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Effective Executive Journal

It Is Not Always the Fault of the Executive!

Article Details

Pub. Date	: June, 2021
Product Name	: Effective Executive
Product Type	: Coaching and Mentoring
Product Code	: EECM40621
Author Name	:Michael Walton
Availability	: YES
Subject/Domain	: Management
Download Format	: PDF Format
No. of Pages	: 9

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Abstract

Assessing the performance of an organization will invariably focus on the behavior of its senior executives and managers who will attract acclaim and criticism in equal measure depending how well the organization has performed. They can be deified when things go well and demonized when they do not. But are such attributions justified and fair or are they gross misjudgments of an executive's capability to perform well? The organizational contexts in which an executive works will condition what they can and cannot do and so will profoundly influence their relative success and failure. This paper proposes that any examination of an organization's performance must include both the behavior of the key individuals involved and the culture of the organization in which they work. It is not always the fault of the executive when things go badly wrong!

Introduction

The assessment of an organization's performance invariably focuses on the behavior of its key executives,1 the implicit assumption being that whatever happens revolves primarily, and overwhelmingly, around what they did or did not do. Such an approach however is a gross simplification of the sophisticated interactional dynamics of organizational behavior. Organizations could best be viewed as cauldrons of interactive emotional dynamics because they are, at their core, political entities and this can easily be forgotten in the emphasis on targets, ROI and share price fluctuations. A significant influence on organizational performance is the effect which an organization's culture has on what its executives can and cannot do. Whilst top and key executives of course exert considerable influence on what happens, the embedded culture of that organization also exerts a major influence on executive behavior and consequently on business performance. An organization's culture can either enable or constrain the behavior of its key personnel-i.e., its key executives. This is a major factor which demands examination but which from my experience is far too often denied, missed