Cool 2×2 on organizational culture
While tutoring some very smart undergraduates, I bumped into very nice 2×2 model that I haven’t seen for years. Deal & Kennedy’s model is used primarily to explain corporate culture. It also correlates nicely with two factor personality theory – so it’s pretty useful for helping people understand their preferences for various workplaces. It’s easy to use and remember and what’s more reading political commentary, I had an insight about competency frameworks that is quite useful.
Get drawing!
Grab a pen. WordPress is not up for 2×2 tables. Across the page put feedback (slow on the left and fast on the right), and down the page put risk(high at the top and low at the bottom).
Live or die in the next 20 minutes!
Top left is the fast-feedback high risk quadrant. This is the world of surgeons, American police, City traders. Everything happens quickly, and losses and gains can be dramatic. This is the world of extraverted, neurotics – loud, quick, aggressive and dramatic. Game of choice: squash! A one-one-one tussle with points scored in a fast and furious contest.
Fast but not furious
Bottom left is slow-feedback low risk quadrant. This is the world of the factory, the retail bank and even the supermarket cashier. Good or bad, feedback is quick but no one event is of great consequence. This is still the world of the extravert. Sociable people are at a premium provided they are amiable and easily content. Indeed, they wouldn’t know what to do with aggression. Game of choice: soccer. Great teamwork that goes on for an hour-and-a-half with only one or two goals.
Leave it with me
Bottom right is slow-feedback low risk quadrant. This is the world of very low skilled or very high skilled. The work is deceptively simple. Take an accountant. A piece of paper is processed and there is no sense of the world changing. A better example is a lawyer who writes your will. You rely entirely on it being correct when it is inspected many, many years later by other lawyers. The essence of this work is this long delay and ability to do fine work with no feedback. This is the world of stable, unemotional introverts. Game of choice : jogging. One foot after another!
He’s my brother, he ain’t heavy
Top right is slow-feedback high risk quadrant. This is the world of civil engineers putting up buildings which will only show that nasty shortcut many years later. It is also the world of educators – all those hours put in to person who may or may not make good. This is the world of neurotic introverts. A mark of people in this quadrant is other people take them to be a fool and abuse their good will. They are also prone to feeling disappointed with the world. Game of choice: golf. You can lose it all on the last hole.
So what is my observation for leadership competencies?
Generally, the most obvious leader is someone who is extraverted and unanxious. Leaders like quick feedback and are neither too prone to hi risk (likely to be quick tempered) or too prone to lo risk (too amiable and unable to hold the line).
Listening to the commentary on political candidates, I suspect that this rule-of-thumb holds in the lower levels of leadership (Lieutenant to Colonel). At higher levels, the willingness to reserve judgement and wait to see how events unfold might also be important.
Any thoughts? What is your preferred culture?
UPDATE: Anyone from any quadrant can lead and be a good politician. Generally though, we will be happy in our basic trade depending on its match with our personality. We will also learn to use all quadrants with practice, though under pressure, we are likely to revert to our preferred choice.
Knowing your preferences helps you understand why you dislike some tasks and how you can recraft them to make them more comfortable. It also helps you understand other people’s styles.
