Today’s Organizations – The Makeover We Need
Without realizing it, we are going through times that demand change. And not any change, but the change of the organizations in which we operate. Being inside these organizations – we realize that things are no longer working as they used to, that we have to make changes but we don’t know what to change and how to do it.
I felt this during the interviews with candidates for positions from middle and top management. Some change the job and implicitly the organization because they do not have the support to implement changes. Others because they feel that the market is already asking for something else and the organization and the stakeholders do not know, or do not want to implement changes.
But what do we want to change? Where do we want to go? Which is the final picture?
Let’s start with a description of some companies that function well today, but not at the level of the expectations. We call these the A organizations. They are Romanian and multinational companies that through their actions send the following messages:
- The whole organization works to bring value and benefits to its shareholders. Most of the time, here we have a system of encouraging meritocracy, but it does not work 100% – deviations are tolerated.
- By hiring people with the skills we need, their work becomes an asset that belongs to the organization. But we have one more thing too: the assumption that these people, in the absence of a penalty system, prefer not to work.
- As such, the leadership required by shareholders is one based on pressure, centralized decision-making power by respecting the hierarchy, but also with subordinates who are good at delegating the responsibilities of the superiors as a defense mechanism in the possibility of applying the penalty systems.
Things have worked and still work like this for many organizations with good results, but not as exceptional as they are expected by the shareholders and leaders of these organizations.
Why don’t we have exceptional results? Because we start having other kinds of employees and clients. People who have the clarity of the values they believe in, have their behavior aligned with what they say, what they believe, but also with what they feel. And what they do is the expression of the beliefs, values and emotions experienced.
And this is how these people created different organizations – the B organizations, where people’s commitment is high, they feel empowered and make courageous decisions having the meaning of their own work. These organizations (the B organizations) are transparent, internal tensions are reduced, people have common goals, and leaders see themselves NOT only in the service of the shareholders but also in the service of the organization.
What is the message of the shareholders of the B organizations?
We are focused on the common good, his good also means my good, intrinsic motivation, each person has some “unique” abilities, and the organization provides the opportunity to value them. We get to see work not only as work, but as an integral part of our lives, as a way of fulfilling our aspirations, feeling that we are in the right place.
And we get to what Daniel Pink said in “Drive”. There are 3 elements who maintain motivation today: autonomy, skill development, the existence of a greater purpose!
About these organizations – the B organizations – I will talk together with my guests, within the “Reinventing organizations” panel from within the framework of the Regional Romanian Business Leaders Summit.
Save the date: the 23rd of October, Cluj-Napoca, Grand Hotel Italia.
You can find the agenda, (in progress) HERE. And early bird tickets can be found HERE.
I think it is important to be open to new information, to trends, to the market, to the needs of the customers, to the generations to come – employees or consumers. Times change, so do we. And reinventing our organizations is part of the normal course of things.
Let’s not forget! A society becomes healthy first, later it gets rich! In other words, our mental, physical and emotional health gives us that well being that influences the individual value we bring, ultimately the value of the organization.
Regards,
Claudia