Is our group just a bunch of termites?
I remembered reading about termites and how they organize themselves to complete a task. The reading is called “Strategic Termites: The Power of Self Organization”. Here is a passage from the reading…
“The termites begin their work by moving earth in a random fashion. Gradually, distinct piles of earth begin to emerge. These then become the focus of sustained building activity, resulting in columns located in more or less random positions. These are built to a certain height, then construction stops. When columns emerge that are sufficiently close together, building resumes until they are joined at the top to form a rounded arch. In this way the termite nest evolves as an increasingly complex structure, with the arch as the basic unit. The approach eventually results in a kind of free-form architecture, comprised of interlocking caverns and tunnels that are ventilated, humidity-controlled and beautifully formed. African termite nests may rise twelve feet high and measure a hundred feet across. They can house millions of termites. In terms of scale, they’re equivalent to human beings creating a building over a mile high.”
I noticed some strange comparisons between our groups and termites. Essentially, we were given one task to complete: Perform a fundraiser for a local charity organization. Immediately, ideas began to flow and we all worked randomly on different leads and different ideas, without really knowing exactly which direction we were going. Furthermore, no one was telling us what to do, when to do it, or how to do it. We were a group that consisted of individuals working randomly on tasks that would ultimately come together.
Along the way, there were moments when our progress, and essentially our work, stopped. We ran into road blocks that caused us to stop and essentially rearrange what we were doing to overcome them. Obviously this is not an extremely close relation but I think a lot can be drawn from this comparison. Essentially, order emerged out of the chaos that the termites were in. Both our group and our project were FULL of chaos in the beginning, and ultimately up until the last few weeks. Eventually, however, everything began to just fall into place.
I think one lesson I took away from this is that mangers do not necessarily have to micromanage everything! There are of course instances where managing minor details is important, but it is equally important in other instances to let your employees work and allow things to come together. As the termites have proven, self-organization can result in tremendous accomplishments, but there are certain elements necessary. The termites do not have direct orders or “complete plans”; they are free to do whatever they want to ultimately contribute. They have “plans” but they are not constrained or limited by those plans. This basically translates into the fact that they know they will encounter things that disrupt their plans and they will have to change. Our group did just that. We changed our event a few times because the system of our group allowed us to do so. We did not have complete plans that we HAD to follow. I think as a manager, I will understand better that certain tasks require some guidance, but not necessarily micro-management and “complete plans”.