Command and Control

Traditionally, most organizations were/are run by men. As we are all very aware men and women have been designed very differently. Mens' basic design is for sex and killing - a natural instinct - it's an instinct steeped in the need for power and control. In most societies it is no longer acceptable for men to rape and plunder. So, how does this natural instinct manifest itself in today's society? Through the Command and Control model that we see in 94% of organizations around the world.

The Command and Control Model enables the people running organizations to meet their instinctive needs (even though) they may not recognise or admit to them. Look to any of the truly great High Performance Organizations (Southwest Airlines, Virgin, General Electric, Saturn Car Company, Johnsonville Foods, Colgate-Palmolive, The Body Shop) and you will see that their leaders are men and women who have been able to move away from the Command and Control model - who have successfully removed their egos and their need for Power and Control from the business.

They are people like Richard Branson and Herb Kelleher, who are more concerned about creating a winning team, a happy, cohesive successful team than about being "Right and in Control". These are hugely successful businessmen and women who are absolutely focused on the results of the business, but are able to do it in a very different way.

It is not about getting all mushy and soft - you will be demanding higher standards of excellence from yourself and those around you than you ever have, but it is about doing it in a way that enables people to be nothing but their best.

Below is a quote from Herb Kelleher the Chairman, President, and CEO of Southwestern Airlines. Fortune magazine named him "Perhaps the best CEO in America."

"A financial analyst once asked me if I was afraid of losing control of our organization. I told him I've never had control and I never wanted it.
If you create an environment where the people truly participate, you don't need control. They know what needs to be done, and they do it. And the more that people will devote themselves to your cause on a voluntary basis, a willing basis, the fewer hierarchs and control mechanisms you need.
We're not looking for blind obedience. We're looking for people who on their own initiative want to be doing what they're doing because they consider it to be a worthy objective. I have always believed that the best leader is the best server. And if you're a servant, by definition you're not controlling.
In an organization like ours, you're also likely to be a step behind the employees. The fact that I cannot possibly know everything that goes on in our operation -- and don't pretend to -- is a source of competitive advantage. The freedom, informality, and interplay that people enjoy allows them to act in the best interests of the company.
For instance, when our competitors began demanding tens of millions of dollars a year for us to use their travel agents' reservations systems, I said, forget it; we'll develop an electronic, ticketless system so travel agents won't have to hand-write Southwest tickets -- and we won't be held hostage to our competitors' distribution systems. It turned out that people from several departments had already gotten together, anticipated such a contingency, and begun work on a system, unbeknownst to me or the rest of our officers.

That kind of initiative is possible only when people know that our company's success rests with them, not with me." (Extracted from:Leader to Leader, No. 4 Spring 1997)

Your challenge is to decide if the traditional Command and Control model is serving you and your organization well. Are you truly optimistic when you awaken to a work day or do you feel the dread of another day of battle? The choice is yours. Stick with the Command and Control Model or try something new.

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