We are indeed living in challenging times. The covid pandemic challenged us and our organizations in one way, the current change in the US administration is challenging us in another. External changes (eg political shifts, global health emergencies, natural emergencies, AI and other new technologies) are coming at an increasing pace and there is a growing need to balance planning with agility to deal with external factors.
It is hard to change. We are used to traditional ways of doing things. Among those is having strategic planning as an item ‘we check off’ rather than more regular strategic thinking time. Thus, to become an agile, adaptable learning organization it is important to be intentional about how you might do this in order for the organizational mindset, culture, and ways of operating to be more adaptable and ready to deal with change whenever it comes.
Here are some ideas for meeting the current moment:
- Stay focused – The news can be overwhelming. What is most important to your organization and the ecosystem it functions in?
- Stay practical – What in your organization needs immediate attention (eg more diverse funding, staff and stakeholder morale, better ways of dealing with external challenges, etc…) What is your organization best positioned to do to help others?
- Find and nurture your collaborators and allies – Disruptive times are not a time to go it alone. If you have good partner relationships, strengthen them. Look for new collaborators where you may need help.
- Consider diverse time frames – Focus on the short-term as you need to but don’t neglect organizational change that will strengthen you going forward. Disruption can also present opportunities.
- Keep your organizational values – Disruptive times challenge our values, pressuring us to go in directions that may not be the ones that will preserve organizational integrity. Have the uncomfortable conversations and recommit to who you are as an organization.
- Understand the impacts of disruption on mental well being – Although external disruptions will impact some more than others, it creates stress for all of us which we inevitably bring into our work world. This makes it especially important for leaders to recognize this and provide staff with the flexibility that is needed to protect their well being.
Here are some ideas for being a more adaptable organization going forward:
- Nurture a culture that encourages on-going learning and adaptation and embraces change. This calls for intentionally allocating time for reflection and discussion, not just ‘doing’. You might want to analyze what your current culture is and perhaps co-create with your team what you would like your culture to be in order to be more adaptable.
- Allocate some regular leadership time (at board and staff meetings) to discuss changes in the external and internal environment that may be impacting the organization and/or specific goals you have.
- Leaders/managers need to provide their team members with time to reflect and learn so that this is part of their performance goals – a ‘must do’ activity, not just one that falls by the wayside when the day to day is business is too demanding (for isn’t that always the case?!)
- Make space for what may be uncomfortable but are necessary conversations. This may include developing your leadership’s comfort and skills in leading/facilitating challenging conversations. Be open about discussing failure so you can learn from it. When team members share their failures, be encouraging so others will feel comfortable doing the same and learning can be shared.
- Change can seem overwhelming especially if it is in a very different direction than you have been used to going, so don’t try to do too much at once. Focus on changes that the team can get behind and initially on the easier ‘wins’.
- Create some structure (even a simple one) that keeps people on a strategic learning path (and not falling back on old habits). Empower everyone to hold each other accountable.
- And as with any change process, celebrate your successes! It will keep up your team’s morale and provide momentum for further learning and adaptations.
