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Empowering Change in an Unempowered
Environment
Part 1: Understanding Organizational
Maturity
Some organizations can
successfully change the way they operate and reap the
benefits of improved business results, while others
seem to struggle endlessly. What are the ingredients
needed to develop an empowered environment, one in
which change is not only possible, but also
probable?
While there are many factors that can affect an
organization’s level of readiness to change,
most people would agree that the following key areas
are essential:
- Vision: The company has a clear sense
of purpose and direction that guides its
activities.
- Management involvement: Managers are
actively and personally involved in improvement
initiatives.
- Employee empowerment: Employees’
input and contributions are valued and
recognized.
- Customer focus: Employees understand
their relationships with internal and external
customers.
- Process base: The company has a
repeatable, evolving process to ensure its
continuing success.
To understand your organization’s readiness
for change, you first need to determine your
company’s level of organizational maturity.
Here are descriptions of the three levels of
organizational maturity—firefighting, emerging,
and total commitment.
Firefighting
The
“firefighting” organization is struggling
with daily battles resulting from poor quality, lack
of leadership and vision, employees who feel
helpless, and relationships with customers who are
adversarial at best. Without a change in direction,
this type of company is headed for serious
trouble.
There may be one or two people who recognize the
need for change, but their voices are drowned out by
the sounds of people running from one crisis to
another.
Emerging
The
“emerging” organization is beginning to
see the positive outcomes of change. Instead of just
a few lone voices calling for improvement, intact
organizations with strong local leadership are
willing to take tangible steps toward business
improvement.
Total Commitment
In the
“total commitment” company, focus on the
five key areas previously mentioned is the normal
mode of operation. Strong visionary leadership leads
to empowered employees who understand how to serve
their customers. Processes are defined, documented,
and improved to make the most of the
organization’s cumulative experience.
What Level is Your
Organization?
Your group may be at different levels for each of
the five characteristics of high-performance
organizations. Figure 1 describes the three levels of
organizational maturity in table format so you can
begin to understand your organization’s level
of readiness for change.
Improvement Strategies
Looking at the three levels, we can understand how
these companies would require vastly different
approaches to successfully implement their business
improvement initiatives, as follows:
- Clearly, because of the circumstances facing
firefighting organizations, they will not be able
to make significant progress until the situation
stabilizes enough for the company to stop putting
out fires. Only then can they begin implementing a
problem-solving approach to resolve their major
issues.
- Emerging organizations are ready to start
laying the groundwork for significant
organizational change by taking small first steps
that produce tangible business results.
- Total commitment companies can take the actions
necessary to make a broad-based business
improvement culture part of the normal operations
in their organizations.
Organizational Needs
Figure 2 provides additional detail on the needs
and goals of organizations at each level of
readiness, as well as recommended approaches to
achieve the most effective results. The key to
successfully incorporating major new initiatives into
your business is to understand your level of
organizational readiness and tailor your
implementation strategies to that level.
In the June issue of News for a Change,
we’ll review how to match your
organization’s approach to change with its
maturity level.
A nationally recognized customer service
expert, author, and trainer, RON
ROSENBERG, CSP, recently founded
Drive-You-Nuts.com, a Web site dedicated to helping
people get the service they deserve and to teaching
companies how to provide it. He has been featured in
publications including The New York
Times, Smart Money, and Real Simple
and has appeared as a guest on nationally
syndicated radio shows including “Dateline
Washington” and the “Gary Nolan
Show.” For more information, visit his Web site
at www.drive-you-nuts.com
.
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