International Accreditation and Recognition Council Newsletter, January 2011

Social Dynamics Affect Workplace Productivity - by John Mason (IARC President)
People in any workplace are affected by social dynamics. The productivity of any enterprise is greatly affected by the energy that is invested by people who work on a project. Generally, these people will fall into one of two groups; those who devote a lot of energy to the project (usually 20-40% of those involved) and those who devote minimal energy (usually 60 – 80% of those involved). There are two types of energy: “Synergy” is positive energy – the type of energy that is going to support the work. “Antagonism” is negative energy – the type of energy that is detracting from the work.

This is where it gets interesting; any one person involved in a project may have both types of energy – both synergy and antagonism. If a person has more synergy than antagonism, they have initiative and will always try to achieve a positive outcome, even without being asked. If the person has more antagonism than synergy, they may not be totally negative, but they may try to negotiate, exhibit no significant commitment or personal views on the project. By understanding these dynamics, it is possible to forecast the reactions that different types of people will have to different stimuli. Below are types of people you may come across in the workplace who may affect effectiveness of projects.

Type 1. People with extra Strong/Domineering Synergy but some Antagonism. These people ensure the project will progress further than those with no antagonism. Having a little antagonism, causes them to question what is happening, look for a better way and suggest improvements.

How to manage these people: Do not include them in delicate discussions; but recognise and use them for their strengths and level of commitment. There is a danger of them undermining positive relationships between other workers because of an intolerance of anyone exhibiting antagonism; and this can create problems. They should not be abandoned by management; but they should not be protected either; and any problems that emerge should be watched.

Type 2. People with Strong Synergy and no Antagonism. These people tend to support the project without question, working hard, but probably not seeing a better way when it is right in front of them.
How to manage these people: Give them well defined, solid responsibilities. They need orders, objectives and deadlines. Try to get these people working alongside others anyone who have less synergy. They can be a positive influence on those people. Don’t get them involved in meetings. These people are so focussed on getting the job done that they can view meetings as an unnecessary distraction.

Type 3. People with equal amounts of Synergy and Antagonism. These people are reasonably involved; supporting the project depending upon the circumstances. They are not indifferent. They are fairly involved, but their involvement is conditional.

How to manage these people: Get them involved in meetings. Empower them to participate in making decisions. Listen and communicate with these people. Involve them, foster a sense of “ownership” in the project, negotiate with them; but do it away from others. You might say things like “Privately I agree with you, but...”

Type 4. People with both minimal Synergy and minimal Antagonism. Most people who work on a project tend to fall into this group. These people are not impartial about everything, but they are impartial about the project. For them, the project is a job, and no more, no less. This is very important group because they can very easily align with positive workers or just as easily align with negative workers. As a result of their numbers and the ease with which they can shift the socio-dynamic; they can be very influential upon success or failure of a project.

How to manage these people: They are not responsive to a participative form of management; but they will be influenced by fellow workers. They see the boss as a leader, so they expect to be told what to do, and not be involved in the decision making. Do not force participation (this is a common mistake).

These people will gravitate to the stronger people around them. These workers are better if surrounded by people with stronger synergy than antagonism (type 1 –above).

Type 5. People with Antagonism that is a little stronger than Synergy. These people are sensitive to pressure from management.

How to manage these people: These people gain power by exploiting tensions in others and building a network of supporters. They can see openness by management as a weakness. The only way of controlling them is to destroy their alliances. Without allies they are less disruptive and may in time become useful.

Type 6. People with strong Antagonism and weak Synergy. These people would rather see failure than success. How to manage these people: They can’t be convinced, and have limited prospects within the company.