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364 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT

It is not the purpose of this chapter to argue the various virtues of these orga-
nizational styles, but rather to discuss certain conditions that apply to all of them.
There are two maxims that I would like to explore here.

The first refers to the quote from Ecclesiastes. Rather than to blindly support
a particular organizational or managerial style, we must be aware and appreciative
of many styles, and be prepared to apply the right style at the right time.

Even in the most conservative and rigidly structured organization, there
must be times when the barriers are allowed to come down (if only for a short
time and a single purpose) to meet a challenge for which the bureaucracy would
not otherwise be able to adequately respond. On the other hand, even adhocra-
cies and teamocracies must operate within an underlying, formal structure, lest
there be anarchy.

The second maxim to explore is the relationships between people within the
organization, respective to goals, measurements, and rewards. Here we have at
least two issues. The first is to address the way that people work and lead in a tra-
ditional hierarchical organization. The second is how we take what we have
learned about human behavior in the workplace, and about leadership, and apply
it to more flexible and informal organizations.

Stimulating Innovation, Enterprise, and Initiative

In the introduction to her critically acclaimed book The Change Masters, Rosa-
beth Moss Kanter, in visiting with corporate executives across America, says “I
have been struck by an ever-louder echo of the same question: how to stimulate
more innovation, enterprise, and initiative from their people.” She then proceeds
to describe the environment that breeds such a lack of innovation, enterprise,
and initiative, and provides illustrations of companies that have created a new
environment to overcome this malady.

It is powerful and worthwhile reading. But I pondered her lead-in question
and chose to phrase it differently. The issue is: How can I take advantage of the
natural innovation, enterprise, and initiative that is present in most of the people
in the organization?

Contrary to the thinking of many of our most revered organizational psy-
chologists, stimulation and motivation are not the key issues. Rather the issue
is how does senior management avoid stifling initiative. In my experience in
corporate America, a significant number of self-motivated employees sit in
frustration while their bosses utilize just a teeny-weeny amount of what they
have to offer. They are treated like children, “to be seen but not heard.” Man-
agement tells them to stuff 95 percent of their knowledge in the desk drawer