Page 78 - The John Adair Handbook of Management and Leadership

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• clearly laid down procedures (red tape)
• proliferation of paperwork

• security of employment and advancement by seniority.

At the opposite end of the scale would be the flexible organisation
which is one:

• capable of responding to changing situations
• where barriers between staff in different areas are minimized

• with a flat rather than pyramid organisational structure
• where decision making is pushed downwards to where the
organisation meets its customers/suppliers
• with entrepreneurial flair present at all levels
• which can develop and test more than one solution to problems
encountered
• with efficient rather than stifling monitoring systems

• which has enough ‘discipline’ to get things done
• which balances freedom and order.

3 Tolerant of failure
Innovation and risk go hand in hand. Management which goes into
critical overdrive when mistakes occur (rather than analysing them
to learn from the failures) smothers creativity and innovation. Risks
can yield failure, but not taking risks can spell total disaster and an
end to profits and growth.

Unless failure results from negligence, recklessness or complete
incompetence, managers should not seek out scapegoats or exact
revenge. Profits are the reward for taking risks and innovative
organisations learn to live with risk.

68 The John Adair Handbook of Management and Leadership