My recognition of issues vol.2: Lack of connection with subjective truth in daily work

In my last article, I talked about my awareness of the challenges: the bias for the visible. This time, I would like to share my awareness of the challenges from a different angle.

The connection with subjective truth in our daily work

The previous issue of “Organization x Exterior bias” was viewed from the perspective of the entire company, the entire organization, and the business as a whole, but this time, the issue is viewed at the individual level.

Is it possible to work with a sense of connection to the subjective truth in our daily work?

▼’Work is work, so it’s not the same thing as subjective truth or what you want to do or what you want to be.’
▼’I’m so busy with the task at hand that I don’t have time to think about or do what I want to do.’
▼’There’s no recognition nor appraisal at all for doing things that lead to my subjective truth.’
▼’I don’t know the subjective truth or what I want to be at work.’

Many people may have this kind of opinion. There are two main factors here. One is that there is no connection between the subjective truth and the work. Another reason is that the subjective truth or the career we want to pursue are not known.

The first one, “no connection between the subjective truth and work or career,” is due to the common value system that “work is to produce the results that the superior seeks,” and “there is no room for what you want to do or be.”

Of course, it is very important in work to produce the results that the superior demand. However, there is no doubt that there is always a room to realize what we want to do.

For example, let’s say that your boss instructs you to write a proposal for a customer. There may be a company’s own rules for writing proposals, and you must include the information that your boss has instructed you to include. However, there may be room for your own ideas and opinions that come from the ideal image of salesperson you want to be.

Or, let’s say that a person who wants to develop new products and services is now in a sales position. At that time, you may think that because you are in sales, you can or should only do sales work. Or you can think that even if you are in sales, you should always keep your eyes open for new customer needs, so that you can always have your own image of new products and services. The motivation to do your work on a day-to-day basis will be very different depending on how you think in either way of the two.

In these examples, I have focused on the individual’s mindset, but more fundamentally, it is not just a matter of individual mindset, it is also a matter of how much support from superiors and others is available, and whether the organization has a culture that supports the aspirations with regard to the subjective truths of each individual.

The relationship between individuals and organizations is changing

I’d like to talk about this in detail at another time, but behind this is the common value of the relationship between the individual and the organization. From the Showa era until the Heisei era, the prevailing view was that the individual belongs to the organization. Expressed in a Venn diagram, the relationship between the individual and the organization is such that the individual is completely enmeshed in the framework of the organization.

However, the relationship between individuals and organizations is changing dramatically. It is a change to “a relationship of equality between the individual and the organization, a relationship of collaboration and agreement based on mutual subjective truths and aspirations. Expressed in a Venn diagram, it is a relationship in which the circle of individuals and the circle of organizations are equal and side by side, with some parts overlapping and some not.

When we assume such equal relationship between the individuals and the organization, we can think of work as “work that creates value together with the superior” rather than “work that produces the results sought by the superior.”

The second point, “Lack of understanding of what you want to be and the subjective truth,” hides a deeper factor.

We used to think that “work is about doing what we need to do irrespective of our own aspirations.” So when someone suddenly asks us, “What do you want to do at work?” we sometimes can’t help but say, “I don’t know.”

“Finding what we really want to do” is not something that can be done overnight. It is not that difficult actually, but it is also not something that anyone can answer immediately.

In both public education in Japan and at home, the questions “What is my identity? What do I want to do? ‘What am I studying for?’ are seldom asked. I think it has something to do with the fact that we are rarely given a chance to think about these questions.

This is the reason why there were few opportunities to think about the subjective truth and the way we want to be, and why we don’t know the subjective truth. If you have more opportunities to think, you will gradually become aware of the subjective truth and what you want to be.

Rather than trying to simply dismiss this as an “individual problem,” it is a major issue of how we as an organization can carefully support individuals, or, to put it more broadly, how we as a society can create an environment that will allow individuals to do so.

Furthermore, how we design the connection between the individual’s subjective truth and the organization’s purpose, and how we actively engage with it as an organization (or society) will be an important factor in determining the rise and fall of the organization (society) in the future.

Here are the quests of the day. (If you’d like, please share your thoughts in the comments.)

・In your daily work (or study), when do you feel a connection to the subjective truth or what you want to be?

・What kind of supports are needed in your company, organization, or school to help each person realize and practice his or her subjective truth?

Bunshiro Ochiai