The Clarion Call : The Container Effect, Fall 2001

Fall 2001 Issue

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The Container Effect

	Introduction by Bill McKendree, President

We are living in very tumultuous times. Many practices of the past are no longer relevant as recent events have dramatically changed the course of the future. For business leaders, the challenges ahead are formidable and far-reaching. The longstanding corporate quest for profits and shareholder return has been overshadowed by an upwelling cry for greater purpose. Many executives and employees now find themselves questioning whether what is right for their company is right for them. At The Clarion Group, our work with executives has given us insight into this disconnect, which has been exacerbated by recent calamitous events and also by the current market. We have termed it "The Container Effect." Simply put, it is the consequence of people embracing corporate value structures that inherently overlook or conflict with their individual belief systems. The workplace has evolved for many as a container with very thick walls, limiting and sometimes preventing us from connecting with our inner sense of what’s truly important. Seemingly, the workplace container has become a vacuum-sealed pack. Our contention about the Container Effect is this: We need to reestablish a connection between our work and our larger sense of purpose. Perhaps the real purpose of work is to bring meaning to life. Organizations need to shift beyond the level of the marketplace and to reach to greater heights in naming their true purposes. By doing so, they will give permission to their employees to do the same. Instead of profits, speed and efficiency, consider the personal significance of, for example, responsibility, mutuality and freedom. In our work, we interact with CEOs and other executives to find answers to difficult organizational and strategic issues that challenge their businesses and test their futures. As we work together, a level of trust and intimacy develops. Often our discussions take on a personal dimension. It is surprising how frequently executives say things like: - "I am losing sight of what I believed in most." - "I have been so absorbed by this business that I now find myself in a place I never intended to be." - "I suppose we have done the right things because our results have been good. Yet there is something missing for me that I think I need to find." - "Work has become too artificial for me. I want to make a real difference." At The Clarion Group, we see these as symptoms of the Container Effect, and they are not limited to the executive level. People throughout organizations are feeling the same things. To break through the walls of the container it will be up to you, as leaders and as individuals, to help yourselves and your employees find meaning and relevance in the work you do. Recently, I described the Container Effect at a business presentation. The response was overwhelming. In this issue of The Clarion Call, we have put a name to an elusive challenge. Our hope is that by naming it, we will help people release themselves from their containers. The Container Effect concept was developed out of our work with clients and is rooted in the 3Cs (The Clarion Call, Fall 2000), which provides a framework for understanding the individual capacities needed to survive in a turbulent environment. We hope you enjoy this issue and, as always, we welcome your feedback.

A Fundamental Concept

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As human beings, we are community-oriented by nature and seek out the companionship, comfort and security of being with others. We also seek order. In an effort to achieve both, we find membership in structured groups. Our families, our businesses, and our communities each provide unique structures that become intrinsically linked to who we are as individuals. In essence, each of these groups is a virtual container.

By definition, a container is a physical object that holds something, confining it in a certain space and protecting it from outside intrusion or interference. For people in business, the workplace is a virtual container. Through mission statements, pay systems and cubicles, the workplace container provides the values and structures that focus our attention, set our priorities, guide our behavior, and coordinate our activities.

Over the years as companies have aligned themselves with "values" such as profit, speed and efficiency, individuals adopted these principles within the organization and began extending them to their personal lives. In this extreme, the Container Effect colors individual beliefs about what is important in life with what is best for the organization. When this happens, our sense of purpose is gradually minimized, or even forgotten. Our container becomes our purpose, and we are ultimately left feeling disconnected and unfulfilled.

The Container Effect has become more apparent as businesses have grown, becoming more complex and impersonal. People are finding fundamental disconnects between the "values" of their organizations and their own sense of what is important. They are coming to realize that the values fostered within their workplace containers in fact may not be values at all.

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