Talking across the line
According to an article in the July 6th edition of the Air Force Times (available only behind a subscription firewall), the US Air Force has been fighting a long decline in the popularity of its on-base membership clubs for officers and enlisted airmen. The story notes a variety of factors leading to the decline, including fallout from the 1991 Tailhook scandal and an armed forces effort to de-emphasize alcohol consumption. But it also quotes a retired lieutenant colonel who says, "You don't see as many members of leadership inside the clubs anymore. That hurts. Before, you'd see the general heading to the club so you'd tell your wife: 'We're going to the club. We'll have a good time.' It was important."
Base clubs encouraged servicemembers to talk with one another, encouraging the cross-pollination of ideas among people who might branch out more in a social environment than they would normally do in the formal on-the-clock environment. It's no different for a civilian institution: It's easy for people to pigeonhole themselves into doing one kind of job, and talking only to the people who do related tasks. But too much individual myopia can lead the entire organization to forget what it does well and to fail to develop new innovations that would make it work better. Like Les Nessman and his imaginary walls of masking tape, people often voluntarily restrict their interactions at work with people who don't seem necessary to their tasks.
As the retired colonel notes, though, leaders understand that talking across those masking-tape lines makes the organization better and more resilient. They have to set the tone, though, whether it's going to the base club or hosting a company holiday party or just inviting employees out to lunch. Every institution needs conversation across those imaginary lines in order to preserve what it does well and to find new ways of doing things better.
Base clubs encouraged servicemembers to talk with one another, encouraging the cross-pollination of ideas among people who might branch out more in a social environment than they would normally do in the formal on-the-clock environment. It's no different for a civilian institution: It's easy for people to pigeonhole themselves into doing one kind of job, and talking only to the people who do related tasks. But too much individual myopia can lead the entire organization to forget what it does well and to fail to develop new innovations that would make it work better. Like Les Nessman and his imaginary walls of masking tape, people often voluntarily restrict their interactions at work with people who don't seem necessary to their tasks.
As the retired colonel notes, though, leaders understand that talking across those masking-tape lines makes the organization better and more resilient. They have to set the tone, though, whether it's going to the base club or hosting a company holiday party or just inviting employees out to lunch. Every institution needs conversation across those imaginary lines in order to preserve what it does well and to find new ways of doing things better.
