From the Company Handbook.
10 March 2008 - 4 אדר ב' 5768 by Huw
Day Three with the New Company, which I now now name: CPG Works. They are a headhunter company that sources jobs in the construction trades. You’ll hear me gush about them for a while, but this one passage (from our employee guide) should clearly describe what I most like about the place:
John’s philosophy comes from the book Flight of the Buffalo. In that it is talked about 2 ways to run a company. The first way being like a herd of buffalo. The lead buffalo is the strongest and takes the lead. However, the problem with this type of herd is that if the head buffalo is taken out of the herd, the herd doesn’t know what to do. The second way is similar to that of a flock of geese. There is not one leader. Every goose takes the lead and steps up to be a leader when it is necessary.
The way we choose to run our company in the 21st century, is through distributed leadership. Don’t wait for action; take it upon yourself to create it. Everyone should share a common goal. Trust comes from a set of agreed upon values. Leadership flows horizontally, not in a hierarchy.
My experience (after 3 days) is exactly that: in training I’ve spent time with everyone, learning parts of their jobs as well as more about the company. I’ve learned to do a lot of things in three days - from navigating our in-house network to writing with fluorescent markers on a black wipe board. I’ve also learned about great local food and helped provide hospitality to a seemingly never-ending stream of awesome people who come through the door or over the wires.
I feel this last is what I was training to do as a deacon at St Gregory of Nyssa Parish - this is my Food Pantry, Sara :-)
After decades in jobs where there was turf and petty power struggles caused by overt or covert structures of dominance, I wonder how this will play out. I have great hopes, though!
