In the landscape of today’s working world, organizations are the fundamental and defining structures within which we work, produce, and get things done. Very few people now work outside of an organization. The pervasiveness of organizations in our society is now so complete that we take them as a given and no longer question the rationale behind their existence. In fact, so completely are we immersed in, surrounded by, and engaged with them, that their existence goes essentially unnoticed. They have become like water to fish
The problem with accepting organizational existence at such an unexamined, unquestioned axiomatic reality is that we inadvertently overlook the very reason why organizations were formed in the first place. In doing so, we marginalize the most important feature required for organizational success. Organizations were formed by people who, facing external demands, understood that two or more people, working in unity, can accomplish more that they could working separately and alone. Over time, however, unguided by a clear understanding exactly what forging that unity would require, organization dynamics took on a life of their own. As organizations became the ubiquitous structures in which we work and conduct business we lost sight of their original purpose and central requirement: organizations were formed to facilitate and tap the power pro ermined by far more than the skills, talents, and capacities of the individuals within it. An organization’s ultimate success is a result of the degree to which people transcend their individual excellence to create interpersonal synergy and achieve collective excellence. An organization’s success has more to do with how the people work in relationship with each other than with how effectively they function individually in their technical/professional roles.
Unity – that collective cohesiveness, empowering alignment, and fundamental sense of oneness that can permeate an organization’s culture – must be understood to be the beginning point, and the ultimate power behind, any organization’s performance.
Organizations need unity. Many have survived without it. Many have been profitable without it. But none have come close to their full potential without it! To succeed at their highest levels by any measures, organizational unity must be adopted as a pragmatic requirement and a principal based imperative requiring the committed attention of any holding a leadership position. In fact, it could be argued that forging and nurturing organizational unity may well be the single most important outcome of great leadership.
Over the next several blogs, I hope to explore with you the various requirements and essential dynamics underpinning true organizational unity.