Leaders: Get Your Work done! *by Dr. Ollie Malone

Author’s note: With this blog, I celebrate the life and work of Dr. Edwin C. Nevis, former president of the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland (1960-1971), professor at the Sloan School of M.I.T. and author of the book, Organizational Consulting: A Gestalt Approach and a dear Gestalt guru of mine. Although both Edwin and his wife, Sonya, also a brilliant thinker and teacher, are no longer with us, their words remain with us and continue to instruct us.

Ed Nevis was legendary around the Institute. His history with the Institute went back decades—to shortly after Fritz Pearls and others graced Cleveland and began the process of shaping the thinking of countless individuals regarding ways of thinking about people, organizations and the dynamics of organizations from a Gestalt perspective.

Ed was legendary. He was not a particularly warm fellow, as I remember him, but I never had a question about his commitment to make organizations (and the people who occupy them) better.

One phrase for which Ed was known among those of us who studied organizational dynamics from Gestalt perspective with him was his constant (and emphatic) use of the phrase, “DO UNITS OF WORK!” I can still see him exhorting us with that phrase and not cracking a smile. The man was serious.

When Ed first mentioned that phrase to the group of hungry learners of which I was a part, I had no honest clue what he meant. What the heck was a “unit of work?” And why was this man so insistent that we “do” them?

The more Ed spoke, however, the more I was inclined to join the “Amen” corner. From a Gestalt perspective, closure is highly important. Think about the tragic cases of family members who have a major falling out and suddenly one of the members of the disagreement passes away. Think about the last argument that you had with a spouse, a friend, or a relative that remains unfinished and how often that “unfinished business” becomes a major focus of time and energy. How many hours do you believe individuals spend in therapy because of this “unfinished business.” Trust me when I say, “LOTS!”

Thinking about this “unfinished business” from an organizational perspective, allow me to take you for a stroll down memory lane regarding some of the “greatest hits” of unfinished business in corporate life:

• Customer Service Excellence

• DE&I

• DEI&B

• Employee Engagement

• MBO (not to be confused with HBO)

• Quality Circles

• Working from home

This list could go on with countless other entries, but I believe you get the point. Over the course of my years working in and with organizations, I am struck by the number of brilliant initiatives that ultimately end on the ash-heap along with other brilliant initiatives.

And these initiatives are not given even a heathen’s funeral. They just die (perhaps of exhaustion), and leave their enthusiasts holding the bag (and more than a little embarrassed to do so).

This is not to say that all those initiatives should still be taking organizations’ time and energy. It IS to say that these organizations needed CLOSURE and, in most organizations, and in most instances, they never receive such closure.

Think of the annual employee survey that is conducted in many organizations. Much time, energy, and money is invested in figuring out what is on employees’ minds. Surveys are distributed, either electronically, or through the sacrifice of countless trees’ lives. Staffs are engaged or contracted, executives meet, ponder and the results are provided. Often those results generate another level of engagement on the level of “And what the heck should we do with THIS?” The all-too-frequent outcome is a huge pile of nothing: no decisions, no impact, no results.

Nevis’ notion was that an effective “unit of work” has a beginning, a middle, and an ending. Simple enough, huh? But how often do our grand initiatives have NO ending? They just seem to evaporate into the ether, only to be replaced by the next urgent issue. As Sonny and Cher would say, “The Beat Goes On…”

In reflecting on the anemic efforts identified earlier, I am struck by the fact that several things become true in many organizations:

1. Many initiatives begin enthusiastically and fizzle out at the end.

2. The end may be hardly noticeable. People simply stop talking about the things that once consumed a ton of time and energy.

3. Those who raise questions about the issue that once was are met with scornful glances but are not given a rationale for these premature deaths.

4. The people who may have led these efforts often slink into obscurity—often leaving the organization and heading somewhere where the initiative may still be alive.

5. Employees condition themselves to NOT take management direction seriously. The oft-used phrase, “This, too, shall pass” is spoken outwardly or mumbled under one’s breath.

6. Whatever could have been learned about the failed initiative is not learned because the issue is simply no long addressed.

7. Organizations are frequently anesthetized by the latest, newest initiative and it is often DOA before it is fully announced.

Although this indifference is easily placed at the feet of “organizational culture,” it does not have to be this way. Leaders at all levels need to hear the words of Dr. Ed Nevis, “DO UNITS OF WORK.” Ensure your work has a proper beginning, a middle that provides status and ongoing efforts, and proper and complete closure (also known as “The End”).

Recapture the energy that leaves your teams, work groups, and organizations powerless. DO UNITS OF WORK.

Thanks, Ed.

*About the author: Dr. Ollie Malone is President and Principal Consultant of Olive Tree Associates, a Texas-based consulting firm that he founded in 1993 (after graduating from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland). He is also a member of the faculty of the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland and its Gestalt Institute Leader Development (GILD) program. His clients have included Walmart, Shell, Boeing, Arizona State University, the University of South Carolina, and State Farm Insurance. He holds a doctorate in Adult Development and Learning, a second doctorate in Transformational Leadership, a master’s degree in business administration, a second master’s in hearing and speech, and a bachelor’s degree in communication.