Command-and-control model limits results

It doesn’t take a brain consultant to see that command and control was incepted for military engagement, not complex business relationships where fulfillment and performance are interdependent.

Many factors in the past two decades have made it virtually impossible to maintain a command-and-control management style. Among them are global competition, immediate access to information and the disintegration of loyalty between employee and employer. At least, that’s the most popular explanation.

There is another factor that has been largely ignored by the business gurus. I believe that a significant factor in the breakdown of command and control has been the entrance, en masse, of women into work-force management and other professional positions.

A male executive-friend, who shall remain nameless, said, “Commanding and controlling women is like trying to herd cats.”

You are chuckling because it rings true!

While bouncing around the Internet, I stumbled upon a paper, “Understanding the Differences between Men and Women” by clinical and medical psychologist Dr. Michael G. Connor of Oregon Counseling. He unwittingly speaks to the inception of the command-and-control model. He explains why women don’t and won’t succeed in it and why their very presence challenges it.

He says about problem-solving, “Some of the more important differences can be illustrated by observing groups of young teenage boys and groups of young teenage girls when they attempt to find their way out of a maze.

“A group of boys generally establish a hierarchy or chain of command with a leader who emerges on his own or through demonstrations of ability and power. Boys explore the maze using scouts while remaining in distant proximity to each other. Groups of girls tend to explore the maze together as a group without establishing a clear or dominant leader.”

For me, this puts our patriarchal society in perspective. If a system is built based upon the strengths of only one sex (and race), then all systems will be built for the fruition of a limited set of human capabilities. This reinforces why appreciating diversity is fundamental to healthy social functioning for today and the future.

Also pertinent to our current and evolving business environment is how men and women think differently. Connor states, “While men and women can reach similar conclusions and make similar decisions, the process they use can be quite different and, in some cases, can lead to entirely different outcomes. In general, men and women consider and process information differently.

“Women tend to be intuitive global thinkers. They consider multiple sources of information within a process that can be described as simultaneous, global in perspective and will view elements in the task in terms of their interconnectedness. Women come to understand and consider problems all at once.”

The downside, according to Connor, is that, “Women are prone to become overwhelmed with complexities that exist, or may exist, and may have difficulty separating their personal experience from problems.”

About men, Connor says, “Men tend to focus on one problem at a time or a limited number of problems at a time. They have an enhanced ability to separate themselves from problems and minimize the complexity that may exist. Men come to understand and consider problems one piece at a time.”

The downside is that, “Men are prone to minimize and fail to appreciate subtleties that can be crucial to successful solutions. A male may work through a problem repeatedly, talking about the same thing over and over, rather than trying to address the problem all at once.”

My point is not that one sex is better than another for our business environment. I think it’s obvious that we need both ways of problem-solving and thinking to deal with business challenges.

It’s true that in a male system, men have a distinct advantage, but the worst thing a woman can do for herself and others is to try to behave like a man to succeed in a bad system.

As command and control breaks down, women will become more valued for their ability to think in complex terms and act in groups. Women won’t be squeezed and squandered by one way of thinking and problem-solving.

My prediction is that men who succeed due to the “old boys’ network” will die out because they are missing half of the approaches and solutions available to them. To align with such a model today is like refusing to learn how to use e-mail. You might as well pack it in now.

Linda Bower is a speaker, executive coach and human performance improvement consultant in Rogersville.