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The Third Domain of Organizational Excellence: The People Side of Business
A number of years ago Lee Hersch and I began working to coalesce the consulting ideas we regularly share with business people. We found that as psychologist consultants there were “fundamental” notions we kept repeating through each consultation process.
We also realized that we were talking about the third domain of organizational excellence. Almost everyone we worked with was a specialist in business and in their unique product or trade. Few of those same business people had trained in how to effectively manage and lead the key component of their business – their people.
So, we have constructed a kind of psychological primer for business people. It contains what we believe to be the six essential psychological principles needed to manage and lead. The principles are based on the notion of accepting the way humans are designed and building systems that work with that design. People need to be nurtured, tend to work from a family-like perspective, and should be encouraged to develop and grow. They also need limits, guiding rules, and rewards – structure – to produce at peak performance. Utilizing these principles requires that one manage with a balance of support and structure. Finally, managers and leaders must appreciate that there are differences among people in how they respond to support and structure.
To convey the principles in context, and to provide a case vignette, we constructed an engaging story about a new CEO. He realizes that there are personnel problems in his organization and must learn the six principles to solve them. The book is filled with work characters you see every day in your workplace.
The book is now available through Amazon and other fine retailers.
Tom DeMaio, PhD
From Psychologist to Business Management Consultant
As a clinical psychologist turned business management consultant, taking the psychological vantage point into the workplace is a fun challenge. This is where the rubber meets the road; where I get to help leaders and business managers understand how their staff works, do team building and executive coaching.
One might think people are inscrutable, but they make lots of sense to me. Even their emotional states make sense. Through the years consulting I’ve been asked similar questions over and over again. Why do people act that way? Why don’t they just do what they’re asked? Do we need to be more supportive or do we need more rules?
These and other questions led me to believe that businessmen and women need a fundamental framework for understanding their people. Business leaders are trained in a technical field and/or in business management. They do not go to school for a degree in psychology.
But I did get the degree. That’s why my partner, Lee Hersch, and I set out to distill the key principles that every leader and manager should know. We came up with six principles. Now you can find them in our new book, The People Side of Business: Six Psychological Principles.
Given my training and because I hate boring lessons, we decided to write the book as a story that would help provide meaning and context for the six principles. So the book is written about a new CEO who has people problems in his business. He decides to understand the problems and learn the principles simultaneously. Creating the characters and storyline for the book was quite a challenge. I don’t write novels for a living. Interestingly, my joke for years has been that I have been watching/reading people novels 10 pages at a time through my clinical and consulting practice. Funny enough, they are quite realistic.
In my coming blogs, I’d like to share these key principles and the tips that derive from them. I will be interested in your reactions.
Tom DeMaio, PhD
Business Management Consultant Tips 