“Without a map, you may not get there. Without a plan,… you will get lost!”
Dixie Dansercoer
Lack of solid groundwork in the pre-program phase…!
Many programs are started solely on the basis of a financial analysis. Everybody starts without really knowing what the real destination is, and if going there will eventually have an added value.
Some fundamental and pertinent questions often go unasked.
- Will this program help us to achieve the ‘Commander’s Intent’?
- And ‘What Needs To Be Secured’ in this organization?
- Are we involving our ‘Good Rebels’, ‘Strategists’, and ‘Anchors’ in the pre-program phase?
- Is our organization set up in such a way that the result of the program can be ‘naturally’ incorporated into the ‘day-to-day’ operations of the organization?
So, are the strategy and organizational design linked, and at the same time, the basis for deciding which programs to support and which to drop?
Ignorance of the fact that organizations are complex living ecosystems.
Organizations are, in our view, complex living ecosystems. However, many organizations use linear thinking to deal with challenges.
Something is broken, and we just need to fix it with a new ‘part’. In these approaches, employees tend to think of themselves as mechanical components of a ‘system’.
As a result:
- The knowledge that is often already in the organization is not tapped into. And employees remain unchallenged in reaching their full potential.
- Employees no longer feel they have a ‘psychological contract’ with the organization, making them decide to ‘opt out’.
- There is a lack of leadership and trust in dealing with the future that is emerging.
- The organization loses all the vitality needed to address the existing uncertainty.
So, do you have authentic and servant leadership in place, mature enough to operate in an often unclear external environment?
Non-executive engagement.
We specifically use the term ‘executive engagement’, not executive sponsorship! Often, the executive sponsor kicks off the program and then mysteriously disappears.
The organization risks losing much-needed direction and support during transformation processes. In order to remain ‘fearlessly visible’ during the program, the key executives involved need to:
- Understand what the ‘true essence’ of their organization is about and how it can evolve.
- Ignite the passion within each employee, to help them develop themselves and their organization.
- Define which organizational design is best suited to nurture/cultivate the new required organizational culture.
- Have the courage to address employees who display excessive self-interest, politics, and power play.
So, do you understand that developing people to their maximum achievable self is not a task, but a privilege?
If you recognize these three points, our Carve (Y)our Future® program will help you address the organizational challenges ahead. Complemented by our The Way Of The Sherpa® program, your most valued employees will be able to develop their talents individually. In the Taking Point Leadership® program, we will have made your team leaders courageous and engaged.
We hope this will trigger you to read on.