Sometimes we slip into recalcitrant thinking and behavior. The impact of such behavior is defensive, limiting, and “slowing.” That impact is especially magnified when the recalcitrance comes from leadership.
What does recalcitrance look like in an organization?
- Impose layer upon layer of permissions and approval for menial tasks.
- Talk about data but rarely examine the data with a skeptical and open mind.
- Discourage risk taking and risk takers.
- Limit professional development and/or organizational learning.
- Stay focused on the day-to-day actions rather than on the BIG espoused outcomes.
- Harden the protocols/rules/procedures.
- Listen and talk only to the internal stakeholders.
Where recalcitrance rules, obsolesce — or irrelevance — soon follows.
Anti-example can be a powerful teacher.
*If you’d like to read more of nc’s blatherings, go to nc’s Recursive Learning.
Nelson Coulter
Nelson Coulter has held a lot of titles: rancher, educator, author, musician, entrepreneur, coach, mentor, consultant, and professor. He has coached, taught, and been published in many settings. He has served in public schools of all shapes, sizes, and contexts. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at Louisiana State University - Shreveport. His most cherished titles, however, are the ones not attached to career identity: son, husband, dad, and granddad.
