Asked how the leadership team would address this finding, the answer was "to put in place a better communication system via focus groups, leadership dialogue, briefings, leadership visits and newsletters". But it turned out that the people who felt that the leadership intent was unclear had not attempted to ask the leaders for clarification.
The leaders were then asked if their objective to ensure "leadership intent was clear among staff" would succeed by simply putting in place a better communication system. The leaders realised that they would not succeed until and unless those complaining were also interested in searching for solutions.
This is an example of a little-known problem at the heart of human sciences, and one of the costliest in most organizations: Most people feel that others cause problems, but refuse to consider that they are responsible too. Consequently, no one feels responsible, and individuals and organisations seem doomed to live with problems no one seems willing or able to solve.
Scholars call this the problem of "resistance or self-deception", and it devours organisational resources. For example, all the common "people problems" relating to leadership, communication, conflict resolution, team-building, morale, initiative, merging of organizational cultures, alignment, labour relations, trust, and so on, are manifestations of self-deception.
Attempts to solve the underlying problem have consistently failed. Understanding the enormity of the issue, scholars working at the deepest levels of human sciences have been searching for a solution to the "resistance or self-deception" problem for over a century. An international team of scholars has finally identified how "resistance or self-deception" happens, why people put up with it, and what to do about it.
Consider this: Most people do not realise or cannot begin to imagine the extent to which they are failing to focus on results, and the technologies required to attain higher levels of performance depend on the "resistance or self-deception" solution.
Simply put, without a systematic understanding of this problem and its concrete, practical implications, these higher levels remain, for the most part, beyond reach.
The solutions to the "resistance or self-deception" problem therefore offer a more effective approach to understanding oneself, the philosophy being that you are revealed most completely by how you think of others.
To grow human capital, the first step is to create a way of working and put in place tools and applications that enable individuals to look at themselves and see how they are contributing to problems and issues within the company. This approach would invite minimal resistance, compared to 360-degree type assessments where individuals are assessed by others.
One of the main advantages of this approach is that it creates a desire in leaders and other employees to take ownership and feel accountable for their contributions to the challenges they face in the workplace. This solution has profound implications for personal and organisational performance — implications that turn conventional wisdom on its head.Organisations therefore need to rethink their strategies. They need to explore tools and processes that they can put in place to enable individuals to look within themselves more and recognise their own contributions to some of the very issues they complain about.
