Need for connectedness – an organisational error with fatal consequences
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Need for connectedness – an organisational error with fatal consequences
The discussion about the current crisis is taking place in the face of emptying halls, offices, increasing numbers of home offices, and enforced distance in required public spaces. And in view of the restriction of freedom of movement and immediate physical distance. Part of the debate in the organisational context is characterised by a fundamental misconception: self‐evidently, as human beings we are first and foremost social beings and oriented towards connectedness with others. But: the translation of the Taylorist idea of shop floor management into the virtual world as a fixed space of performance production, and the belief in ensuring productivity through performance monitoring, misses the point of being human at this point.
Those who, in the face of the Covid 19 crisis, continue to rely or are again relying on the principle of ›command and control‹ will find it more difficult than others to lead themselves and others well through the crisis. He or she will suddenly lack the immediate instruments of discipline and physical experience of the ’sublimity‹ of their own positional power. And he or she will currently find major problems of cohesion and emotional attachment of employees to the company. We have not yet experienced a situation comparable to this one; but we can learn from high‐performance organisations: What we need are creative minds that can unleash their cleverness and improvisational power. It takes people who are allowed to make their own decisions in the company and tackle the challenges decisively and on their own responsibility. This requires attentiveness to weak signals of contradiction as seismographs for risks and it demands respect for professional expertise.
