#robin ryde

[thackray]

[tomyorksays]

A rebellious breath of fresh business air

27 October 2014

I lost count, a long time ago, of the number of Sunday evenings/Monday mornings I spent in pain with an anxious stomach-churning feeling, brought on by the thought of having to return to work for another vomit inducing week.

I used to think I was just unfortunate as I moved from one organisation to the next, progressing through my career, often feeling as though I was little more than a serving wench to the authoritarian masters I was working for.

After several years of full time employee status, I decided, in May 2014, that I’d had enough of playing the role of subservient employee to an omnipotent employer, so I ditched the idea of being in a job or in employment with a specific company. Instead I would become self-employed. No complaints so far!

Taking all my experiences into account, when I read Creating Authentic Organizations (Kogan Page) by Robin Ryde and Lisa Sofianos earlier this month I immediately wanted to know if the authors had researched and written this book specifically with me in mind.

Thankfully (for my already over-sized ego), it turns out that there are in fact a growing number of other people in the world who think in the same way as me - Ryde and Sofianos seem to be spearheading something of a movement to change the way that businesses operate, to help salvage the sanity of humankind. 

‘Creating Authentic Organizations: Bringing meaning and engagement back to work’, really is a big and rebellious breath of fresh business air. Through the book, Ryde and Sofianos directly challenge the out-of-date and irrelevant structures of organisational governance that are still alarmingly prevalent in today’s business environment and they underline what is so incredibly important - why all individuals (employees) must possess the freedom to be themselves (to be authentic) in the working environment.  

I was pleased to discover that book also extends far beyond just the realms of revolutionary conjecture. Ryde and Sofianos have really gone to town here, putting their combined expertise in leadership consultancy and executive coaching to good use to create simple and powerful models and strategies. They have even written an alternative management framework for businesses, based on their tried-and-tested ‘Freedom to Operate (F2O)’ formula!  

This really is a gripping and thought-provoking read. Monday morning return-to-work blues, no more!

Find out more and download a free taster chapter of the book.

[tarr-blog]

Over the years, a revolution has been taking place. It is best described as a consistent decline in the level of deference paid to authority.

Brilliant to see Robin Ryde back in The Guardian.