Organizational Mindset Shift

A new normal in the business world is that organizations need to change to survive. Everyone wants to change and become (insert buzz word here) and most organizations have realized by now that the transition revolves around acquiring the right people, technology, processes, and models. However, executives often seem to ignore the most important, and most exciting requirement: changing the organization's DNA.

According to a McKinsey survey conducted, more than 80% fail to deliver the hoped-for value in the time planned, and 10% cause real damage to the company. More important, they can be damned miserable experiences for employees.

Research suggests that reorganizations, and the uncertainty they provoke about the future, can cause greater stress & anxiety than layoffs, leading in about 60% of cases to noticeably reduced productivity.

Conceptualizing vs Implementation

Conceptualizing without implementation is nothing more than presentation techniques. A?concept?is an idea we can retain in our mind, a generalization of a particular case scenario to be explored. A concept is often associated with a catchy name that magically marks the concept of re-org. Implementation is the process of moving an idea from concept to reality in business, engineering and other fields, Implementation requires and measures reliability growth.

Quality and reliability of products and processes are important concepts. Many proposed implementations of these concepts are inadequate and therefore it is important to have the right processes in place to achieve an organizational mindshift.

Start Asking The Right Questions

A mindset of asking and listening (compared to knowing and telling) is a mindset of learning. It’s a mind that is open to other perspectives. Chosing to ask and learn rather than immediately try to tell (which is often based on compiled knowledge from a distinct context and socio economically background) will bring amazing results. Understanding the underlaying problems of an existing organization will allow you to ideate and create clear strategies for the future that are both conceptual and can easily translate into implementation actions that can be measures.

Design thinking is a methodology used in most processes and it can also be used to achieve a mindset shift, by empathizing, defining the problem, ideating, prototyping and solving a real problem.

The engagement gain by using design thinking is important for a mindset shift, and it also allows to distill complex problems into single statements that instead allow you to benchmark and measure.

Humanized network structures?

In a world where business conditions can change overnight, organizations can use a networked organization to their advantage. These humanized networks create a people-centric culture where collaboration is encouraged. This increases employee communication, employee engagement, and builds a supportive network for both individual and organizational success.

Leaders should enable these networks to exist and support the human elements and dynamics associated with these high-performing teams. As businesses become more networked, leaders need to foster teams with people who can think beyond their own functions or locations. These networks improve communication and collaboration across the functional and geographic silos and improve access to resources, skills, and technologies across the organization that might otherwise be not visible in the vertical silos.

Critical Thinking Mass

To some extent we are hard-wired by our long-standing belief systems, however, we can rewire ourselves.?Neuroscience?has proven this. Our thought patterns are driven by our underlying beliefs, biases and assumptions that we have held onto tightly since childhood, as they kept us safe.

Establishing the right mindset is not necessarily quick and easy, but the important thing to know is that you can change your beliefs. Either on your own or in groups of people. By communicating the concepts based on in depth design thinking research, showcasing the core problems and metrics and empowering the people through a guided process that shines a light on the beliefs, they can be let go or replaced with more productive patterns of thought.

I have written an article on how human-centered design can lead to human-centered organizations, check out my article on this specific topic if you are interested in deep-diving that particular subject more.

It's all about the People

When employees feel empowered to make decisions, provide feedback, and take action within an organization,?they are more?likely to create incremental value while increasing their engagement. I have heard leaders admit they do not coach their employees because they do not have time and that it feels like another item on their to-do list, but I believe it is the?most important item?on the list. When leaders invest the time needed to support and empower their team members through development, employees begin to feel confident and organizations will thrive with innovation as a result.

A leader’s job is to foster insight, not to provide all the answers. Here are five steps to shift employee mindsets, build confidence, and empower ownership of their current role and beyond.

1. This Journey Is Yours to Walk - Opening doors to others to do their best work, support with guidance and support but empower them.

2. A Job Description Is Just a Guideline - Just because they don’t check every box on a job description doesn’t mean they aren’t qualified. I personally choose motivation and ambition over diploma's and qualifications.

3. You Achieve What You Measure - Set expectations. When you foster accountability, the employee is more likely to take ownership of their role while building their confidence along the way.

4. Redefine Failure - Setting boundaries on decision-making and problem-solving is a good starting place toward creating a culture of failing safely.

5. Harness the Power of Detailed Positive Feedback - Delivering positive affirmations so employees know what they should do more of and are confident in the skills they are developing.

By focusing on building people skills and shifting their mindset, employees will realize they’ve been given the tools they need to manage the change ahead. The rest is up to them.

The proof is in the pudding

We are in a time where answers are not readily available and we are unsure of the future. We must today be transparent with employees and open up the lines of communication to move the organization forward. This can be uncomfortable at times, but a responsive organization is one that can adapt and pivot based on open lines of communication.

Transparency between leaders and employees builds trust. Trust is a hard thing to obtain today so when it is present, the amount of productivity and engagement in an organization multiplies.

Be sure to be open and transparent on key decisions and changes in business processes, procedures, and teams. Involve them in the decisions and process, because most of the times the persons who need to live the change are the best people to help decide the change.

When looking at organizations that went through change, the ones that worked through it based on an organizational mindshift most of the times proved succesful, where as the ones that didn't often fail. The proof really is in the pudding here.

Might you be interested in discussing mindset change in your organization, or if you are considering becoming a leader, please feel free to contact me as I am always willing to share my experiences and in return learn from others.