Page 192 - Make Work Great

Mobilizing Groups

FIGURE 8.2 Information transfer (left) versus solution
discussion (right)

ognize: information about status or power. Underlying what is said in
many information-sharing gatherings is the unspoken reinforcement
of the roles and hierarchy of the organization, often called politics.
Who makes the presentation may be as important as what informa-
tion is presented. When a manager assigns and employees act, the
interchange subtly reinforces the hierarchy between them. Similarly,
the chairman of the board always opens the annual board meeting.
These cues are subtle, but they are often at least as relevant to the
purpose of the meeting as the content of the actual discussions.
Of course, in many cases, it’s not enough simply to inform. The
reality of the crystalline network is that not only do groups pass
along information, but they solve problems and make decisions. In
the new information age, the expression “many hands make light
work” might well be replaced with “many minds make light work.”
When a group gathers for the purpose of coming to a conclusion,
making a recommendation, taking action, deciding how to allocate
limited resources, or crafting a response to an urgent problem, the
dynamics of the situation are quite different than those of sharing
information, as shown on the right side of Figure 8.2. In these cases,
the goal is to solve a problem or answer a question. Whether it’s the
one-time, ad hoc gathering of a task force faced with the quick reso-
lution of a crisis, or the monthly managers’ meeting to make routine
decisions about resource allocation, many group encounters focus on
resolution of specifi c questions or issues.

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