It's Time to Break the Re-Org Cycle

Can this be your last "Re-Org"? SPOILER ALERT: Yes, it can.

Tell me if this cycle sounds – FEELS! – familiar.

1. RE-ORG ANNOUNCED (Stressed. Upset.)

2. RE-ORG IMPLEMENTED (Anxious. Uncomfortable.)

3. RE-ORG “OVER.” (Relief. Acceptance. Maybe even excitement!)

4. STEADY STATE. (Chill-axing and productive. )

And then….

NEXT RE-ORG ANNOUNCED. AUUUUUUGGGHHHH!

Amiright? I thought so.

DING-DONG. The “RE-ORG” IS DEAD.

It’s not often I get to mis-quote the Wizard of Oz. But, It’s been on my mind lately as we hear people talk about change fatigue, organizational stress and more, while leaders make promises of ‘steady state’ or ‘this is the last one.’

Which got me to thinking. COULD you make this your last re-org? THIS AGILISTA IS HERE TO SAY "YES!"

BUT FIRST, LET'S PUT THE STINKY FISH ON THE TABLE. "Transformation" is not just the latest corporate buzzword for "re-org." Transformation is a holistic shift involving mindsets, behaviors, systems, processes, ways of working and, yes, often structures. Re-orgs are exactly that: reorganizing structures, or, simply put, moving the seats and sometimes the butts in them.

Now where was I? Ah yes.

COULD you make this your last re-org? Yes. It's not EASY but it is SIMPLE:

It’s all about enabling FLOW. ORGANIZATIONAL FLOW, that is.

It’s a fundamental of agile working. And while there can be many elements to achieve it, to yours truly the most important ones are:

Mindset. You guessed it, agilistas. Achieving organizational flow starts with shifting your mindset. Start by reframing how you define “steady state.” In an agile organization, WHAT is STEADY is UNSTEADINESS. The new constant is not the negative, stress-inducing “C” word (change). The new constant is FLOW. Ahhhh. Isn’t that nice? If you’re constantly seeking that moment when things will “stop changing,” here’s the NEWSFLASH: You are constantly going to be spending energy bucking against the flow. (No wonder you’ve been so exhausted!) That ends today, mi amigos! So, take a shavasana* then hop on the agility inner tube with us and let the currents of energy and patient/customer need move your work!

Operating model. Once you’ve reframed your thinking around flow, it is time to look at your operating model. GROAN. I know, I know. But stick with me. After all, someone has to put the A in VACC, right? The eagle-eyed among you will notice I didn’t say “structures.” Because while structures can be a useful enabler, the first element is to focus on HOW you get the work done. When doing so, challenge yourself not to solve for TODAY. Instead solve for tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. And all the tomorrows in the future. In this nutty VUCA world (pandemics, hurricanes, fires… all that is missing is the locusts!), the key is to develop a model that will enable you to (you guessed it) FLOW to the most impactful work no matter WHAT cray-cray-ness comes at us. So put your enterprize-wide hoodie on and consider how to build flexibility and flow into your ways of working.

With your mindsets reset and your operating model sussed-out and set for flow, logical - SUSTAINABLE! - structures to enable that flow (pools, networks, etc.) can emerge. All setting you up nicely for your new “STEADY” state: FLOW.

DING. DONG. The “RE-ORG” IS DEAD. LONG LIVE “FLOW”.

*According to my lovelies at Wikipedia, shavasana is the blissful state of relaxation or meditation that happens at the end of a yoga class. It is a restorative pose, and arguably one of the most important.