In the organizational model everything is done by a central organization, all aspects of the work and thought processes go through the same avenue. This has some plusses as everything is managed and problems can be easily determined but I think it makes work harder for those involved as most everything falls to them. This is the way my client operates, they are an organization and try to handle all aspects of growing the group and education the public amongst the 12 or so of them. This has lead to a lot of stress and burn out since they have temporarily disbanded. Why has this happened? They are overwhelmed with all the other responsibilities they have on their plate and were not reaching their target audience. They were not able to grow into a larger group as many that were interested were not able to come to meetings or work within their structure.
This is where the network centric approach could be helpful. If they could find a following and pass some of the tasks on to others it would take some of the pressure off of them. As I mentioned previously with more people comes new ideas that might help spread the word about the shortage of clinical laboratory scientists which would benefit the cause. The group could grow as people would be able to work on tasks as they see fit and when they have time rather than dealing with the current constaints.
I think the reason this hasn't happened yet is two fold, the first is their fear of technology they do not understand and have no desire to learn and the other is reliquishing control, many in our field are control freaks. They have to let go a bit and trust in others, not an easy task I realize but nessecary to their survival.
If this group is going to survive and flourish they have to let go a bit and allow others to take peices of the puzzle.
We all have to be willing to change and grow, learning from mistakes what hasn't worked and being open to new ways of doing things.
I am undergoing major change in my own life, is it scary? Absolutely but I know that I have to move forward and let go of what hasn't worked for me and hope that things will fall into place... we all have to give into the fear and go forward at some point to see real change occur.....
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You're right Karen, sounds like outsourcing some and an introduction to "different" is in order. This course should be coupled with the consulting course offered in the ISD program....Seems like we have all identified potential to make change happen.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I love your last line "we all have to give into the fear and go forward at some point to see real change occur..... " I think this is your client's major downfall...they know what they're doing isn't working, but they are too afraid to try something else. I think many of this have been in this situation before...the unknown is a scary,scary thing because...it's unknown. A lot of times these groups need someone to come in a take the lead...push them into a new frontier...
ReplyDeleteKaren,
ReplyDeleteYour post made me think of a card someone once gave me, "Life shrinks and expands in proportion to one's courage." Sometimes it does take courage to try new things, to muster the confidence to go in a different direction, but often, when that path is pursued, the horizon expands into endless potential. Likewise, for your client and for you!
~jeannette
I love your title and totally agree with you. But can see why its hard to change too because its so uncomfortable. For some reason we're always looking for the easiest and the quickest ways to do things and changing in the way you describe can be challenging.
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