Echoes of the seminar, 'The Shadow Organization' by Mary Lidgate
Background to the project, 'in the absence of justice':
'The absence of justice is not the same thing as injustice. Rather it leaves a vacuum to be filled by something else; the title of this seminar, 'Shadow Organization' reflects this thought. For the idea of the absence of justice is hard to monitor or measure, but it counts as much as, if not more than, injustice.'Rosie Beckham, Triarchy Press
The seminar and the art exhibition took place in Tooks Chambers which began its work in the defence of miners during the miners' strike of 1984 and continues to give voice to the oppressed in search of justice. This made it an especially fitting venue in which to discuss the main theme of the Triarchy seminar - that of social pathologies and the spectrums between the victim of bullying in the workplace and the migrant worker, or that of the asylum seeker and the whistleblower. The term 'organization' was defined in its broadest sense of people working together towards a common goal and identified as referring to family, workplace, government or society.
As the dominant species we had thought ourselves to be largely in control of our natural environment. Instead we find we are inextricably immersed in a dynamic and dangerous web of natural processes now in the grip of massive atmospheric disturbance. The nature of the very air we breathe, created by life and essential to its survival is being changed by our unwitting intervention. The dynamic mixture of gases in our atmosphere balanced precariously between conditions perfect for life and climate chaos is being tipped further every minute towards chaos.
If, as was suggested during the seminar, the organization is a microcosm of society, society might also be a microcosm of the greater system mentioned above. If the climate scientists are right, all the organizational and communicational skills we can muster between us will be needed to avert the worst affects of climate change. The questions raised at this seminar about the nature of organizations, relationships and justice are in this context given particular poignancy.
Mary Lidgate
The discussion:
The seminar explored the ways in which we:
- organize ourselves into large groups or organizations
- create the identity/face with which these organizations engage with society
- relate to each other within organizations
- engage with people outside our organizations
Invited panellists:
- Richard Harvey (Chair) - Richard Harvey is a barrister at Tooks Chambers and the inspirer for the exhibition of Ricky Romain's work
- Gerard Fairtlough - former CEO of Shell Chemicals, successful entrepreneur and author of 'The Three Ways of Getting Things Done', a book outlining alternatives to hierarchical practice
- Dr Heaven Crawley - expert in issues of migration and asylum and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography, University of Wales, Swansea
- Diana Phillips - consultant at The Great Place to Work Institute, and activist in asylum seeker support
- Prof. Charlotte Rayner - expert in Human Resource Management, with special research expertise on Bullying in the Workplace, Portsmouth Business School
- Richard Wells - Senior Creative Enterprise Fellow at Dartington Creative Enterprise
The power and magic of art is its ability to touch our senses and help us experience complex issues in an instant of sensory awareness. For this reason, it is vital that we continue these interdisciplinary events where the languages of art and reason combine and resonate. This is reflected in the writing style of 'Echoes' which constantly picks up on the voices in the room, both heard and unheard whilst giving a sense of the pace and tempo of the debate.
The air in the light and elegant space at Tooks that night was already filled with the conversations of the chambers' working day and the voices of Ricky Romain's passionate images calling soundlessly from the walls. It was to this atmosphere that we added our thoughts and voices.
The conversations began:
Richard Harvey introduced the evening with an explanation of how he had first encountered Ricky Romain's paintings and been inspired to bring his work to the heart of Tooks Chambers. He expressed his surprise at how the collaboration between Triarchy Press and the other protagonists had broadened his perspective from issues of injustice and asylum to much wider ones that encompassed society's view of itself and how it behaves - in matters of employment, government, the arts and organization more generally.
Rosie Beckham contextualised Ricky Romain's paintings with a reflection on how the absence of justice has repercussions that affect us all, including those who work in public and private sectors.
Richard Wells took a diagnostic tone and laid the 'organization' on the couch. Is the organization sick? Is it possible for an organization to become paranoid? How could we recognise a paranoid organization? Could our deeply rooted pathologies (from which no-one is immune) explain the metaphoric strength of the concept of a 'shadow organization'?
If that deep seated human paranoia found within individuals is being carried through into organizations it could perhaps lay at the root of our talent for creating and nurturing difference. Richard proposed to the group that an unresolved conflict between our inner child and the parent couple was manifesting itself in our external relationships: the child projecting its pain on to the parent or 'other'? If so, perhaps 'other' empty categories such as race, sex, class and religion are vital to the comfort of the self by offering safe storage for these painful feelings. Given Richard's affinity with art and being immersed in its voice, as we were that day, it was not unnatural for him to go on to consider the creative gift of the artist. Is the creative gift given to the 'self' of the artist by their internal parent couple? If this was accepted as a model, Richard suggested it might explain the complex relationship between the artist and financial reward; for surely a gift is without price.
Diana Phillips lent her voice to a call for trust and understanding within organizations to nurture those who operate within them. Her passionate belief that good relationships built on trust serve to increase the effectiveness of organizations as well as nurture those within them has inspired her in her work within organizations.
In a detailed exploration of 'boundaries' Diana started to unravel the complexities which contribute to our behaviour as individuals and at a societal level; concepts of dualism, culture as a blend of belief and history, as well as the interaction of the past and the now; the conflict between achieving integrity, "a coherence of thought and action that has an identifiable boundary" and exploring across boundaries in order to integrate new experience. New challenges, essential for learning, may present inner conflict between the new learning and what is internalised and 'known' up to this point. This view closely matched that of Richard Wells.
In addressing herself to the plight of refugees, Diana shared her experiences of "dealing with the 'other'" when working with asylum seekers in Lewisham helping them set up and run their own organization to meet their needs. Diana asked whose voices we usually heard in reference to refugees or asylum seekers? Do we hear their voices or the voices of others speaking on their behalf? What initiatives are refugee-led? Who should do the leading if not they themselves? Charlotte Rayner's rallying cry came in defiance of bullying. Tackling it ten years earlier as a subject for a PhD she had been surprised to find only one book (Bullying at Work by Andrea Adams) and two other articles on the subject of bullying. Did this mean there was not much bullying going on? Apparently not, her research showed that 15% of people admitted to having experienced bullying behaviour at work but when bullying behaviour was described to them, the percentage almost doubled. She also found that 25% of those bullied leave their place of work and 20% of those who act as witnesses to bullying also leave. Charlotte felt these figures demonstrated not only that bullying was endemic in our organizations but also that there was a business case¹ for tackling it. Why then, she wondered, did it continue unabated?
Her continued research found that many business organizations channel complaints from staff through their Human Resources Department (HR)². HR departments manage 'human resources' or 'staff' or 'people' for the benefit of the organization and so complainants often found their complaint reflected back on them rather than being treated as part of the culture and structures of organizations.
Charlotte was determined to intervene in this damaging cycle. She listened for the unheard or missing voice in a bullying situation and identified the voice of the one who might intervene and stop a potentially damaging situation from developing. Her challenge became how to make that voice heard and give it language. In gaining support for her quest she felt the demand for the business case had been answered. When challenged on how these strategies might be accurately measured, her answer was clear, "Stuff that." There was overwhelming evidence to show the extent of bullying in our organizations and the damage it did. The important thing for Charlotte was to start making a difference. The cry for fairness is sometimes a diversion for, as Charlotte pointed out, justice and fairness are not the same thing. If everyone is being treated the same (fairly) but badly, that is not justice. An impassioned plea came from a woman in the audience to recognise that violence against women in society as a whole, impacts directly on relationships in the work place. She gave a voice to women suffering violence, often from the midst of their families. She spoke about a language of violence that permeates much of our speech: violent language is imbued with oppressive and destructive meaning and manifests a deeper disrespect towards weak or minority voices throughout our culture. Surely the common use of abusive language inside the family group, and a use that often leads to actual physical violence, can be habit-forming and must, therefore, infiltrate the culture of other organizations? Charlotte Rayner agreed that the need for a language of respect is one of the important first steps towards building good relationships, in whatever organization we find ourselves. This view, of course, reflected the necessity for an awareness of how the individual pathology plays out in all aspects of our interrelationships.
With many voices now resonating in the room, Gerard Fairtlough picked up the thread by highlighting the importance of tone. What is the tone of both our inner and outer voice, the one with which we speak to ourselves and the one with which we speak to others? We were reminded of Richard Wells' points on our inevitably shared human paranoia, Diana Phillips' question about the voices we hear and Charlotte's search for the voice of intervention. Now Gerard raising the question of tone; not just what is said but how it is said. He asked us to consider whether justice in the interactions between people might depend on a cordial and respectful tone as well as good listening, less secrecy and an avoidance of excessive formality. Do we give justice to those we address through the tone with which we address them and the attention we give them? He suggested that justice is more likely to be given to those we address in a respectful tone along with a proper attentiveness.
Dr Heaven Crawley returned us to the plight of refugees, asylum seekers or migrants1 asking why people cannot empathise with them, even when they have experienced a similar sense of alienation themselves. Why do refugees become a butt for society's ills instead of inspiring the compassion they so obviously deserve?
Indicating towards our shared human paranoid pathologies again and its desire for somewhere to store, or project, our ills, Heaven pointed out the need for meaningful contact with marginalized groups. How might we turn 'the refugee' into a person with a name and human experience to which we are able to relate and with whom we could empathise? Few people have an opportunity to meet refugees. Heaven believes politicians stoke fear of the 'other' as unworthy/uneconomic when the opposite of often true. She wants to provide spaces for meaningful contact between refugees and the communities in which they live. She emphasised how rewarding her own exchanges with refugees have been - always giving her something to come away with. Refugees want understanding and respect - not pity and so we return once again to the question of tone and its impact on relationships.
Gerard Fairtlough's voice carried with it the substance of his vast experience of business organizations. His relationships with as many as four-dozen organizations range from employee to founder/director. As founder of Triarchy Press, he is experiencing being associated with an organization based geographically in Axminster, Devon in the midst of a small, rural community. In all of his experiences, questions of scale and numbers in human activity play an important part. Drawing on his various experiences he queried the difference between formal systems of justice, human interaction and relationships, traditions and given status. He offered up organizations as a microcosm of society in which we might find many of the complex pressures, relationships and behaviours we find in society as a whole. He questioned the broader influence organizations might have on society through the face they turn towards it and the values embodied in that face.
Having heard Heaven's idea of spaces for meaningful contact, Ricky Romain added his desire to tour his exhibition to coastal areas where refugee problems are most acute. He believes art offers an unthreatening exploratory way to discuss emotionally difficult issues. In his work, Ricky attempts to voice the often suppressed or repressed aspects of sensitivity and vulnerability inherent in the male psyche.
Margareta Kern, another artist in the audience lent her voice to Ricky's in offering up her art as a safe and unthreatening framework for the expressions of fears. Sophie Turner from Steps Drama believes drama is a powerful tool through which we can gain understanding about how we relate to each other as individuals or as part of a group or organization. And a young, legally trained, writer, Leila Segal, suddenly propelled us from the comfort of our elegant venue into the midst of the agonising Palestinian/Israeli conflict where she facilitates communication between the opposing groups through creative writing. Her enthusiasm bringing her to her feet, she was anxious to recommend a book by Julia Kristeva entitled Strangers to Ourselves. The book on insider/outsider groups had been an inspiration to her in her work. She asked us to recognise a fear of, not only the foreigner, but of possible disorganization, loss of identity and structure.
Picking up on the theme of identity, Stephen Golden from Transport for London asked how our sense of 'being British' might highlight difference in our society. In what way does our perception of what 'being British' means affect our relationship with refugees, for example? He suggested that we might learn what we lack through our relationship with refugees. Roy Blatchford, Founding Director of the National Education Trust challenged us to learn from children. He had found no problem among young people in schools who effortlessly re-make the English language to work with change. He warned us against becoming too pessimistic.
Stephen Golden's voice returned to us with language which itself expressed the loss of humanity felt in some organizations. He reminded us that Managers are "not rewarded for building relationships" and that the "business case" for relationship building has yet to be made.
Catching the direction of the conversation, Catherine Rayner, a barrister in Employment Law at Tooks, threw in a legal point; she explained that companies all operate within legal structures and HR departments are there to sustain the company and maintain profitability. The only employees who get real attention from HR are those who threaten the company's profits. Most individuals who want to pursue a complaint against their employer have to bring the action themselves - it is often the individual who is on trial rather than the organization. Growth is required and un-unionised workers are seen as a threat to those in work. She asked whether the way we work reflects an (unconscious?) need by those in the middle to preserve an underclass at the bottom of the supply chain?
Prof Charlotte Rayner baulked at the idea of an underclass at an organizational level but picked up on the drive for profitability and the need to meet targets. Charlotte also recalled Stephen Golden's voice when she pointed out that there is little or no business training in managing people, only managing 'human resources'. Out of 150 organizations she had worked with only 3 had really tackled bullying. These organizations were those who identified bullying as a normal response to an abnormal structure and took responsibility for changing the structure within which bullies thrived. These organizations asked, 'Where is the pain?' and sought to remove it.
Sarah Burton from Amnesty International picked up the discussion from a different angle to query whether bullying could be an organizational structure that is there for a purpose. She felt that governments often stoked fear of the other in order to give them licence in different areas. Does bullying fulfil a similar purpose in other organizations?
Carolyn Hayman from Peace Direct returned to Heaven Crawley's points about the contexts within which we encounter immigrants and asylum seekers. She described an episode of 'Make me a Super Model' which told the story of one of the contestants who did not have full residential rights and for whom they could not, therefore, get permission to go to Paris for the next round of the competition. The programme built a relationship between the plight of the contestant and the audience by sharing her plight with them; in doing so it engaged them in the plight of others like her. We don't often hear the human stories - it was suggested that these programmes offer a point of growth in this area.
With all the voices now vibrating around the room, Richard Wells returned our attention to the walls and the eloquent images surrounding us. He pointed to an image of a blind folded man, an image depicting the restoration of the balance of justice in society that is more usually depicted in the image of a blind woman with a set of scales and a sword. We live in a culture of blame; Richard suggested to us that blame closes people off and was often a block to restoring justice.
Finishing, as the evening had started, the audience reflected their views on justice via the medium of Ricky Romain's art. As time ran out formal conversations drew to a close. However, there was a general sense of many disparate voices resonating together to begin to share a new language that played through the search for a shared sense of justice - beyond the safety of our families, cultures and organizations for the migrant and asylum seeker but also within them.
In the age of sound bites and marketing speak it is vital that we make every effort to share our life experiences and tell each other our stories. Language should be no impediment; art is a universal language. Where prose fails us there is always poetry, where words fail us there are always pictures, if pictures do not reach us then we should make music and dance. We should make music, dance together, tell stories - make theatre. If we play together, we will surely work together and there is no more important work than building relationships, with each other and the living system in which we live.Mary Lidgate, theatre4business
A final word from Triarchy:
As with all such openly complex discourses, there was no formal outcome to the evening. However, the thoughts and ideas from the evening have become the seed corn for continuing conversations between Triarchy, the other collaborating partnerships and participating audience, as well as more broadly, the notions of people and how they organize themselves within organizations. Whilst perhaps not enough was made of the possible effect of the social pathologies reflected within the individual cultures of our institutions and workplaces on the external policies within government and society at large, several offshoot projects are being planned, some of which will undoubtedly pursue this idea. They include further partnered seminars beyond the Tooks/Romain project itself. In Triarchy, we will be publishing work and arranging seminars and workshops on: bullying and workplace injustices, the development of a shared (social, community and individual) language of respect, and the ethics of corporate responsibility.
1 A value directly connected to financial gain; a gain that could
be quantified. Back ^
2 A mechanistic term referring to the management of people as if they
are simply a business resource. Back ^
