Power Distance Index, Agile Transformation and Psychological Safety...

As highlighted in this Harvard Business Review, something discussed in Malcom Gladwell's book "Outliers" is that in certain cultures (he speaks of country culture), disasters often happen because of a rigid heirarchical structure that prevents (out of fear) a subordinate from correcting or directly and honestly directing someone who out ranks them, with often disasterous results. In one example, a first officer on a Korean Air Lines plane tried to, politely tell the captain they were about to crash into a side of a mountain, but was so afraid and trained by his culture, that he did not dare.
(source: https://www.reservations.com/blog/resources/power-distance-index/) This often happens with challenged/failed Agile Transformations. Google did some groundbreaking research several years ago and found the ONLY common thread for their best teams was "psychological safety" the idea that team members could mention anything to anyone regardless of rank, without fear of retribution, and often times, even rewarded for expressing their views, concerns, etc. In his book "Principles", Ray Dalio talks about 'radical transparency' what he believes was the cornerstone to his company's success. Environments who encourage 'subordinates' to be able to share their views/suggstions/opionins have a huge advantage. https://hbr.org/2012/04/in-asia-power-gets-in-the-way This Harvard Business Review article "In Asia Power Gets in the Way" talks about the concept, and we'd be wise to consider our power structures and the "PDI" of the culture of our organization/company especially if we want to embrace and enjoy the benefits of being an Agile organization.

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