services from energy experts.  If interested, check it out and give us a shout.

  • Agility, Resiliency and Sustainability: Needed Now More than Ever

    Agility, Resiliency and Sustainability: Needed Now More than Ever

    This pundit and his firm have long been proponents of building organizational cultures that provide firm the capability of adjusting to ‘events on the ground’ quickly with strong Situational Awareness.  Moreover, when adversity raises its ugly head, the response of a High Reliability Organization enables the resilience to adjust and go forward.  Finally, stakeholder value is destroyed if the organization does not have a viable economic future.

    In the last few editions of this series, we addressed a number of high impact and potentially negative situations and the forces at work.  We continue to make the point, that organizations ignore these signals at their peril.

    First Contact

    “The German field marshal, known as Moltke the Elder, believed in developing a series of options for battle instead of a single plan, saying “No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy’s main strength.”  Today, “no plan survives contact with the enemy” is the popular reconfiguration of this concept.”

    In such an environment, P:lan B.,C, D et al. may not be fluid enough.  Having the ability to jump to Plan Z or no previous option, is what wins military and organizational battles.  In 1944, George Patton famously turned an entire army, in the middle of winter 90 degrees to relive defenders known as the Battle of the Bulge.  It was tis type of audacious decision making and effective action that won World War II.  This is a model for contemporary organizational behavior, and the basis of our Relationships, Behaviors, Conditions (RBC) approach to agility, resiliency and sustainability in today’s world.

    Elite Athletics

    In addition to military models, athletics is another allegory for business executives to follow.  In 2009 we released our White Paper, Rapid Response Management: Thriving in the New World Order.  In that document, we developed the Rapid Response Management Matrix.

    In this model we compared organizational Fitness Maturity as a function of its ability to Recover (catch your breath and move on to the next play).  Value of course is highest for those that are in the best ‘shape.’

    Preparation, Preparation, Preparation

    We have discussed this issue before.  In our June 22, 2018 blog, we quoted race car driver Bobby Unser, “Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”  Additionally, Louis Pasteur taught us.  “Chance favors the prepared mind.”

    Sports teams, the military and dance troupes as well as others practice incessantly.  It is the only way to keep at the top of ‘your game.’  Businesses, not so much.

    Choreography

    Much like a Broadway musical, organizations need to understand and assure all the moving pieces (and people) work together.  For example, a decade or so ago an energy services company sought to understand how NASCAR choreographed ‘pit stops.’  There goal was to see if best practices could be used by the field operations teams.

    Into 2023

    Years ago in the middle of yet another oil bust, a colleague paraphrased the old Chinese curse by saying, “May we live in less interesting times.”  Be that as it may we live in interesting times and must respond accordingly.

    How are you and your organization preparing for the uncertainty of the near future?

    For More Information

    Please note, RRI does not endorse or advocate the links to any third-party materials herein.  They are provided for education and entertainment only.

    The author’s credentials in this field are available on his LinkedIn page.

    “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” (Martin Luther King speech at Cornell College, 1962).  For more information on Cross Cultural Engagement, check out our Cross Cultural Serious Game.  You can contact this author as well.

    For more insight regarding the economics of Climate Change, check out our recent blog, Crippling Green.

    For those start-up firms addressing energy (including renewables) challenges, the author is a member of Global Energy Mentors which provide no-cost mentoring services from energy experts.  If interested, check it out and give us a shout.