Tag Archives: engagement

June 6, 2018

Being Agile: On the Path to Organizational Agility | #orgdna on the #futureofwork (discussed 6/11/18)

By Chris Jones

Like so many buzz words in the corporate lexicon, notions of agility get dropped often in work settings. Who doesn’t want to get the important things done faster? Even moreso, the Agile methodology, born and bred in the world of software development, introduces a welcome path to help get there.

Easy enough?

Well, no. Actually, it’s as difficult as can be. Because changing how we think, how we work together, and how we attack problems is painful, and sometimes slow. Agile champions and enthusiasts may beat the drum of change, but their energy doesn’t always sink in, or sustain.

If Agile is a path to organizational and corporate agility, it’s going to be more of a journey.

Agile is as much a mindset as a methodology. It’s not just the steps and the formats. It’s a social paradigm shift. Consider.  How and when should we engage others? How do we get comfortable with ceding control? Are we able to develop a bias for trust?

No small challenge, agility, but I think it’s the essential path. The 21st century marketplace demands a quickened pace. The nimble will survive.

So let’s get to it.

In our 6/11/18 #orgdna chat, let’s discuss a few of the critical elements that are key initial conditions on the path to agility:

  • Q1. Quickened Pace. Can you and your team(s) pick up the pace of decision-making, even to the extent of a sprint?
  • Q2. Flexibility. Will your and your team(s) be willing to shift direction midstream?
  • Q3. Cross-Functional Engagement. What level of cooperation can you achieve?
  • Q4. Commitment. Are stakeholders truly empowered to own solutions and take risks (vs. lip service)?
  • Q5. Permission for Transparency. Is everyone (including/especially those “up the chain”) ready for honest appraisals of gaps?
  • Q6. Flow of Work. Agility is fueled by an organic, opportunistic flow of work, not what we are used to: structure and control. Are you and your team(s) ready?

Lots to talk about, all of it foundational to becoming agile.  Let’s discuss, and put some stakes in the ground.

The mission? We’re continuing to unpack the #futureofwork through the lens of social complexity, and I hope you’ll join us.  We meet monthy, mostly on 3rd or 4th Mondays, from 9-11pm. For June, we’re holiday hopping, and it’s a 2nd Monday.

See? We’re being agile already. Hold on for the ride.

Chris Jones, aka @sourcepov, Charlotte NC

 

How does a Twitter Chat work? We recommend a streaming app like TweetDeck. Just append #orgdna to your tweets adding #orgdev #agile #agility and/or #futureofwork to specific tweets, as relevant, to expand the thread. Sometimes we’ll chat in the #orgdna stream in real-time, like a flash mob, with insights just popping up.  But for the in-depth discussion, join us at the appointed hour on Twitter. It’s always lively, and we hope you’ll join us! 

 

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August 18, 2017

The Workplace is Changing. What Lies Ahead? | #orgdna #futureofwork series launch 8/18/17

By Chris Jones

As our conversations continue to explore changes in the workplace, the #futureofwork hashtag has materialized seemingly out of nowhere.

It’s rapidly catching on. You might say it’s caught up with us.

Our last 3 chats on org futures tapping Laloux’s ideas have helped lay the groundwork. You may see some of his thinking in our topic outline, below. Echoes of our conversations on Wheatley are there too. But even more catalyzing, to me, is Deloitte’s recent Tom Friedman interview, hosted by CEO Cathy Englebert and senior strategist John Hagel. Have a look, prior to the chat.

Then let’s use our chat space to distill a few of the key elements for our upcoming #futureofwork conversation, with inputs from Christy Pettit, Allison Honery and me.

Some early ideas for themes to explore include:

  • Purpose at Work | Work-Job Disconnects
  • Job Design
  • Gig Economy
  • Management Models | Anti-Silo Design
  • Roles not Titles
  • Engagement | Collaborative Models | “Radically Open”
  • Virtual Pros/Cons | Work-Life in the Balance
  • Learning at Work
  • Change | Embracing Ambiguity
  • Structure vs. Flow | Push vs. Pull
  • AI in the Workplace
  • Trusting Cultures
  • The New Leader

As always, lots to talk about, with some new ideas on how we frame and unpack changes in the workplace.

Join us MON 8/18 from 9-10:30pm ET to lay out and prioritize series topics. There’s enough content for a solid 6 months of monthly chats. I think it’s worth devoting a chat to a roadmap. Think of it as our chat agenda.

Stop in for the conversation. It’s always lively.

Chris (aka @sourcepov) Charlotte NC

ABOUT THE GROUP. Over the last 5 years, a small group of OD thinkers has been discussing the future of the organization, using hashtag #orgdna. Small, of course, is relative. Our number of active contributors has hovered around 20-25, but any given month, there are 5-10 of us engaged in a dialog on the future of work. Please join us. The chat is open to all. For the chat itself, we recommend a tweet streaming app like TweetDeck. Just add #orgdna (and optionally, now, #futureofwork) to your tweets, and we’ll see you at the appointed hour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR. A thinker, instigator, and explorer of edges, Chris Jones has been unpacking the forces at play inside organizations for 30 years. Find his thinking here on the #orgdna blog, on Medium – or for his deepest dive, over on Amazon.

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October 14, 2016

Cultural Patterns in Org Design: Can specific elements mark our Path to Success?

By Chris Jones

Loved the ideas circulating during and after our September 19 #orgdna chat on the “Price of Growth” (transcript here).

We talked about the downside organizational impact of scale, namely, the loss of close relationships and nimbleness enjoyed when a company is new and small. Some of this, we concluded, is just driven by access. More people. More connections to make. Less time to get everyone in the loop.

But we also concluded a culture shift can also be tied to the changing nature of relationships and a shift of focus. I especially loved this comment by Mark Britz on this:

In our 10/17 #orgdna, let’s discuss several patterns of culture that will impact success as we seek to design and enhance how our organizations work.  It’s a focus core to organization effectiveness, key topics for OD and HR practitioners across industry groups.

We’ll include Mark’s input on a “social” archetype (Q1) and a few others surfaced historically by Charles Handy (Q2-Q5) and more recently by Jon Husband (Q6). Here’s our outline:

  • Q1. Discuss Social archetype. Seen where collaboration embraced. Values relationships. Other characteristics?
  • Q2. Discuss Command archetype. Seen in military & the CEO’s office. Values loyalty.
  • Q3. Discuss Silo-expertise archetype. Seen in Fortune 500 & Academia. Values consistency.
  • Q4. Discuss Network archetype. Seen in customer service and ER’s. Values learning.
  • Q5. Discuss Practitioner archetype. Seen in SMB. Values independence and flexbility.
  • Q6. Discuss Wirearchy-connecting archetype. Evolving. Where is this likely to work? Similar to Q1? Q4?

Our virtual think tank has been at this since 2012.  Four years and going strong.

Hope you will join us, 9:00pm ET for the chat, 8:30pm for the pre-game. Just add #orgdna to all your tweets at the appointed hour. We recommend a streaming Twitter app like Tweetdeck, so you can see the full conversation in real time.

Looking forward.

Chris (aka @sourcepov)

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