ODF 2024 Conference: Better Together

The Festival of Organization Design promised that it would be the place “where big ideas meet real-life applications”.? After spending several days immersing in the conference experience, I am pleased to share that it delivered!

In reflecting upon the time there listening to the thought-provoking presentations and engaging with the diverse and dynamic community, many learnings came through for me.? However, synthesizing it all down to some key insights, the idea of “better together” stood out, and specifically themes around head & heart, teaching & learning, and strategy & execution.

HEAD & HEART

Chris Worley kicked off the conference by engaging heads and hearts and thinking of organization design and culture as both a noun and verb.? This framing is important because when done well organizational design and culture can be experienced and felt while also being conceptualized and documented.? He furthered the better together notion, making it a trio, by stating that agility woven together with the organizational design and culture is a differentiator because it brings (more on this agile WoW factor in a moment).? Continuing with the head and heart, Jardena London brought them together by tapping into the soul, specifically designing soulful organizations.? While at first glance the idea of a soulful organization may seem more based on the emotions of the heart, she showed the practicality of the head interplay sharing “every practical element has a soulful purpose…every soulful element needs a practical implementation.”? These combined create the conditions for a soulful organization which are dignity, creativity, and connection.? Looking through a different lens, Mehmet Tuzel and Andrew Williams had us consider the AI-enabled organization.? On the surface, stats like 80% of workers having 10% of their deliverables affected by GenAI and almost 20% having at least 50% impacted might have us thinking that the machines are here to make us obsolete.? They reassured though that ample room (and even new white space) is available for the human head and heart with a 3-dimensional look at tasks (Human, Machine/AI, & Impact/Value).? This combination creates “intelligent collaboration representing an advanced integration of human and machine capabilities, aimed at enhancing productivity and innovation in the workplace.”

Great news!? There’s no having to choose between head and heart when it comes to organizational design.? It can be both noun and verb, both soulful and AI-enabled.

TEACHING & LEARNING

Do you have the confidence to teach and yet humility to learn? ?If so, you just might be wise beyond your years.? As Amy Kates shared “wisdom is built through experience & reflection; otherwise, repeated experience only creates habit.”? In practice, this looks like project experience and apprenticeship for practical application coupled with formal learning and reflection where everyone gets involved (teaching, contributing, coaching…).? Wisdom is also understanding that what you know (or believe to know) actually has the greatest potential for blindspots.? Briana Bradley and Kevin Anderson introduced interaction modeling as a means for teaching and learning to intermingle uncovering assumptions and unknowns.? Interaction modeling allows for real people to have real conversation about real work processes and problems.? Through it people can simultaneously share their experience in a scenario while developing deeper understanding by seeing it through the perspective of others.? Speaking of perspective, how many ways do you think there is to make toast?? Beth Gunderson led the “Draw Toast” exercise which helps create shared understanding and showcase that even with seemingly straightforward processes your frame of reference shapes the model and system.? Additionally, she furthered the learning and teaching dynamic through vantage point.? Specifically, the thinking of balcony vs. dance floor leadership.? While it can seem counterintuitive to move away from the action, it provides a view that offers valuable insights that can be turned into coaching moments as you find the opportune time to cut in.? With so much great content and insights, Molly Breazeale brought in a much needed moment of meaning-making by prompting the teaching and learning loop through observation, reflection, interpretation, and decision (ORID).? The power of focused conversation creating the space for engagement and activation cannot be underestimated.

So, is it better to teach or learn?? No need to choose.? Why not both!

STRATEGY & EXECUTION

Strategy and execution can be worlds apart; unless, it has the agile WoW (Ways of Working) factor to bring it together.? The Panel of Ali Nawab , Damian Bramanis , Philip Hofton , and Jill Dobbe spoke on organizational design trends and possibilities.? Through new thinking and technology, the employer and employee will be better aligned around value realization bringing speed, scalability, and sustainability to ways of working.? To connect these ways of working dots from strategy to execution, Bob Johansen shared numerous nuggets like leveraging future-back and full-spectrum thinking.? With future-back, the recommendation is putting yourself 10 years into the future to develop foresight, looking back up to 50 years for insights, and then taking action and making decisions based on this full-spectrum view.? This way of thinking and working is vital in the VUCA (Volitale, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) and now BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensible) world of work because “the future rewards clarity, but punishes certainty.”? In support of this clarity, Dr. Janet Sherlock shined light on an interesting phenomenon she calls “The Overlap Trap” in which the proliferation of C-Suite roles is widening the gap between strategy and execution.? Additionally, there are flawed assumptions around thinking that the organizational structure needs to keep pace with change and new roles are required to support the latest innovation.? Her research showed that single-leader led organizations saw 35% greater clarity in roles and responsibilities, 22% greater productivity, and 25% faster speed-to-market (as opposed to multiple-leader led organizations).? Those are some healthy numbers.? Which brings to mind a question, how do you know if an organization is healthy enough to deliver what matters most?? Whit Laga , Theresa L. G. , and Mark Robinson positioned organizational health as alignment to strategic differentiation, and differentiation means that in order to succeed in your priorities you are willing to sacrifice in other areas.? Additionally, organizational health is strengthened when measurement of it is done leveraging those metrics that the organization already uses to drive cultural, operational, and business impacts.? And this brings it back full circle to Chris Worley 's statement that agility woven together with the organizational design and culture is a differentiator because it brings “the learned ability to repeatedly orchestrate timely and sufficient changes when and where they result in a performance advantage”.

When it comes to strategy and execution coming together, nothing more to say than...

The world of work has no shortage of polarities that would seemingly be at odds with each other.? Now more than ever, organizational design is key in connecting these ends of the spectrums to create healthy tension which brings balance.? The Organization Design Forum ’s mission is to help practitioners make organizations more effective, successful, and inspiring.? Based on my conference experience, I’d say mission accomplished and sign me up for being part of this community that brings diverse theory and practice together to advance organizations through design.

We’re “better together”!