| COOL FRIENDS |
|
| Iuliana Stan, Business Manager, Human Synergistics Romania |
|
 |
Iuliana, we've known each other for some time, 5 or 6 years I think! You've been fully involved in developing Human Synergistics Romania! Looking back, what lessons have you learned these past few years?
The most important thing I learned is that if you consider every little thing you do as being part of who you are, you can't go wrong too much. I learned to have the courage to think and then the courage to make things happen. Another lesson, both business and personal, is that if you build something with good intentions it can't go wrong or , worse case scenario, go too wrong. I believe in the obvious of things. I learned to trust people, their diversity and power to move things forward.
The instruments for studying organizational culture that you provide have shown some specific characteristics of companies operating in Romania. What are these characteristics and what can we do with them?
We have three dominant characteristics from the data we have gathered so far: competitive spirit, conventionalism and self development. These mean that, at work, Romanian employees want to be better that everyone else no matter the cost, no matter who they are, even the clients for whom they work.
We want to prove our competence and ability in everything, just for the sake of winning arguments. We debate for the sake of glory and gain, not for the ideas or solutions we might find. We suffer, even get depressed, if there is another idea that is better than what we've said. Despite all of this we have a lot of respect for our past and we get hooked on it.
The only thing that saves us from this equation is our desire to find new ways of solving difficult problems. Meaning that Romanian employees, when faced with problems, find solutions that are very creative. This is the spirit of “carry it off” that Romanian employees rely on and that has helped organizations a great deal.
If measured so that it also contains a competitive ambition to look good and desire to prove that it can be done, the fight begins to have winners and losers. Unfortunately this combination is inefficient and frustrating. If everybody would take into consideration what we learn from the confrontations we are exposed to we would have a more relaxed and beautiful life.
It's vital that we measure our attitudes now and again, just like the tests we take when we go to see the doctor. There are always things we know, they are obvious, but until we understand them in relation with what determines and sustains them we can't solve anything we might consider as being inefficient. It's useful to understand the way in which we work and our patterns of thought, both at an individual level as well as at an organizational one.
You've put a lot of energy in opening HS offices in the Balkans: are our neighbors more preoccupied about organizational culture that we are?
We started early in Romania, at the end of 2003, and as a result we have the largest experience of the countries in the region. We opened offices in Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria in 2006 and 2007. There is focus when it comes to organizational development in these countries as well, but it seems that in Romania, perhaps due to the fact that we had a head start, managers have a more focused and concrete approach.
You chose to work for a company with a small number of employees, an entrepreneurial one, as opposed to a large corporation: what are the specific traits of a small company?
Like every other graduate I too had the desire to work in a large corporation. But I had the chance and the mission to build this organization. I would say that the organization chose me before it even appeared.
There are now 5 of us in Human Synergistics and we coordinate a network of nearly 200 specialists in organizational development and, like in all companies, we have a set of values that we've discovered together. We believe in integrity, respect, independence and responsibility.
When we became mature enough we wanted to understand what brings us together, what makes us angry and what brings us success. It's easier to work in a small company because every effort you make matters and makes a difference and if tensions appear they can be solved by talking and going into the depth of things. It's a luxury corporations can't afford.
What are the aspirations and ambitions that you have for Human Synergistics in the coming years? In what way do you plan to make the subject of organizational culture better known in Romania?
I believe that all these years in which we've been talking about company culture in Romania have made the concepts we operate with highly known. I haven't heard anyone say that we need constructive cultures.
It would be easier if, beyond the speech, we would have a process of diagnosis because this helps an organization start of on the right foot in the process of changing and managing culture. As I was saying, I would like to see both the diagnosis model as well as the methodology of culture change that we operate with to be perceived similarly to visiting a doctor for your annual check-up. If the analysis turns out well compared with the parameters we know, that's excellent, if not, you should visit a specialist.
Just like cholesterol doesn't hurt, doesn't itch and can't be seen with the naked eye, however it is a dangerous disease and needs treatment, organizations have their own pathological mysteries. If discovered in time they can be easily treated. Otherwise they become chronic. To answer your question, I would like to reach a point in which every organization will want to have it's own test results.
We believe that healthy organizations make better people and give them the comfort and ease that they truly need and this can help us change the world.
We believe in the ability of organizations to change people, to make them feel better about themselves, about who they are and what they can do, to make them happier and confident in their own strength. The world can become a better place, faster and easier with the help of organizations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recommend this newsletter to a friend
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Human Invest is a Premier League company in the arena of training and
organizational development consultancy services, present on the Romanian market since 1998.
We are recognized for conceiving and implementing programs which offer managers an authentic experience towards improving their leadership
performances, and thus we support companies in becoming more and more engaged in delivering excellent services for their clients.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
