The Challenger syndrome is another classic case study when researching management and leadership. This piece tries to xray this plot and answer a few questions.
The Challenger Syndrome: 20 Decades and it was not clear enough
From reading this case study, it’s glaring that there is not any such thing as complete information. The true, adequate and important details of exactly what transpired prior to the launch, including the roles played by the key players, had been caused by lime light within the past two decades.
I’ve observed this trend in events both national and international. Take as an example,”Titanic”, the details of the event wasn’t fully known not until the movie was created. I’ve frequently asked why it takes such a long time to understand just what occurs after such events.
Little wonder that the television channel”Discovery” has been show apps based on findings from occasions of 50years old and will seldom reveal recent happenings. Quite often, even when the truth about the origin of a tragic event are understood, the details are retained within a caucus in the organization.
They also have attempted to sell the idea that they actually assessed the danger prior to the launch. They shot the front in disseminating information concerning the mayhem and were able to make people think it was unavoidable.
The Challenger Syndrome: My views on the universality of some leadership lessons
Remain true to your company’s central mission and goal. This statement is true as well as universal. When one remains true to his organization’s central mission and purpose, even when confronted with situations such as the challenger, such individual will generally not succumb to external pressures. This statement is accurate and universal.
An individual should always permit his decision making process to be affected by virtues, values and ethics. This way, you will be barely influenced into making biased decisions. This isn’t universal. Often times, companies derive their culture from their structure. In this case I mean, if the structure of a company is developed in this way that the management staff are viewed as”Lords”, this will affect the circulation of relevant information and hamper expansion.
Although it’s correct that an organization’s culture will occasionally override the structure, this cannot be obtainable everywhere.
Examine your contribution to creating the business structureOne should learn how to reflect on his opinions before leading them at the creation of an organization arrangement. This statement is accurate and universal. Well thought out contributions will go a long way to strengthen the business structure and encourage a good work environment.
Act from a position of ethical crises seldom, not cowardice and fearWhen confronted with situations where you need to choose between wrong and right, one wants to make such conclusions irrespective of the parties involved, financial gains, affiliations and associations. Cowardice and fear are both situations where no one should make decisions from. This statement is true as well as universal.
Know that organizational crises seldom develop over night Every problem has an origin and often times a crisis is a product of series of occasions rather than simply one occasion. It is important that you bears this in mind when analysing organizational emergencies. This statement is true and universal
Involve your stakeholdersOrganizations should involve stakeholders and integrate them into the projects they do together. I am of the view that if the telecom meeting proved to be a face-to-face assembly along with all the stakeholders, they’d have succeeded in delaying the launch till the temperatures were suitable. Throughout the life span of each project, it is of utmost significance to carry all stakeholders involved in the project execution process of the project. This statement is accurate and universal. Know that knowledge is incomplete
This statement is true and universal. It is necessary that one knows that knowledge is built upon on a regular basis. This clarifies the fact that medical procedures for surgically removing an appendix in the 1970s’ isn’t the exact same today. If one bears this in mind, an individual needs to look out for true, important and relevant information to enable him make good choices.
Be open to bad news: When one is receptive to finding valuable advice, he cares whether it’s bad or good. What one ought to avoid is stale and irrelevant information which will have adverse effect on growth and development of the organization. This statement is true and universal
Trust your experts: For you to go the extra mile of engaging the help of different stakeholders or experts, an individual should be ready to depend on the information supplied by them. We see this problem play out in the challenger situation where the middle managers find the info given by the specialists on two occasions irrelevant. This statement is true and relevant.
For me, the very remarkable post-event behavior of Mr. Boisjoly is the fact that after the tragedy, he sat down to do an appraisal and examine the events that preceeded the launching. He sat down to review the occasion, but he also went forward to make his findings for others to learn from the mistakes encountered during the process of this challender project. When key-leaders find themselves in situations like the Challenger disaster, they should be aware that transparency is critical in managing things as this.
Leaders should let stakeholders know exactly what went wrong, and take full responsibility of the effects of their actions.