Beyond Management: Taking Charge at Work

Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 6
List of Figures......Page 11
Acknowledgments......Page 12
Talk about a revolution......Page 14
The story in outline......Page 19
Breakdowns large and small......Page 21
Systematic disorganization......Page 25
Going “inside” work......Page 28
Work from the top......Page 31
Work in practice......Page 33
Behind the breakdowns......Page 35
Organizing is full of life......Page 37
The two challenges......Page 39
A first-hand account......Page 42
Part 1: questions that keep coming up......Page 44
Part 2: how things actually work......Page 51
Part 3: structure in organizing......Page 55
Parallel universes at work......Page 64
Organizing practices: talk and tools......Page 71
Taking on the work of organizing......Page 73
What is knowledge-work?......Page 75
Picturing knowledge-work......Page 78
Network maps are traps......Page 80
Knowledge-work is social and in “the spaces in-between”......Page 83
Social spaces......Page 86
What is the work of organizing?......Page 90
The work of negotiating meaning......Page 93
The work of creating the work......Page 94
The work of building networks and negotiating boundaries......Page 99
The work of aligning (the “bottom line” of organizing)......Page 107
Management myopia......Page 111
Work practices that are missing in action......Page 113
The genie that turned ugly......Page 116
BPR at Jet Propulsion Labs......Page 117
Lay down those tools......Page 120
The work of reorganizing......Page 123
Agile methods and knowledge work......Page 126
“Scrum”: an agile method......Page 131
Caring about work......Page 133
Nursing practice: the work of caring......Page 135
Bringing back care......Page 136
The catch-22 of new practices......Page 138
Communities of practice......Page 141
Closing the divide between work and organizing......Page 149
Like being on a trapeze......Page 151
Talking the talk......Page 155
New language for new conversations......Page 159
What is your story?......Page 161
Aligning......Page 165
Three domains of conversations......Page 166
What to do with the framework......Page 169
Conversations for openness......Page 172
Conversations for commitments......Page 174
Conversations for accountability......Page 175
Keeping talk and tools separate......Page 181
We are still short of an answer to “how”......Page 183
Organizing moves from above......Page 184
Organizing moves from below: extricating yourself......Page 187
Change that pushes all the buttons......Page 192
Handling hierarchy......Page 193
The object is aligning......Page 195
From the dance floor and balcony......Page 198
Negotiating an end to apartheid......Page 199
Slow and steady or bold and brave......Page 200
Under the radar......Page 201
The IT cavalry to the rescue?......Page 203
Putting tools in the hands of users......Page 204
The importance of being present......Page 205
Casting around for partners......Page 206
Keeping an eye on your purpose......Page 207
Encourage active participation......Page 209
Who knows good work?......Page 211
Work is human to the core......Page 213
A god’s-eye perspective and a human one......Page 217
Everything exceeds our grasp......Page 220
Hiding from the humanness of work......Page 222
Management has colonized life......Page 224
Going topless......Page 225
Notes......Page 229
References......Page 270
Index......Page 280