The Management Theory Toolbox
Imagine boldly navigating the complex world of management with a broad range of management theories at your disposal. The Management Theory Toolbox promises you a mind-expanding experience. Prepare to think, rethink, and discover the theory that underlies management practices.
This isn't your typical management podcast. Yes, there are plenty of resources out there that will give you the ABCs of how to run a meeting, hire someone, or even how to fake a sick day without getting caught, but here we like to talk about the behind-the-scenes topics, those concepts and ideas which transcend specific management practices, the ideas which give birth to good management and business practices, rather than simply restate them. We aren’t going to give you specific tips and tricks for becoming an effective manager. Here at The Management Theory Toolbox, we’re interested in the why behind it all, the discoveries of behavioral science, psychology, business, and economics that will open our eyes to what’s happening behind the scenes.
If you're a manager, team leader, aspiring entrepreneur, business student or simply someone toying around with the idea of starting a business and you’re interested in a scientifically rooted discussion of management and business, one which systematically discusses the ideas behind the specific practices you’ve probably already heard a lot about, then this podcast is for you. One thing you’ll be able to count on in this podcast is that every statement is supported by research, and you’ll be able to download the show notes for each episode to find links and references to the source material for everything taught in each episode.
The Management Theory Toolbox
Episode 4: Organizational Behavior—Unlocking Workplace Dynamics with Ryan McCreedy
Ever wondered about the invisible threads that weave together the fabric of an organization? Today, we unravel those threads, traversing the labyrinth of Organizational Behavior (OB). Our journey maps out the bustling marketplace model, which aptly portrays an organization's vibrant dynamics, showcasing a myriad of roles and personalities that foster its spirited energy. We also delve into the three entwined strata of OB, namely individual, interpersonal, and organizational, decoding their impact on the structure, culture, and performance of an organization.
What's more? We're also joined by neuroscience maestro, Ryan McCreedy. Ryan brings his expertise on the table, illuminating the intricate interplay between the psychological and neuroscientific aspects of OB. The conversation takes a fascinating turn as we discuss topics ranging from the role of network density to the growing mental complexity of AI. Wrapping up our session, we dissect the success of Cirque du Soleil, attributing it to their innovative, risk-taking, communicative, and collaborative organizational culture. Tune in for an enlightening exploration of the world of OB and its transformative imprint on modern organizations.
Ryan T. W. McCreedy [Guest], is a Leadership and Organizational Psychology scholar-practitioner based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, dedicated to creating inclusive, equitable workforces and economic systems. He works as a Principal Organizational Effectiveness Consultant at Slalom Consulting in Boston, focusing on talent and organizational development for Fortune 100 clients, and leads Slalom's global Leadership and Team Development capabilities. With a background in engineering and behavioral sciences, Ryan has contributed to transformative changes in various industries. He also engages in organizational behavior research and helps teach graduate courses at Harvard. Ryan holds several degrees, including a B.S. from George Mason University, an A.L.M from Harvard Extension School, and is pursuing a doctoral degree at William James College focusing in applications of neuroscience in workplaces. Beyond his professional life, he enjoys brewing beer, cooking, music, philosophical discussions, and traveling with his wife Hannah.
Travis C. Mallett [Host], received the Masters of Liberal Arts (ALM) in Management from Harvard University Extension School, where he has also earned Professional Graduate Certificates in both Organizational Behavior and Strategic Management. Travis previously received undergraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering, General Mathematics, and Music from Washington State University. He also served as an Engineering Manager at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, where he led a team responsible for developing and maintaining SEL's highest-selling product line. An innovative force in engineering, Travis holds numerous patents and has authored papers and books across diverse subjects. His passion for continuous learning and organizational excellence propels him to explore and illuminate the intricacies of management theories. Through his podcast, "The Management Theory Toolbox", he offers valuable insights on effective leadership, business innovation, and strategic methodologies.
Want to dive in even deeper? Visit the full show notes for this episode.
And so if we had enhanced connection, we actually get more cross-functional collaboration, which then allows us to come up with well, I have this piece of the bubble, I have this random piece of puzzle what if we MacGyver and put the two together, that might just be the big thing coming off, the big challenge that we're facing right now, and happen without connection.
Travis Mallett:Welcome back to the Management Theory Toolbox, where we systematically work our way through modern management theory concepts and continually add to our management toolbox. I'm your host, travis Mallett, and today we're diving head first into one of the foundational fields of management theory the realm of organizational behavior, or OB for short. So what exactly is organizational behavior? The definition is pretty simple An organizational behavior is the study of how individuals and groups behave and interact within an organization. That's it Done. I'll say that again. It's the study of how individuals and groups behave and interact within an organization. But you might think that this is an extremely broad definition. It's kind of like asking a physicist what is physics, only to get the typical grandiose response Physics is the study of everything, or at least everything in physical existence. Well, okay, thanks, but what does that actually mean? Are there any limitations to your field of study? Where does physics end and chemistry begin, and how do you break down such a broad field of study into manageable chunks? We'll find that organizational behavior is similarly difficult to nail down, define and delineate clear boundaries. So with that, let's start developing an understanding of what organizational behavior is.
Travis Mallett:Picture, if you will, an organization as a vibrant marketplace Not just any marketplace but a sprawling bazaar brimming with life and a colorful patchwork of stalls. Each stall represents a different team within the organization. These could be sales, marketing, hr, customer service you name it and each stall has a unique role, serving different purposes and catering to varied clientele. Now visualize the sellers of these stalls. They're the employees of the organization. Each seller comes with a unique skill set, personality and approach. Some may be outgoing and charismatic, enticing customers with their energy. Others might be more reserved but highly meticulous, ensuring every product or service is presented flawlessly. The diversity of these sellers brings a dynamic energy to the marketplace, mirroring the vast array of talent within an organization. Moving on, let's think about the customers in our bustling bazaar. They could be internal customers, such as other departments needing assistance, or they could be external customers who purchase the organization's products or services. Their experience with the sellers, the atmosphere of the marketplace and the quality of the goods they purchase all impact their perception and, in turn, their loyalty. Now, in our grand marketplace, the products or services sold at the stalls symbolize the output of the organization. They could be anything from crafted goods to innovative software solutions. Their quality, innovation and relevance to the customer's needs can make or break the reputation of the marketplace.
Travis Mallett:The crucial element here is the behavior, interactions and attitudes of the sellers. This is where organizational behavior, or OB, comes into play. Ob is like the unseen force that influences how sellers interact with customers and each other, their morale and their performance. For instance, if a seller is unmotivated, it could impact the customer experience and the sales at the stall. On the other hand, a motivated and well-supported seller might create a lively atmosphere and boost sales. Ob seeks to understand these interactions, the effects of the organization's structure and culture on its employees, and optimize them. The more we understand these unseen forces, the more tools we add to our management toolbox and the better we'll be able to recognize the forces in our workplace, both in real time and as we imagine and visualize the future and the consequences of our strategic plans, management tactics and structural decisions.
Travis Mallett:Although many textbooks on OB break down the concepts into a multitude of different topics, one way to understand the study of OB involves looking at three intertwined levels individual, interpersonal and organizational. At the individual level, we look at factors like one's ability to learn, personality traits, motivation and personal attitudes. These characteristics shape how an individual performs within the organization. Moving on to the second level, the interpersonal level, we focus on elements such as quality of leadership, communication within and between groups and conflict management. These elements are vital because they determine how individuals collaborate and interact within the organization, directly influencing the overall team dynamics. For instance, pixar Animation Studios has created a culture known for fostering collaboration and open communication. They have a ritual called dailies, where animators come together every day to review and provide constructive feedback on ongoing work. This open and honest communication, coupled with strong leadership, helps harness the individual talents towards a collective goal, enhancing the company's creative output, and it's an example of a management technique that would be studied at the interpersonal level in organizational behavior. Finally, at the organizational level, the structure and culture of the organization play a crucial role. These factors create the environment that allows individuals and teams to flourish or, conversely, can hinder their progress.
Travis Mallett:Think about the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil. You might think wait, isn't that a circus? How does that relate to organizational behavior? And you're right. It is a circus, but not just any circus. It's a modern-day global phenomenon that has completely transformed the traditional concept of a circus, and it offers us a fascinating case study for organizational behavior. Let's consider how it functions. It's not just a group of performers, it's an organization that involves a multitude of teams performers, directors, designers, technicians, marketers and more. Each team plays a vital role in creating the mesmerizing performances that Cirque du Soleil is famous for. Cirque du Soleil thrives because it has built an organizational culture that encourages innovation and risk-taking. This is embodied in every awe-inspiring acrobatic act that pushes the boundaries of human ability and in every unconventional performance that mixes traditional circus arts with theater, dance and music. But it's not just about the spectacular shows Behind the scenes, cirque du Soleil emphasizes the importance of communication and collaboration.
Travis Mallett:Given the high-risk nature of the performances, trust and open communication channels are paramount. The organization has a flat hierarchy which fosters a culture of respect and openness, where everyone's input is valued. Moreover, cirque du Soleil prioritizes employee well-being and satisfaction. During the physically demanding nature of the performances, the organization ensures performers are well cared for with the provision of world-class training facilities, physiotherapy and nutrition guidance. This attention to employee welfare not only ensures their health, but also fosters a strong sense of loyalty and belonging. Cirque du Soleil, with its unique approach, demonstrates that focusing on organizational culture, open communication and employee well-being can create an environment that fosters creativity, productivity and satisfaction. It's an unusual but brilliant example of how the third level of organizational behavior plays out in a non-traditional business setting. We'll probably revisit Cirque du Soleil in a future episode when we talk about strategic management and the Blue Ocean strategy, because it offers a stellar example of differentiation and value creation. But for now, the key point is that the third level of OB, the organizational level, plays a key role in understanding and optimizing the performance and in turn, the outcomes and success of an organization.
Travis Mallett:If you've been with us on this enlightening journey, you'll know we always dig deeper than the surface narrative. We don't just skim through the textbook definitions. Sure, it's true that organizational behavior refers to the conduct of individuals and teams within organizations, and yes, it's generally categorized into three levels individual, interpersonal and organizational. But isn't it curious how seamlessly it all fits? After all, organizations aren't just static entities, they're pulsating human systems, often eluding such neat categorizations.
Travis Mallett:Remember our discussion in episode two. We likened organizations to neural networks, suggesting they are expansive reflections of our own minds. And this raises a tantalizing question Do the three levels of organizational behavior echo some intrinsic aspects of our brains? To unravel this intricate web, we have our neuroscience expert, ryan McCready, joining us once again. Ryan is a principal organizational effectiveness consultant, a teaching fellow at Harvard University and a doctoral candidate at William James College, currently studying how neuroscience is informing leadership and organizational behavior, to examine what is known about brain functions and the nervous system and applying this to leadership and organizational contexts.
Travis Mallett:Welcome to the show, ryan Travis. Thanks for having me back again. It's my pleasure. So we talked with you in a previous episode about how organizations are not just generic living systems, but they instead exhibit mechanisms and behaviors quite similar to neural network, and this suggests that perhaps the traditional way of dividing up OB into three distinct levels doesn't capture the true complexity going on. What are some of the messy interactions in psychology and neuroscience that might relate to the complex interactions between the three levels of OB?
Ryan McCreedy:Oh my goodness, I'm so glad you asked that question. This is what wakes me up in the morning. A lot of folks think that if you get people to act differently, like try a new behavior out, or if you force a behavior on them, that then it will stick. That's not quite the case. So if anybody has gone through any sort of training where they're supposed to act out or walk the steps out but they didn't really understand the why, understand the implication, they're far more likely to fall back to their old ways of behaving. The traditional thing is like Pavlov's dogs Every single time you feed them, you ring a bell and then, if you ring the bell, they are not validating. Sure, there's some truth to that, but they don't know the why.
Ryan McCreedy:When you get to organizational psychology, it gets to a deeper level where you're trying to affect the deep affective level, the belief system of an individual. In organizational development there's first loop and second loop and third loop, learning. The first loop is the behavior. You're a Roomba. You hit a wall, you come back. You hit the wall a little bit to the left. You come back. You hit the wall, We'll look further down to the left. That's behaviorism. You hit the psychology and you get to the belief system, it's the Roomba that gets to question like okay, why am I hitting walls at all? I understand that I should stop hitting walls. That's what we're getting to there.
Ryan McCreedy:The neurophysiological part is interesting because we're finding a lot of data that show that physiological states are precursors to mental states. We used to think when I'm anxious, my stomach gets upset. It's a bit of a feedback system. It's a two-way street. If your stomach gets a little upset or something that's totally unrelated to what's happening at the moment, your mind actually creates a narrative. So we're back at the psychological state to meet that it says well, I was going to worry about that meeting coming up. No, in reality you hit like a slightly bad piece of tuna. Now you have a really bad aspect on the situation that you created because it has been paired with that so much wired together.
Ryan McCreedy:Wired together is what we say in neuroscience. All that to say, if you cascade and you look at all of those and you're working at all of them at the same time, it can be really impactful. Chris Argerist is a very prominent theorist in organizational development and organizational behavior, and one of the things that he used to say is that we would act our way into thinking new things and we think new ways into acting. Basically, it's a cycle Think ourselves into new ways of acting and act our way into new ways of thinking. It's a constant feedback We've been through. Not hitting both at the same time, You're probably not pushing people down to the development path.
Travis Mallett:That's very interesting. In a way, it seems like there is such tight coupling between the various systems in our bodies and brains that it sometimes doesn't seem useful to artificially subdivide them into different units, and I imagine something similar is the case with organizations. Can you say a bit about that?
Ryan McCreedy:The organization mirrors the level of complexity of all the connections of its individual people. It's kind of like a giant woven blanket. It's a giant network. That's how I always think of organizations. I don't think of them as charts, I think of them as networks and the behavior of one part of the network could have ripple effects down the rest of the network. It could go up, it could go down, it could go sideways. It's not as hierarchical as I think we sometimes like to think. Informal leaders exist as the largest hubs, the largest spokes in that network, the person that has the most connections. What's interesting is sometimes that's like an executive assistant and that person actually has the most connection and the most informal leadership, the most impacts to changing the organizational system because of the number of connections that they have.
Travis Mallett:Okay, so just to keep everything straight here, there are lots of complex interactions between various systems in our bodies and minds, and organizations seem to mirror that complexity. Now you brought up single, double and triple loop learning in individual psychology. Do organizations, because they have all these connections and feedback loops, also exhibit similar behavior?
Ryan McCreedy:Yeah, so organizations are so cool? Because there's concepts called complex adaptive systems. Like you were just saying, there's tons of connections, tons of feedback loops. Entity in a system is basically a function of the number of connections that there are. When you look at organizational learning and you look at those feedback loops, the normal amount of connections within the organization is very few per individual. There's less opportunity for those changes in learning to happen across the organization. They call it network density when you look at it as an organizational network.
Ryan McCreedy:But if there's less connections per individual ie a lot of silo culture then what happens in one place will likely not transcend in the other place. It's going to be very difficult for that to happen In today's business. That's the problem, because adaptive systems are highly connected systems and adaptive systems are able to look at what's happening externally and react to it in probably ways that there's not a technical solution for yet. And so if we had an enhanced connection, we actually get more cross functional collaboration, which then allows us to come up with well, I have this piece of the puzzle. Well, I have this random piece of puzzle. What if we MacGyver and put the two together? That might just be the big thing to unlock the big challenge that we're facing right now and happen without connection. And so, at any rate, what we see in organizations is that single loop learning where organizations say we have the best idea, we don't care what anybody else says, they hit a wall, or they're extremely successful, just want us right, they will hit wonders. Okay, good for them, but they don't ever change their culture or anything else.
Ryan McCreedy:Like that Second loop learning. They change their culture, they change their belief system, their underlying beliefs that's what definition of culture really is In order to meet the need of the current moment. That's always happening. And then there's technically like third loop, and that third loop is saying what are the societal things that we need to change, or the disparate social systems that we need to connect or make a new thing? And to me that's almost like blue ocean types of change. We're beyond culture now. We're saying we're going to change into a space that doesn't even exist socially yet. It's completely bewildering and that's more ethereal and philosophical. Why are we then changing the first place? To break that down simply organizations in the first loop. Am I building it right? Whatever they're doing, am I building, am I doing, am I delivering the value right, the next loop, second loop, more culturally able to be agile organizations. Am I comfortable enough to say this isn't the right thing? It doesn't matter about the quality if it's not meeting the need right. And then next level is why are we doing any of this? Is this even the right industry? Is this even the right play? It's way beyond that. Who gets to decide what is right is actually the question that they ask.
Ryan McCreedy:Personally, I'm interested to understand how levels and orders of mental complexity relate to neural networks in the brain, and is that inability or is it something that can be formed? The jury's out on that. I want to be extremely clear on something that's really fascinating. Right now, 56% of adults based on studies, approximately 56% of adults are currently in the socialized level of mental complexity or below which. That level of complexity is almost the same as what generative AI can do. It goes back to that single loop or double loop or triple loop learning. They're in that single loop, and so there's a really interesting problem set in front of us where, if it's an ability saying, there's a possibility that AI is currently creeping towards the same level of mental complexity as 56% of working adults. That's a huge issue. What do we do with that? No clue, no idea.
Travis Mallett:Wow, this was fascinating. Thanks again for joining us. It always seems like a fire hose of information when we talk about this stuff.
Ryan McCreedy:Thank you so much that pleasure.
Travis Mallett:So there you have it. What is organizational behavior? The basic definition is pretty simple it encompasses the actions of individuals and groups in an organizational context. But, as we discussed, this is a very large and unwieldy field of study which overlaps with a number of other fields. Not only that, but the topics of study within OB typically overlap and interrelate within the field of OB in complex ways, making this a challenging, complex, messy field of study full of opportunities for discovery. While some instructional texts on organizational behavior dissect the subject into these three distinct layers, beginning with individual analysis, progressing to leadership and groups and finally encapsulating the abstract, large-scale studies of the organization as a whole will be taking a topical approach. This is primarily due to the sheer magnitude of interaction and interdependence that exists between each layer and across multiple subject areas. Let's take an example to illustrate this.
Travis Mallett:Consider an organization that promotes a culture of work-life balance. This cultural value directly influences the employees' lifestyles, encouraging them to strike a balance between their work and personal lives. Employees in such organizations are likely to be less stressed, healthier and more satisfied with their jobs. Now, this collective well-being of employees can reflect positively on the organization's reputation. The organization becomes known as a great place to work, which makes it attractive to potential employees. A better reputation allows the organization to attract and retain high-quality talent, thus enhancing its competitive advantage. But the ripple doesn't stop there. The influx of high-quality talent can spur innovation, enhance the organization's performance and even influence structure and strategic direction. This, in turn, can further reinforce the culture of work-life balance by creating an environment where employees feel valued, leading to a cycle that continually enhances organizational behavior.
Travis Mallett:So organizational behavior is like a complex, intricate tapestry. Each thread is interconnected, and pulling on one causes the entire pattern to shift. That's why it's important to approach the subject from various angles, depending on the specific issues at hand. It's virtually impossible to track all these threads concurrently, but by focusing on different topics, adding each to our management theory toolbox, we can gain a better understanding of the whole, and that's why we'll treat this subject topically. We'll talk about diversity, learning and perception, motivation, stress and well-being, leadership, communication, decision-making groups and teams, conflict and negotiation, organizational structure, culture and more. In one way or another, each of these topics will be examined across all three levels of OB. Stay tuned for our next episode. As always, each episode is based on the latest and most robust management theory. Check out the show notes, which contain citations, references and links to the source material for every management theory concept in the episode. Until then, keep exploring, keep learning and keep building your management theory toolbox.
