Ep. 206: Roger Miles - On Culture, Leadership, Performative Risk Management and more
Dec 18, 2023
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Dr. Roger Miles discusses organizational culture, performative risk management, healthy culture assessment, authoritarianism, unethical contracts, AI impact, cognitive diversity. They cover metacognition, moral courage, prediction, leadership, AI adoption, human potential, military problem-solving, decision-making, and the value of intellectual humility.
Conduct risk is often misjudged by relying on misleading indicators like training attendance, failing to measure actual behavior accurately.
Behavioral analysis is crucial in risk assessment, emphasizing understanding human behavior, moral courage, and cognitive diversity.
Effective leadership necessitates intellectual humility, the ability to admit limitations, fostering curiosity, and engaging diverse perspectives for organizational success.
Deep dives
Misleading Performance Indicators in Risk Management
Many organizations rely on misleading performance indicators, such as training attendance, to assess conduct risk. These indicators, like training attendance, do not measure actual behavior or understand what's happening in the minds of attendees.
Importance of Behavioral Analysis in Risk Assessment
Dr. Roger Miles emphasizes the need for behavioral analysis in risk assessment over econometric approaches. He stresses the importance of measuring human behavior, interaction, moral courage, anti-bystanding, and cognitive diversity to gain deeper insights into risk management.
Challenges in Leadership and Intellectual Humility
Good leadership entails intellectual humility, a trait lacking in many leaders. Leaders often struggle to admit their limitations or say 'I don't know,' which can hinder effective decision-making, engagement, and fostering a culture of curiosity and ethics in organizations.
The Role of Reflexivity and Cognitive Diversity in Organizational Success
Reflexivity, or the ability to anticipate change and act proactively, and cognitive diversity, which promotes varied perspectives and critical thinking, are crucial for organizational success. Additionally, intellectual humility and a culture of curiosity are essential for navigating complex challenges posed by AI and societal shifts.
Writing a Book during Lockdown and Collaborating with Co-Authors
During lockdown, the speaker, despite avoiding COVID, broke his leg, leading him to write a book. Reflecting on mortality, he approached 10 people to co-author with him, including notable figures like Christian Hunk and Maraire Rachmakers. The book aimed at simplifying complex concepts for general managers, middle management, and frontline staff.
Observation vs. Sentiment Surveys in Understanding Organizational Culture
The podcast discusses the limitations of sentiment surveys in capturing employee sentiment effectively. Through observation and anecdote gathering, a deeper understanding of employee behavior and organizational culture can be obtained. The speaker emphasizes the importance of engaging in informal conversations with employees to better grasp the narrative, agency, and structure within the organization.
Today's episode is a wonderful look at organizational culture, performative risk management, that is risk management theatre, ways to quickly assess a healthy culture, and much more.
For those of you who don't know him, Roger researches and engages with many kinds of organisations about how people perceive risk and make decisions under uncertainty. He has worked on, studied, and advised organizations about ethics, culture, psychology, and risk, decision-making under stress, and many more areas.
And this conversation came about, because of an interaction I had with Roger about performative risk management – that is, stuff that happens only for show, not because it's actually helpful. And we talk about that, and it turns out that there is a long history of it.
However, there is so much more in this wonderful episode, which covers everything from
authoritarianism, unethical contracts, abstracts, codes of practice, AI, cognitive diversity, and a lot more.
