Management
Voice Index
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If you are back from
holidays, facing a major issue and thinking ‘I wish I wasn't
starting from here' rest assured you are not alone. The nature
of organisational life is that challenges often grow bigger
simply because of where we started from. Here are some simple
approaches to help you when you want to ... |
Clear out and start again
If
you want to change the people
It's easy to think that there are some magical employees ‘out
there' and everything would be alright if only you swapped
most of your team for these much better people. You can't
and it wouldn't work if you did. Try this instead:-
- List the people you would like to change.
- Identify the most important thing you would like to change
in each person.
- List the most important thing you want to keep in each
person. (Check, could you swap some roles or responsibilities
about. All too often people are in roles that don't make
the most of their strengths.)
- Share this information with each individual and ask them
to come up with three ways in which they could use their
strengths better and minimise the impact of their weak points.
- Aim to implement just one of these changes each month.
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If you want to change the culture
Culture change is very difficult. Changing attitudes doesn't
in itself change behaviours. So here is a first step:-
- Work out which parts of the culture you simply don't like,
and which parts are bad for the organisation.
- Where it's your preferences that are challenged, try to
let the issue go.
- Where the organisation is affected, spend some time clarifying
the impact – where it occurs, the scale, the cost, etc.
Identify the biggest impact.
- You now have a clear idea of what is needed to change
behaviours in an area of major impact.
- Use this as your first step.
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If you want to change the structure
First check you aren't really trying to change the people or
change the culture. The essential factor in successful structural
change is to be really clear about the business results expected
from it. If you are not expecting a change to business results,
there is not a lot of point in changing anyway.
- Be clear why structural change is important – perhaps
putting in a layer of professional management as the organisation
grows, changing from functions to regional divisions.
- Focus hard on what you will lose from the old structure
that was valuable – how will you retain this value in the
new structure?
- Make sure you can explain both these points in just a
few sentences that can be understood by everyone involved.
- Now start engaging other people to help you plan the changes
to deliver the results you need.
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Voice Index
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