CorporateCoach eNewsletter
Issue No. 46, 16th February 2004
CONTENTS
- Editorial: The secret of internal communication
- Coaching notes: The story of the Hundredth Monkey
1. Editorial: The secret of internal communication
I was talking to someone this week who works for a communications company. They
handle public relations, advertising etc. for clients. This lady was complaining
that the staff never knew what was going on and were not involved in management
decisions.
The company had a team briefing system and an open door policy. But, nonetheless,
there was a sense that "we" do not know what is going on.
Some years ago I worked with a chief executive who made tremendous progress
in developing a more open management style. Part of this was to tell the staff
what was going on. But, what was the response when we held a meeting to brief
the managers? Not "Thank you for telling us and keeping us informed."
Oh no! It was "Why did you not tell us earlier?"
This is a typical situation. Truth, news, facts at the top of an organisation
are dynamic – they evolve from day to day, and they can be commercially
sensitive. If you tell the staff, when do you tell the shareholders? There are
legal restrictions on the release of information for a company where the shares
are publicly traded.
Managing information can seem a thankless task. And yet, it is very important
for its impact on morale.
Many years ago I had someone working for me. He was based in the room next
door, but he did not often call in, nor I on him. I had complete confidence
in his judgement that he would know when to ask for advice or authority, or
when I should be advised of something.
And this is the key – trust. It is not the behaviour that counts. It
is the beliefs and values. If the staff trust the management to handle information
sensitively and to respect the employees' interest in knowing what is going
on by keeping them informed when appropriate, then morale will be high and complaints
contained.
Another client was a large industrial organisation, where the middle managers
were complaining about lack of information. When I asked them what information
they themselves passed down, their response about their own staff was "They
don't need to know." We all need to know, though not necessarily in the
same detail.
My question this week is what beliefs, values and processes apply in your organisation?
And, how do you respond within the freedom that you have? I hope it is not question
of the pot calling the kettle black!
Come and join us
What is the most difficult challenge for a consultant, coach or trainer? In
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We have a backlog of individuals who have asked to be considered as associates.
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As Brefi Group expands its impact on the world, I thought you would like to
read the story of the 100th Monkey. This illustrates how, when you reach a critical
mass, there is a quantum leap in behaviour.
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2. Coaching notes: The story of the Hundredth Monkey
There is a legend I’d like to tell you about. It is the story of the
Hundredth Monkey.
The Japanese monkey Macaca Fuscata had been observed in the wild for a period
of over thirty years. In 1952, on the island of Koshima, scientists were providing
monkeys with sweet potatoes dropped in the sand. The monkeys liked the taste
of the raw sweet potatoes but they found the dirt unpleasant. An 18 month old
female named Imo found she could solve the problem by washing the potatoes in
a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her mother. Her playmates also learned
this new way and they taught their mothers too. This cultural innovation was
gradually picked up by various monkeys before the eyes of the scientists.
Between 1952 and 1958, all the young monkeys learned to wash the sandy sweet
potatoes to make them more palatable. Only the adults who imitated their children
learned this social improvement ... other adults kept eating the dirty sweet
potatoes. Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958 a certain
number of Koshima monkeys were washing sweet potatoes – the exact number is
not known. Let us suppose that when the sun rose one morning there were 99 monkeys
on Koshima Island who had learned to wash their sweet potatoes. Let’s
further suppose that later that evening the hundredth monkey learned to wash
potatoes ... THEN IT HAPPENED. By that evening almost everyone in the tribe
was washing sweet potatoes before eating them. The added energy of this hundredth
monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough!
But notice. A most surprising thing observed by these scientists was that
the habit of washing sweet potatoes then jumped over the sea – colonies of monkeys
on other islands and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama began washing
their sweet potatoes. Thus, when a certain number achieves an awareness, this
new awareness may be communicated from mind to mind. Although the exact number
may vary, The Hundredth Monkey phenomenon means that when only a limited number
of people know of a new way, it may remain the conscious property of just those
people. But there is a point at which if only one more person tunes in to a
new awareness, a field is strengthened so that this awareness is picked up by
almost everyone!
Your awareness is needed. You may be the “hundredth monkey”.
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We aim to make the Brefi Group web site the premier developmental site for
teams and individuals in organisations, so do please send us your suggestions
and requests for further development. And let us know what you think of this newsletter,
and comment on the content.
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Brefi Group is a change management organisation that provides corporate coaching,
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We hope you enjoyed this issue of CorporateCoach. If you would like
to learn more about how we can work together, then please contact me, Richard
Winfield:
Telephone: 08450 678 222, or +44 (0) 121 704 2006 (international)
E-mail: editor@brefigroup.co.uk
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