It is important to be clear that the Command and Control paradigm relates to a particular, but erroneous, way of thinking about maintaining and improving organisational efficiency, effectiveness and performance. As John Seddon puts it:
The prevailing thinking would have it that if each part of a system performs as specified (to budget), then overall the system will perform as expected. It is assumed that looking at the parts gives us the means to manage the whole. Nothing could be further from the truth. It may be true in many cases that the numbers add up to the intended budget, but managing in this way guarantees sub-optimisation. ( i.e. Lower efficiency) .
In Command and Control cultures, leaders and managers attempt to maximise efficiency and performance by setting targets, and driving people to meet them through constantly monitoring their individual actions. These techniques are passed on from generation to generation, taught in business schools and military colleges, and even embodied in government programmes such as the UK's project for Performance Management, Measurement and Information.[PMMI]
PMMI provides support for public service agencies and local councils who are required to use these techniques, but clearly it does not enjoy great success, since, PMMI research suggests, as their website says:
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the principles are simple, but the detail can be hard – some aspects may require a specific set of technical skills, such as setting meaningful outcome targets; or require strong people management skills, such as dealing honestly and robustly with under-performance
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the whole system needs to work; there are many interrelating elements that need to be developed over time – sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start
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it needs the right environment to flourish; the performance culture, addressed later in this guide, requires strong leadership and the desire to improve
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developing effective performance management is a long-term activity – improving and embedding it can take several years, requiring constant attention and regular review
“Despite all the assessments and diagnostics”, they say, “ many councils still struggle with performance management.”
What the PMMI does not say, is that by insisting on the imposition of these Command and Control techniques to public service organisations, they are actually reducing the quality and reliability of the services they are providing for the public.
The reasons are complex but basically they stem from the failure of Command and Control methods to adopt the kind of systems approach, that , as John Seddon says,
creates an adaptive organisation. As demand changes people change what they do – something that is impossible to accomplish in a command and control design.
(See also the Blog on Command and Control Thinking vs Learning Organisations at http://blog.kickingcommandandcontrol.com/the_long_term/20090114-11393-Command-and-Control-Thinking-vs--Learning-Systems)
Given the right information, the right kind of help, and the right kind of organisational support, many Command and Control Leaders are able to change their ways of thinking, engage their staff in processes of participative systems improvement and vastly improve the services they are providing.
Noticeable improvements start to emerge fairly rapidly, often in a matter of weeks, and moreover, given continuity of leadership, the levels of improvement constantly increase as do measures such as job satisfaction and staff retention.
Here is one of John Seddon's clients writing in her professional journal:
Introducing systems thinking was probably the most challenging and exciting experience of my career to date. I had to unlearn the management thinking I had built up and been proud of over the years and challenge my team managers and peers to do the same. It was an emotional roller coaster. Sometimes I wondered if I really knew what I was doing and then…. I started to see the changes, a new vibrancy and excitement in the whole team.
She goes on:
We are now providing fantastic service. Compliments are increasing ... and they now significantly outweigh complaints. We are continuing to improve our service and reduce our costs. We love it, so do our customers and so do our shareholders.
Thus, although it may be a bit of a struggle at first, "kicking" Command and Control is not too hard, and many leaders have permanently changed their thinking, their management techniques and behaviours to the benefit of all concerned.
Authoritarian Leaders, however, have a profound psychological and ideological commitment to the behaviours and techniques that a Command and Control culture embodies. Their core beliefs are at odds to those that are central to the successful application of systems thinking and organisational learning.
To understand how different – and how dangerous – they are, we need to quote from Robert Altemeyer's invaluable book, titled “The Authoritarians.
END OF PART ONE
