Charles Handy
We come to work everyday and perform all the various tasks and duties which make up our jobs and our careers. Hopefully after last week you’ll be thinking more mindfully about your jobs and may have shaken out of those mindless tendencies that we inevitably give in to when our work can seem a bit repetitive sometimes. Perhaps it was mindful thinking that made Maureen bring together our small team from around the UK to the garden of our Haywards Heath hub and discuss our job descriptions in the April sun…
I remember when I first started at Cullen Scholefield people would ask me what I did at my job and I would reply: “I’m a research assistant.” “But, what do you do?” they would persist and that’s when I got stuck. What did I do? Even though I found plenty of things to keep me busy each day I didn’t know how to answer that question. How do I sum up my tasks with a nice all encompassing description? I have since worked this out and have a ready answer for my curious friends, but back then I was stumped.
Our Cullen Scholefield job descriptions seemed to have the same dilemma. We pulled them out and dusted them off, to find that they were a mix of minute tasks, people specifications and abstract objectives. Most importantly though, they were out of date and were definitely in need of some TLC.
Shamrock Organisation
So, on Tuesday this week whilst the sun was shining and tea was flowing, we sat down in the garden and discussed what kind of organisation we were. We looked at the theories of Charles Handy, a prominent management guru whose publications spanned the 80s and 90s. He introduced concepts such as the Shamrock Organisation, the Doughnut principle and the Intelligent Organisation. As Maureen explained to us the dynamics of the Shamrock Organisation, we realised that Cullen Scholefield is a good example of this set-up. We have three types of workers all operating simultaneously:
- The core team working from the Haywards Heath admin hub
- The associates working remotely from around the UK
- The various experts who handle our outsourced business functions (read more about how this is the way of the future here)
After educating us about the visionary Charles Handy, Maureen then gave us a task rather similar to one you might find on an episode of The Apprentice. We were split into groups with the aim of coming up with and writing new job descriptions. We were then to report back and present to the team as a whole. Lucky for us, the Apprentice similarity ended there and none of us were fired!
The CS Team discusses job descriptions
On returning, it was interesting to note that both teams came up with the same solution which fitted well into Charles Handy’s Doughnut Principle. In this concept, the job description is a list of defined tasks which sit in the centre hole of the American doughnut and then the sugary ring would encompass the initiative, creativity and responsibilities that spring from those defined roles. From this, we were able to:
- Define all the roles that our team members undertake
- Determine where the responsibilities lie
- Develop an agreed culture which Cullen Scholefield employees will operate within which gives us room to express creativity.
As a result, we were able to bring together the three elements of our Shamrock Organisation: the core team, the associates and the outsourced experts, and bring us all to the same level of understanding about how the organisation works. It is funny how taking a break and talking about your job instead of doing it can bring a whole new sense of clarity you wouldn’t believe.
The Doughnut Principle
This brings us back again to the ideas of a DREAM Organisation. In the last two days Cullen Scholefield has addressed the Radical Honesty, Authenticity and Meaning aspects necessary to become a DREAM Organisation and it is our commitment to adopting these behaviours and processes which ensures that we remain an Investors in People Gold Organisation.