Recently, in a social setting, I met a young manager
from a large financial institution. Whilst chatting I realised he worked
for a client organisation for whom we had recently launched a system-wide
development initiative. The Board and senior managers were extremely
excited about this programme. Given his role in the organisation, I was
pretty certain that he would be in the target population for the leadership
development. However, when I asked him about this, his response was
fairly typical, “Oh, yeah, I think I received an email, I heard something… a
programme. I’m not sure whether I’m attending.” It is this
disconnection between the top execution of the strategy and the various levels
of management in an organisation that Organisational Development (OD) is
uniquely positioned to address.
This story of disconnection is a mantra heard in most
organisations to which we consult, irrespective of the sector or industry in
which they operate. This story highlights the detachment between
the near-term profit initiatives (those that deliver performance today and are
influenced by the management tier) and organisational health initiatives (those
that build the capacity to deliver tomorrow’s results that are decided by the
Senior Leadership). For overall success a balance must be maintained
between operational improvement and long-term growth, however there is no
single model that guarantees success, but OD is a methodology to enable
organisations to explore and test options for success.
What is OD?
There
are numerous definitions of OD, with currently no single accepted
definition. However, the following definition (from a leader's
perspective) provides a useful summary:
OD is the application of the planning, development, and problem-solving
process to the overall functioning of the organisation in such a way that it
strengthens the physical, financial, and human resources; improves the process
of interface; helps the organisation mature; and is responsive to the
environment of which the organisation is a part.
The key themes and
characteristics emerging from this definition is that OD is:
- a planned effort
- which is organisation wide and total system
- aimed at increasing organisational effectiveness and health
- usually responding to a changing environment (technologies, markets, challenges)
- intending to change the beliefs, attitudes, values and structure
Organisational leaders are accountable for delivering the
organisational strategy. OD is the twin of strategy – i.e. it seeks to
improve organisational performance through people, systems and processes. OD provides content and substance to
leadership in organisations. It provides
meaning for the ‘non-work’ activities that individuals and teams find
themselves engaged in at work, from the way the organisation is structured, how
teams are put together, the culture and values of the organisation, to how
people socially engage and interact with one another and with their
clients. Without it leaders find
themselves ‘leading in a vacuum’ and unable to provide meaningful and effective
leadership in reaching the organisation’s goals and objectives.
OD
is interested in alignment between
all facets of an organization, including leadership, culture, systems,
processes and client service. Alignment
helps to ensure that everyone in the organization is pulling in the same direction, with the same prioritised strategic
goals and objectives. The OD methodology
provides an extremely useful leadership approach whenever a leader is faced
with a decision. Taking the key OD
elements into account, he/she may ask a number of insightful questions to
ensure each decision is aligned with the overall strategic direction of the
organization:
- What environmental aspects do I need to take into account (e.g. political, geographic, public opinion)
- Is our current leadership style the right approach for what needs to get done?
- Do we have the right mission and strategy in place for where the organization is going?
- What changes in culture will we require for change to be effective?
- Are our organizational structures fit-for-purpose? What about our systems and processes?
- Are our staff motivated and ready for change?
An
organisation that is aligned and improving in these key elements shows a level
of organisational maturity that is likely to ensure success, even in the most
challenging circumstances.
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If you are interested in finding out about how an organisational approach may benefit your organisation, please contact us at www.labyrinthcc.com - we would be delighted to help.
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