Behaviours at Year End Break Up Parties!

//Behaviours at Year End Break Up Parties!

Most organisations have some sort of “year end” breakup party just preceding the holiday season of their culture. A celebration of what has been achieved and what there is to look forward to in the following year.  These are the absolute best times to understand the REAL culture of your organisation.  As an example, over the next few days many organisations around the world will be breaking up for Christmas where there will be ample flow of alcohol and consequently ample flow of emotions (sometimes far too openly for the comfort of others).

So sit back in a corner and observe for a while and see the nature of the zoo in terms of behaviours.  Behaviour and relationships (or desired relationships) determine which cluster each of the animals aligns with and who is permitted to join. The image clearly shows the animal alliances and a little analysis helps you to understand the culture of the zoo.  The Organizational Zoo philosophy is that the culture of the zoo is determined by which animals you have, where they are in the hierarchy and how they interact.

What stories do you think are going on in this image?
Why does Triceratops drink alone: His/her fault or the fault of others?
Which of the Lion den (org silos) would be best to be part of?
Why do the Owls spread themselves amongst several groups?
Who typically is th only one working and why?
What reasons are there for being part of a lions group rather than any other, especially the Quercus (Oak Tree)?

Metaphorical questions (like rhetorical questions) are wonderfully powerful. Reflecting on why things happen using the creativity of a metaphor is helpful to our understanding as it brings emotion, creativity and logic together in an “out of body” experience.  We can talk about behaviours in a way that seems more objective and less political than talking about people. Note, I said seems, we are still limited by our own biases and established patterns, but if you allow yourself some freedom, you may even be able to challenge these and come to understand some new options you have not noticed before). A BIG thank you to John Szabo who does all of the Zoo Drawings, he nailed this one just like all the others!

Have some fun with this and at the same time you may learn something about others and maybe even yourself!
Happy people watching!  I look forward to sharing more metaphor with you in 2011.
Enjoy a safe and prosperous break for those of you fortunate enough to get them and spare a though for those who are less fortunate.

6 Comments

  • Took me time to read all the comments, but I really enjoyed the article. It proved to be Very helpful to me and I am sure to all the commenters here! It’s always nice when you can not only be informed, but also entertained!

  • Christmas parties are always interesting especially as the alcohol starts to reduce inhibitions, then the animals (behaviours) really start to come out to play

    John 04.05.2011
    • Kudos! What a neat way of thininkg about it.

      Kethan 30.07.2011
  • I am not sure where you’re getting your info, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more. Thanks for great information I was looking for this info for my mission.

    Zwierzęta 07.05.2011
  • You’re blogging has really come on when I look back over previous posts. Actually I arrived here from a forum on an unrelated topic. Worth surfing sometimes. Thanks.

    Delicia Cellupica 10.05.2011
    • It’s about time smoeone wrote about this.

      Janai 30.07.2011

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.

Captcha loading...