Ubuntu

Archbishop Desmond Tutu famously uses the philosophy of ubuntu as reminder of our being interconnected. From the highest levels of organizations to individual members, we are connected to each other and must remember that our actions effect each other.

An associate of mine is very frustrated with her team. A new initiative has been introduced which is agreed by all stakeholders will enhance operational performance. Training of the new processes happened in two sessions, one for management, one for the frontline workforce. When the new bright idea hit the floor, chaos ensued. Managers made decisions that didn't agree with how the frontline did their job. The frontline tried their best to meet managers requests, all the while very annoyed that little consideration is given to what works best on the floor.

These kinds of missed communication opportunities are the seeds that sprout into conflicts within organizations.

My question to the organization is if you are one community, why segregated training sessions? Both managers and frontline staff could have enjoyed the benefit of each others experience and ideas raised during the training sessions. Sharing and co-mingling in the training experience would have created an environment of greater understanding for all.

Organizations all too often forget ubuntu. The whole is a sum of interconnected parts that must continuously engage each other, work for common understanding, and keep the lines of communication open on all levels at all times.