DrZoidberg
Contributor
I just listened to a great podcast. It's Swedish. Sorry about that.
https://poddtoppen.se/podcast/14476...9-vi-har-blivit-for-radda-for-allt-obehagligt
The interview is the result of a lecturer in organizational psychology (Johan Grant) being fired from his position because he was saying things that didn't conform to the post modernist woke feminist narrative.
But that wasn't the interesting part of the interview. The interesting part was where he talked about the differences between a masculinized vs femininized organizational model.
The woke organizational model is that the more feminized the better. Johan Grant's organizational model is that there's pros and cons of both. And we need to be aware of them. It's also well supported by data. He was fired simply for teaching that there are differences. He was teaching this to psychology students at university. So just the kind of people who we should be exposing to all manner of ideas and beliefs.
He works primarily with coaching company leaders to create more effective organizations. Ie, he cares about company productivity.
So what are the differences:
Overly feminized organizations:
negatives: we care more about not hurting people's feelings, than saying what people need to hear. Pretending to care means more than actually caring. Causing offence is worse than saying what is true. So people walk on egg shells to avoid hurting each others feelings. This causes stress and has the opposite end result. Organizational dysfunctions are hard to fix.
positives: people in personal difficulties are helped and supported. Conflicts are handled by listening to all parties and validating them. Nobody feels left out. Inclusive.
Overly masculine organizations:
Negatives: They are unnecessarily competitive, ruthless, uncaring, blunt and direct. People who aren't peak performers are cut to shreds until they are bullied out of the company. Making it difficult for people having temporary problems to ever lift themselves out of it. People pretend to be strong even when they're not. Excluding. Very stressful.
Positives: Shit gets done. People call each other's bullshit. Problems are honestly faced and addressed. Necessary but painful changes are easier to do.
The fact that there's differences should be obvious to anyone. The acceptance that there's positives and negatives of both, should also be damned obvious.
His argument is that a balance is to be preferred.
It's hard to overstate just how this extreme version of the woke ideology has completely taken over the Swedish universities to the point where dissenters are now fired from their jobs.
Also worth noting, masculinization and feminization doesn't mean men and women. It means that women and men have different behavioral tendencies that in big organizations tend to push in different directions. It's, effect over time. These models of organizational cultures can be copied to other companies. It's perfectly possible to have a company with 100% men with an extremely feminized company culture. It's culture. Culture spreads by copying and mimicking what other people do.
The lecturer (Johan Grant) worries that Swedish companies have become feminized to the point where they now are dysfunctional. This is certainly something I can relate to. I've worked as a senior manager in both Denmark and Sweden. And boy is it way easier to get shit done in Sweden. Swedes need less micro managing. But they are a hell of a lot more anxious and sensitive. And being an employee I prefer the direct and brutal Danish culture way over the Swedish, where nobody is ever told what they need to hear.
https://poddtoppen.se/podcast/14476...9-vi-har-blivit-for-radda-for-allt-obehagligt
The interview is the result of a lecturer in organizational psychology (Johan Grant) being fired from his position because he was saying things that didn't conform to the post modernist woke feminist narrative.
But that wasn't the interesting part of the interview. The interesting part was where he talked about the differences between a masculinized vs femininized organizational model.
The woke organizational model is that the more feminized the better. Johan Grant's organizational model is that there's pros and cons of both. And we need to be aware of them. It's also well supported by data. He was fired simply for teaching that there are differences. He was teaching this to psychology students at university. So just the kind of people who we should be exposing to all manner of ideas and beliefs.
He works primarily with coaching company leaders to create more effective organizations. Ie, he cares about company productivity.
So what are the differences:
Overly feminized organizations:
negatives: we care more about not hurting people's feelings, than saying what people need to hear. Pretending to care means more than actually caring. Causing offence is worse than saying what is true. So people walk on egg shells to avoid hurting each others feelings. This causes stress and has the opposite end result. Organizational dysfunctions are hard to fix.
positives: people in personal difficulties are helped and supported. Conflicts are handled by listening to all parties and validating them. Nobody feels left out. Inclusive.
Overly masculine organizations:
Negatives: They are unnecessarily competitive, ruthless, uncaring, blunt and direct. People who aren't peak performers are cut to shreds until they are bullied out of the company. Making it difficult for people having temporary problems to ever lift themselves out of it. People pretend to be strong even when they're not. Excluding. Very stressful.
Positives: Shit gets done. People call each other's bullshit. Problems are honestly faced and addressed. Necessary but painful changes are easier to do.
The fact that there's differences should be obvious to anyone. The acceptance that there's positives and negatives of both, should also be damned obvious.
His argument is that a balance is to be preferred.
It's hard to overstate just how this extreme version of the woke ideology has completely taken over the Swedish universities to the point where dissenters are now fired from their jobs.
Also worth noting, masculinization and feminization doesn't mean men and women. It means that women and men have different behavioral tendencies that in big organizations tend to push in different directions. It's, effect over time. These models of organizational cultures can be copied to other companies. It's perfectly possible to have a company with 100% men with an extremely feminized company culture. It's culture. Culture spreads by copying and mimicking what other people do.
The lecturer (Johan Grant) worries that Swedish companies have become feminized to the point where they now are dysfunctional. This is certainly something I can relate to. I've worked as a senior manager in both Denmark and Sweden. And boy is it way easier to get shit done in Sweden. Swedes need less micro managing. But they are a hell of a lot more anxious and sensitive. And being an employee I prefer the direct and brutal Danish culture way over the Swedish, where nobody is ever told what they need to hear.