Thimbles & Care

I just received an email:

I just wanted to provide a friendly reminder that each staff member should have completed the Integrity Self-Assessment Tool B by Friday 2/28/20.

 

You manager will be scheduling team meetings with your respective teams to discuss the self-assessment process starting in early March.

 

Action Required:  We are asking each employee to complete the Integrity Self-Assessment Tool B prior to Friday 2/28.

 

Your results are private and do NOT need to be shared.  After this deadline has passed, managers will setup time with the team to debrief the survey PROCESS with you – and NOT the RESULTS.  You may share the results if you wish. Some questions that might be posed include “what was the experience like”, and “did you have any takeaways?”, “What did you like / not like about this activity”?

You may consider this post my “debriefing.” Let me say up front that I hope no one will take this personally, or consider it an attack on any individual or group. My intent is to criticize the ideas that inform this exercise, not people. I strongly believe that judging our fellow humans is wrong, but ideas are fair game.

I did not complete the tool. I consider the whole thing an insult and do not choose to be subjected to it. I do not believe the University has a right to require this of me or my coworkers.

The implication of this exercise is that the University would function better if lower-level employees improved their character. It comes across as an attempt to divert responsibility for deficiencies from those in leadership to those below them.

What should  those in leadership or management positions actually be doing to make the University function better? I’ve never held such a position, but this is what I expect of those who do:

• Determine direction and set priorities. What are we trying to accomplish? What is our strategic vision? How do our immediate tasks contribute to that vision? When two goals conflict, which one should be focused on first? Answering questions like these are an important part of leadership.
• Provide resources and remove or minimize obstacles. Make sure that equipment and teams and other things needed to accomplish the work are available. If something is preventing the work from being done, find out what needs to change so the work can move forward.
• Facilitate communication and coordinate tasks. If the vision and priorities are not known to those tasked with accomplishing them, the goals will not be reached. Similarly, if workers are unaware of the resources available they won’t be able to use them. In the other direction, leaders need to listen to determine whether people know and understand the goals and what obstacles are preventing their achievement. Often, faulty or absent communication is one of the principal obstacles.

Where does character come in? Well, those hiring new employees should try to ensure they are of sufficient character to perform their work. If a character deficiency is creating obstacles then management has an obligation to deal with it.

By all means let’s strive to have good character and work together to accomplish great things for the University, but these sorts of exercises will do more harm than good.