Organisation effectiveness primer and framework for practice

OrganisationEffectivenessA PRIMER AND FRAMEWORK FOR O.E. PRACTICE IN ORGANISATIONS

Why Effectiveness?

AGILITY, COMPETITIVENESS, HEALTH

Why Effectiveness Principles of Effectiveness 5 Steps to Effectiveness What to Avoid

Multiple meanings, outcomes

Organisation Effectiveness has usually three flavours in most

organisations. These can be seen as overarching objectives or

desired outcomes.

These are achieved through organization effectiveness

components which are enablers of these objectives.

A good effectiveness practice must serve these objectives by

fine tuning different components to organizational needs and

objectives.



Organization Effectiveness

Agility

Ability to adapt

Competitiveness

Ability to compete

Health

Ability to survive

Ability to sense the needs of the external

environment and respond to it effectively.



Ability to build necessary competence and

excellence in processes critical for success in

market



Agility

Ability to adapt

Competitiveness

Ability to compete

Health

Ability to survive


Ability to be resilient, self organize and survive over

long periods of time.



Agility

Ability to adapt

Competitiveness

Ability to compete

Health

Ability to survive

Principles of Effectiveness

PERSPECTIVES ON MOST COMMON SYMPTOMS OF INEFFECTIVENESS IN ORGANIZATIONS


Effectiveness can be looked at from two lenses

Business Objectives

What do we want to achieve? What will success look like?

Effectiveness Components

Where will success come from? What strengths

can we leverage? What limitations do we need to

manage?

ENDS MEANS


Six Principles of OrganisationEffectiveness 1 of 2

Alignment between effectiveness components Challenge: Big systems work mechanically, with little or no alignment causing redundancy and

irrelevance

Clarity in objectives of different components Challenge: Objectives are unclear, even in uncertainty clarity is possible

Systemic appreciation of (purpose of) different components Challenge: Systems work as a whole, and so, each system must understand its place in the

value chain


Six Principles of OrganisationEffectiveness 2 of 2

Openness to stakeholder views from different components Challenge: Power equations make it difficult components to be heard, small things may cause

big ripples

Sponsorship and ownership of leadership/business Challenge: Effectiveness is about organization’s performance, it should be CEOs agenda

Dynamic response (or predictive plans) to current events Challenge: Marketplaces are dynamic, plans based on yesterday do not help the future, e.g.

developing people for today’s challenge rarely works


How to make an organization Effective?

5 STEP APPROACH


5 Step Approach

Create Components Map

Diagnose Components

Set the Foundation Components

Plan using Systems Approach

Execute


Step 1: Create a components map for Effectiveness in your Organisation

Ask :

What leads to effectiveness?

What can lead to failure?

Which parts need to work together?

What is current problem area/definition?

This diagram will help you answer:

What is priority?

Which stakeholders are important?

What needs to be measured? What needs to be tracked?


The Effectiveness Components of an Organisation

External Environment, Stakeholders, Strategy

Leadership, Culture, Climate, Engagement, Diversity

Organization Adaptive Systems/Structures (group processes, talent, functions, exchanges)

Risk Technology Analytics Processes Capability Building

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Note: This description and the components of effectiveness may differ from organisation to organisationNote: This description and the components of effectiveness may differ from organisation to organisation


Step 2: Diagnose each component

Diagnosis will require

Looking at each component’s fitness in ability to adapt and align

Manage stakeholders and identify the one’s that cannot be managed

Identifying the strongest and weakest links in the whole system

Engage stakeholders for diagnosis

Ask for opinions and solutions

Tell what is being heard elsewhere

Prioritise action

What is critical (tactical)?

What is important (strategic)?


Sample component diagnosis of a very risk sensitive organisation

Culture is not conducive to taking the right risks.

Culture is hierarchical which allows less ideation and questioning

Culture is more data centric. Can analytics help? What is the scope of risk analytics?

What behaviours need change to encourage right risks?

What climate will advance these behaviours?

Who should be responsible?

Function

Culture

Behaviours

Risk team needs to be more open and find ways to collaborate with analytics. Leaders to exercise functional responsibility rather than

leave risk for the risk team.

Culture will continue to be hierarchical. Risk teams must have more accountability and

autonomy in climates.

To work as teams, not assume expert position but a consultative position. Advisory skills

needed. Not say ‘no’ prematurely. Discuss ideas in all stages.


Note: This diagnosis is just a sample for demonstration.Note: This diagnosis is just a sample for demonstration.

Step 3: Set the foundation components right

Work with strategic direction

Ask what is strategy? What needs to change to support this?

Who is sponsoring this?

What framework will be used to measure and monitor success as desired from the strategy?

Is this feasible? Reality check. What can be done to help?

Define, communicate and clarify

Engage components and communicate the strategy

Clarify questions, seek opinions and concerns

Strengthen the most foundational effectiveness components, usually leadership, culture and climate


Foundation Component : Strategy and Cultural Alignment

Is the culture an impediment to strategy?

How can required cultural shifts be made:

Events/ceremonies

Stories

Values

Leadership



Step 4: Create a system’s approach to executing projects

At this stage work around objectives

All components need to be engaged for each objective

But focus needs to be on few objectives alone

Alternative approaches possible in crisis, e.g. compliance changes in external environment could trigger focused work with Risk component but in the long run, all components need to be engaged to sustain the system

Invite multiple perspectives

Gun for early wins to reinforce buy-in

Determine what outcomes stakeholders want and manage power/politics to your advantage


Objective: For effectiveness, drive more communication, shared responsibility and less bureaucracy

Systems Approach to Execution and Goal Setting

Risk Technology Analytics Processes Capability Building

Push for desirable Effects

Manage undesirable Effects

Establish risk processes, train on advisory skills, focus on responsiveness, TAT to be a KRA.

Use technology to factor in risk. Are new standards required? Set all risk process work flows on ERP. Zero tolerance to mails and documents.

Predictive risk models to be established. Educate, advise and improve. Make analytics necessary skill.

Continuous process improvement to be undertaken by operations team. Exceptions to be reduced to 1%.

100% associated staff to undergo training. Training to conclude with a test and three week on the job audit. Train, measure, coach and retrain.

Manage quality of responses and first time right cases. Responsiveness should not be at the cost of diligence.H

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No high handedness from technology. Use coaching methods and engagement. Influence business owners to set this right.

Leave room for managerial discretion. Analytics needs to be just an aid. Avoid hasty inferences from data. Engage at the outset.

Leave room for managerial discretion. Analytics needs to be an aid and not substitute to managerial decision making.

Training to enable risk, technology and analytics. Do not step in and step out as and when required. Take final responsibility of the outcomes.

Co-ordinate Components



Step 5: Execute Projects

Each component or each objective itself can be seen as a project. More structured organizations find it easier to work around components rather than objectives. Dedicate special task forces to have objective focused task forces / teams.

Teams must use Execute, Measure, Engage and Review cycle to achieve desired results.

Execute : Run the projects as planned

Measure: Observe, record and measure the results

Engage : Engage stakeholders to understand their experience

Review : Go back to drawing board. Take new perspective into account. Where is resistance? What can be done to maneuver?

Execute : Make improvements, course-corrections, communicate and execute again. Continue the cycle…


What to avoid?

COMMON DERAILERS


5 Common Derailers “I know better”

Belittling the ground knowledge of stakeholders / components. Ask more, tell less.

Assuming you know all there is to know about a problem. Question the assumptions you make.

“This is obvious to everyone” Assuming what you know/see is apparent to all. Communicate as much and as clearly as you can.

“People do not have the right intentions / attitude” Blaming people’s attitudes/ motives. This belief is a roadblock to anything constructive.

Take responsibility for shaping people’s beliefs and opinions about change. Engage leaders to step in and remind people of the overarching objective.

“It is a culture problem” Do not blame culture. Rephrase the problem into a specific behavior, challenge or indicator. Rephrase the problem into

a responsibility and accountability issue.

“Effectiveness is completely measurable” While it is important to have an evidence based management approach, all may not be measurable, especially the subjective

aspects of organization.

Take into account stakeholders’ feelings, feedback and subjective well being as well. Document testimonials if necessary to communicate with leaders.


Concluding Remarks

PUTTING IT ALL IN PERSPECTIVE


Putting it all in perspective

Effectiveness is about all components being in harmony with each other and with the external environment

Effectiveness is about organic change management and leadership development, put together in a holistic manner

Effectiveness works on a strategy. If there is no strategy, effectiveness is just a concept without any concrete impact.

Effectiveness is NOT just Organization Development, it is more. It is more proactive, predictive, continuous, outcome focused, measurable and executable.


People don’t resist change. They resist being changed!

PETER SENGE

Shirshendu Pandey

[email protected]

[email protected]

+91 9971302111

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Date post:	05-Apr-2017
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Organisation effectiveness primer and framework for practice

Leadership & Management