Search This Blog

Monday, October 5, 2009

Fundamental Cultures of Working

Tabaka lists four fundamental cultures of working
Command-and-Control— The leader is in charge and makes decisions for the team to ensure tight authority and responsibility.

Competence— The team or project relies on the expert capabilities of the few to bring about success for the whole.

Collaboration— Decisions are consensus-driven, and the team works in partnership toward success.

Cultivating— Establishing personal and professional improvement for each team member is paramount.


The book mentions that some of the downsides of command and control are that the success of the project rests solely on the shoulders of the manager. In addition this culture ruins morale and reduces motivation and creativity.

Since I assumed the manager role on my team, I have had a couple people tell me that I need to take on more of a command and control approach. I am not sure yet that I want to do that. I am interested in reading more about these other approaches. I am glad I picked this book.

I will add some more comments about the other cultures next time.

No comments:

Post a Comment