OCD

Poll

Take a moment and think about the following diseases; depression, paranoia, schizophrenic, dramatic or compulsive. If you do not come up with an example, you could think about Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson in “As Good as it gets”): ... Melvin Udall ... suffering Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD. We all have concerns and routines or particular ways in which we do certain things, like the times we eat or the routes we take to work or the way we fold our clothes. When these behaviours ritualistic, however, or thoughts become persistent and bothersome, we move into the realm of obsessive thinking and/or compulsive behaviour, strong indicators of OCD.

In analogy with human behavior, the style of an organization reflects the behavior of an organization. Examination of this style is not often necessary, but it could serve a function; for example in the case when the organization is to confront a new challenge. In that case a sketch or outline of the style could help to address the challenge with the following question; are we going to confront this challenge (change) in the same way we have always done, or will we invent a new approach.

Raising the question like might lead to a new question: “what is our approach anyhow?” Of course there is a more or less accepted approach in the way things “are done here”, but it is not easy to describe this.

A next question could also help. Is our style at least alright, or does the style of our organization resembles some kind of a mental disease? It is not the first thing to ask, but it helps the diagnosis. And organizations are just like humans; they visit a psychologist (only) after something has happened, or when something is going ‘wrong’.

Interesting in this context is an inventory of dysfunctional styles that represent the unhealthy mental state of the leader of the organization. These styles has been described by Kets de Vries in - The Neurotic Organization: Diagnosing and Changing Counterproductive Styles of Management The five organizational styles that are described in the book are: paranoia, compulsive, dramatic, depressive and schizophrenic.

In “As good as it gets,” it was Carol who “cured” Melvin. But in real life, an organization can not be cured in the same way. But to understand the dynamics of an organization the five dysfunctional styles can help to analyze the behavior of an organization. This is perhaps not necessary under normal circumstances, but it could become appropriate when you sense an unhealthy organizational climate...

© 2006 Hans Bool

Hans Bool is the founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management tools. Have a look at some of our free management tools