Celebrating individual contributors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is threefold. It is to contrast the importance of individual contributors vs the horrific conditions they currently face; highlight the reality that the underlying causes lie in the choices management makes – and can change; and offer new ways of seeing, understanding, and applying the tools of management and organization that not only improve conditions for individual contributors but also customer satisfaction and overall performance. Design/methodology/approach This paper represents decades of the author’s own professional work experiences as a consultant working with over 50 organizations, rigorous PhD-level academic research involving interviews with members of 13 organizations from around the world, global employee engagement data from Gallup, and a selection supporting publications. Findings This paper successfully demonstrates that we are (and have been) our own worst enemy. The very choices we make to manage and organize our institutions are in fact the cause of many of the challenges individual contributors face – and which lead to poor performance. This paper also provides systems-based ways of seeing and understanding organizations, which is the best alternative to the traditional methods that have existed for centuries and are still in use. Originality/value The value of this paper is in how it asks management to candidly look in the mirror and reflect on how their choices are actually contributing to overall success, or preventing it. The justification that “this is how we have always done things” is not sufficient in an age of constant disruption and change. Survival will depend on the ability of the entire organization to quickly adjust to new circumstances – which is possible only if individual contributors are intellectually engaged and emotionally invested.