Theft at the Public Till
Moments of achievement, mastery, and recognition account for em- ployees’ lasting satisfaction with their work. In most cases, success will turn on building a strong culture based on mutual respect that motivates all to work hard and accept smaller differentials in exchange for greater collegi- ality and relief from having to argue over who deserves “credit” in its varied forms. Almost invariably, building such a culture will depend on having key members of the team transmit the desired values to their colleagues by personal example. In other words, success in keeping loyalty high and pay differentials low requires a kind of leadership that values a strong, cohesive organization above the desire to maximize personal rewards. In government have a strong cohesive organization requires that the team understand its goals, have a clear vision of service, and can feel a sense of personal reward and responsibility in providing that service. Government staffs are under constant scrutiny and pressure by elected officials and often the press: each of these blocs or factions wants results, wants them fast, and wants them at the “bottom line,” whatever that may mean. This urgency is rapidly taken up by management who are hypersen- sitive to such demands so that they may continue their movement up the career ladder or even just keep their present jobs. The traditional manager strives to avoid mistakes, or to delay recognizing them for what they are for as long as he can get away with it. As a result the standard mode of Western management is an obsession with outcomes (lest they fall short) and with self-interest (the preservation of career and power). Even worse for the or- ganization and for society as a whole, the career critical outcomes in this perverted system are necessarily very short term. One of the most persistent underlying beliefs on the part of these demanding constituencies is that of the linear growth model: a belief in the ability of a system to continue pre- vious patterns of accomplishment, however briefly such patterns occurred and no matter what changes will occur in the future. Such thinking encour- ages the expectation of future outcomes based on previous ones without recognition of the variability inherent in all observed phenomena. A parent is disappointed when the child gets a B in some subject after having received a string of As and starts offering rewards for a return to higher grades. A
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