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that they need to attend to their core businesses or core customers with more
precision and focus. Articulating leadership style in the context of the culture
helps people get in touch with the nature of that core. It can demonstrate
whether subsidiaries fit with the culture or whether a particular market is in
line with the overall strategy or how various internal service providers fit into
the mix. This method also addresses what I have found to be a buried issue in
many organizations, namely the fear of losing identity in a world in which the
customer, the market, and the competition are always top of mind. An an-
thropological approach has the potential to provide a way for the organization
to listen more closely to customers and key stakeholders, without losing touch
with identity and purpose. Drucker talks about the importance of having a
clearly defined mission; I would add that it is equally important to have a
clearly defined culture. It allows the organization to think and act freely in an
ever-changing world, without losing its orientation.
To be a coaching anthropologist in the service of organizational change, I
think one must have several key attributes. First, it is necessary to have an
aptitude for what academics call appreciative inquiry, meaning the ability to
dig deep on an issue, while keeping one eye out for optimal solutions. Sec-
ond, one must have an interviewing talent that allows the conversation to
take off from any predetermined questions and explore the areas and dilem-
mas that surface. This ability, I’m afraid, is more art than science, although
it certainly grows with experience. It is also one of the aspects that make
coaching an exciting interpersonal journey rather than a methodical manage-
ment science.
There are attributes that predispose the client to being successful as well.
When I selected my interviewees in the Female Advantage,I looked for peo-
ple who could fully articulate why and how they did things. Similarly, with
organizations, I look for clients who do not give mere lip service to change.
When the gap between ideology and practice, or word and deed, is too large,
it can be difficult to make headway. I find that it is also difficult to work with
organizations that aren’t inclusive by nature. If the organization is not open-
minded about drawing ideas from a broad platform of employees, that heads-
versus-hands orientation can indicate a split in the culture. No matter how
much I work with such leaders, I doubt that the efforts have much impact on
the culture at large.
Finally, I look for organizations that are interested in building a sustain-
able culture. We have witnessed too much f lash and glitz in recent years
from companies that lacked sustainability. It is my belief that economic de-
velopment at a community and country level is impacted by the sustainability
ofits larger organizations and institutions. Coaching anthropology done in
the service of organizational change is in-depth, painstaking work. I see the