How can you identify and address systemic issues in your organization?

To evaluate the situation, particularly in terms of company culture, consider posing three straightforward yet challenging inquiries to individuals throughout the organization via one-on-one discussions or focused group sessions: 1. Who gets hired? 2. Who gets fired? 3. Who gets promoted? By posing these three questions and discerning patterns, you can gain insights into the genuine organizational culture, going beyond what may be superficially displayed on the company's walls or website. This process provides a reality check for the company, helping uncover the true state of affairs.

It’s often hard to identify the true systemic issue! I liken it to “referred pain,” where the source is different but the pain is felt elsewhere. You have to have a very trained ethnographic lens through which to view the cultural dysfunction. Not everyone has that capacity! But everyone knows something is broken!

Organisations rarely do this enough People don’t realise nor look for systemic issues until there is a catastrophic problem normally You normally identify it through your processes and your culture, how your people feel, retention, quality of leadership, freedom of ideas and a sense of belonging where everyone can be themselves You can’t park responsibility for this ‘over there’. If it’s cultural then leaders need to take a real interest in the what, why, and when to sort this out. They should also be vocal about the change needed and support it and those charged with delivering the changes It really matters

My twenty eight years of experience of working for various organizations, especially multinationals, is that there exist (hidden) powerful political groups in all organizations who develop strong bonds on the bases of their common interests like job security, promotion and other benefits. So these hidden group are the real barriers to make a change. They put together their power to influence decisions of an organizations successfully. They give refuge to each other. You can't identify them through surveys but through proper root cause analysis if sponsored by a CEO. Michael Jarrett in his article " The four types of organizational politics" published in Harvard Business Review on April 4 2017, has highlighted the similar phenomenon.

DISC provides file members of the key team needing to change. Identify the Greens / High s’s and get them on board. Once they are on board - they’ll get everyone else on board for you ??

After gathering data through surveys, questionnaires, and focused group discussions, it's important to analyze the information, identifying commonalities and patterns to extract valuable insights. Just as data is the new oil, organizing it can be seen as the modern refinery process. Next, generate a diagnostic report based on these findings and share it with relevant stakeholders, seeking their input to ensure everyone is in sync with the reality check. Keep in mind that correctly identifying the core issues is essential for implementing systemic changes.

Identifying the problem is everything. It may be relatively easy to see some of the effects but the root cause analysis can be almost impossible. There are often complex interrelated issues that may not have a single cause. Just saying "cultural issue" is not enough, you need concrete causes so you can work out how these can be addressed. Understand that fixing one thing can cause another to malfunction so a systemic approach in called for.

After identifying insights and patterns, the next step is to categorize potential solutions into four groups based on effort and value: 1. Quick Wins: These require minimal effort and offer low benefits, such as minor adjustments or policy tweaks. 2. Traps: Avoid high-effort, low-value changes that won't yield significant benefits. 3. Low-Hanging Fruits: Prioritize solutions that demand low effort but promise high value, like policy redesign or straightforward interventions. 4. Leaps: These solutions demand substantial effort but can bring high value. Only pursue them with high confidence, and for complex changes, consider hiring external consultants in organizational development.

Prior to a particular team implementing solutions, it's essential to secure support from pertinent stakeholders to ensure their involvement and ownership of the interventions. To obtain this support, take into account the following steps: 1. Clearly articulate the advantages for them or their teams, explaining how they will benefit from the proposed changes. 2. Foster relationships with key stakeholders to cultivate a collaborative and enjoyable working partnership. 3. Define their role in the process, specifying how they will contribute. Assign timelines and schedule review meetings to monitor progress. 4. Finally, share successes and celebrate together, emphasizing the collaborative nature of the effort and the project's success.

Communicaiton is critical here You really can't implement change without engaging not only stakeholders, but those it impacts It's also good practice to make sure everyone knows what's going on and feels included. That way they are more likely to buy in and try to make it work Change doesn't work well when it feels imposed ... you can't do it 'to' people, you need to make them feel a part of it.

1. Establish a robust Diversity & Inclusion Culture and Department 2. Take proactive vs. passive, solution-oriented approaches (mere compliance with minimum requirements will not suffice) 3. Establish effective strategies, like: - Diversity Training - Diverse Hiring Practices - Inclusive Policies

Here's how to do it: 1 Recognize the Signs: Be aware of common signs of systemic issues viz. recurring problems, consistent inefficiencies,patterns of discrimination ,bias. 2 Data Analysis: Look for patterns, trends & disparities in performance, treatment or outcomes. 3 Stakeholder Feedback: Seek input from employees, customers & other stakeholders 4 Diversity and Inclusion: Identify disparities in hiring, promotion or treatment. 5 Conduct a thorough root cause analysis. 6Cross-Functional Team Formation:To investigate the issue from various angles & bring diverse expertise. 7 Benchmarking your organization's practices and outcomes. 8 Policy and Procedure Review: Assess existing policies, procedures & practices to identify problem areas.