HY Zhang,
Director, Product Integrity
Global Beverage Company
W M Thomson
Director
External Affairs
Asia Pacific
Global Chemical Company
Individuals & groups
We are often asked if the key to excellence is at the individual or group level. It exists, of course, at both. They are intimately connected and you need to work at both levels to achieve optimum impact.
The success of a group depends upon the skills and thinking of key individuals. On the flip side, groups often fail because of problems with key people.
At the same time, individuals are greatly affected by the groups they belong to. Group dynamics and communication patterns can help ordinary individuals perform in extraordinary ways. Or just the opposite. They can also prevent extraordinary individuals from producing anything of value.
It is essential to discover whether development work is needed at the individual or group level, or both.
This means we sometimes focus on higher-level issues of an organization such as strategy and its implementation. At other times, we go deep into personal issues affecting individuals, or the group they belong to.
Ultimately we create pathways to new possibilities.