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Getting Out of the Box

January 5, 2001

"Many organizations insist on using boxes as their main way of organizing.  They can be found on those neatly formatted organization charts, but more seriously, people often feel like they're boxed off in one small part of the process - to such a degree that all they can see is their own immediate area.  What about you?  Use these diagnostic questions to assess your own situation.

Do you sometimes feel cut off from the product or service that your work helps create?

Are you so buried in the beginning or middle of a process that you rarely if ever see the output at the end of the process?

Ever get the feeling that you're the 'employee in a bubble,' sealed off from whatever it is the organization creates?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, make it your mission to reach out and try to see the output, the results, the product, the service  - whatever you want to call it - for yourself.  That's right, go beyond your corner of the workplace, and discover exactly what you help create and how it's used by customers (Terez, 2000, p.56)."

Reference:  Terez, T. (2000).  22 keys to creating a meaningful workplace.  Holbrook, MA:  Adams Media Corporation.

What are you doing to get out of the box?

22 Keys to Creating a Meaningful Workplace is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center.  A complete listing of all the Leadership Center's resources is available on our website www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~leaders

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Created: 2009-01-02, Updated: 2009-01-16