Create strong internal links for organisational success – 2

The new CEO was puzzled. How can the CEO make any decision about employees without consulting the DHR? This is the kind of unilateralism that hampers an organisation’s development and discourages innovation and team-building.

In the same organisation, the new CEO learnt that during his predecessor’s time other members of the management found it almost impossible to meet with the chief executive and discuss issues about the company because he was usually busy meeting with people who had little or no contribution to the organisation. Collaboration through engagement and empowerment was minimal.

Incredibly, employees’ leaves in the organisation were solely approved by the CEO and not line managers. There were times when leaves were approved after periods requested by employees had expired. The new CEO decided to change this procedure and revert the mandate for leave approval to line managers.

When you have an organisation where even the mundane task of leave approval cannot be delegated to line managers, how can innovative thinking be inculcated in the team for the benefit of the organisation? Organisations where every decision is made at the very top end up demoralising employees.

These are the type of organisations where CEOs tend to monopolise management meetings and lock out potentially useful ideas and contributions from other members of the management. When a progressive CEO happens to join such an organisation, they usually find it difficult to get ideas from other members of the team due to the perception that any idea that contradicts the CEO’s position amounts to insubordination. Such an environment stifles development.

It is counterproductive to build a culture where even sharing knowledge among members of the same department is frowned upon. The thinking is that when one shares knowledge then they will end up being replaced by the person they have shared knowledge with. Individuals hoard information and refuse to share it with others.  It is a culture of individualism, which is harmful to the organisation in the long run.

My own style of management has always been that when there is any decision involving any department, I had to call the head of the department for discussions before we agree on the way forward. For example, the CEO is not expected to recruit subordinates in any department without consulting the head of that particular department.

I recall a certain organisation where we recruited the head of the business department. Before she joined, I discussed with her the composition of her team and when I had an idea of good people to be included in her team, I had to engage her. This was also the case with other departments.

I learnt from a head of department that members of her team were being replaced without her being consulted. Not surprisingly, she was later blamed when her team underperformed. She proposed and had discussions with the CEO regarding the changes she wanted in her team, but her views were ignored. In such a scenario, how can the CEO blame the head of a department for poor performance?

During my time in corporate leadership I used to discuss and agree with heads of HR departments that they should not make any personnel changes without consulting the individual line managers. It is expected that all those in managerial positions are conversant with the strategy of the organisation and the decisions they make are in line with the achievement of the major objective of an organisation.

In the next part of this series I will dwell more on the importance of promoting collaboration through building trust, empowerment and engagement. I will cite my own experience in the education sector and banking industry.

Dr Muhsin Salim Masoud is a seasoned banker and academic, who has also served as managing director of the People’s Bank of Zanzibar and Amana Bank. [email protected]