Shaun Coffey

July 10, 2020July 12, 2020

Narcissism: The good, the bad and the ugly

When self-confidence crosses a certain threshold it turns into narcissism. Here are some ideas on separating the “healthy” aspects of narcissism from the “unhealthy” ones.

Healthy	Unhealthy
Feels good about oneself, even if others criticise	Needs constant reinforcement from others to have a sense of wellbeing
Copes with life’s many setbacks, allthough may be thrown off balance for a short time	Reacts to the hurts and injuries of life with fits of depression or rage.
Feels confident about his or her own talent	Needs to feel superior to everyone else, and seeks out recognition for that superiority
May be stung by criticism, but the hurt soon passes	Incensed by criticism, and broods for long periods about it
Appreciates praise, but does not live for it	Has an insatiable craving for adulation; seeks compliments to feel momentarily good about oneself
Self-esteem is unfluctuating, even after rejection, disapproval, or personal attacks	Reacts to rejection, disapproval or attacks with bitter rage or deep depression
Does not believe he or she is entitled to special or favoured treatment	Feel entitled to special treatment because they are not ordinary
Is sensitive to the feelings of others	Is insensitive to what others need or feel
Open to the possibility of being wrong: welcomes dissenting views	Closed to other perspectives: surrounds self with “yes-people”

For useful resources see:

Confirmation Bias And the Power of Disconfirming Evidence Farnam Street

Narcissistic Personality Disorder Mayo Clinic

July 9, 2020

Ten ways to kill innovation

Do you want change in your organisation, but it is not happening? You could be the problem. Here are some sure ways to stop innovation.

Regard any new idea from below with suspicion – because it’s new, and because it’s from below
Insist that people who need your approval to act first go through several other levels of management of get their signatures.
Ask departments or individuals to challenge and criticize each other’s proposals. (That saves you the job of deciding: you just pick the survivor).
Express your criticisms freely, and withhold your praise. (That keeps people on their toes). Let them know they can be fired at any time.
Treat identification of problems as signs of failure, to discourage people from letting you know when something in their area isn’t working.
Control everything carefully. Make sure people count anything that can be counted, frequently .
Make decisions to reorganize or change policies in secret and spring them on people unexpectedly. (That also keeps people on their toes).
Make sure that requests for information are fully justified, and make sure that it is not given out to managers freely. (You don’t want data to fall into the wrong hands).
Assign to lower-level managers, in the name of delegation and participation, responsibility for figuring out how to cut back, lay off, move people around, or otherwise implement threatening decisions you have made. And get them to do it quickly.
And above all, never forget that you, the higher-ups, already know everything important about this business.

From: R. Moss Kanter, The Change Masters, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1983.

July 8, 2020

Chronic problems in organisations – community, business, government

When it comes to organisation of all types, there are some problems that seem to persist and persist and persist….

When I first started seriously studying management and leadership in the 1980s, people like Stephen Covey were in vogue. In 1990, he identified chronic problems in organisations. I don’t see much different today.

Take a look at this list, and ask yourself how well your organisation is doing and what you might do in your organisation differently.

July 7, 2020July 6, 2020

Tips on dealing with conflict

At some stage in our life we have to handle conflict. Within a team we can all help manage and resolve conflict among team members. The following are some useful actions you can take.

Check that the conflict is real. Ask those who disagree to paraphrase one another’s comments. This may help them learn if they really understand one another.
If real, try to work out a compromise. Get everyone to agree on the underlying source of conflict, then engage in give-and-take and finally agree on a solution.
Ask each member to list what the other side should do. Exchange lists, select a compromise all are willing to accept, and test the compromise to see if it meshes with team goals.
Have the sides each write 3 to 5 questions for their opponents. This will allow them to signal their major concerns about the other side’s position. And the answers may lead to a compromise.
Coach team members to see a need for compromise. They sometimes may have to admit they’re wrong. Help them save face by convincing them that changing a position may well show strength.
Respect the experts on the team. Give their opinions more weight when the conflict involves their expertise, but don’t rule out conflicting opinions. We all need to entertain the possibility of being wrong.