Making the Invisible Visible: Why It's Important to Look Below the Surface of the Team and Organisation Periodically
It’s a common scenario: a board meeting where financial targets are dissected, market trends are debated, and strategic initiatives are mapped out. Yet, often, the very engine driving these ambitions – the team and organisation – remains a shadowy figure, its inner workings unexplored. Why do boards mostly operate in the dark regarding team and organisational effectiveness, and why does it matter? This blog post will explore that question and suggest ways to bring these crucial aspects into the light.
Why Do Boards Mostly Operate in the Dark?
Several factors contribute to this lack of visibility. Firstly, CEOs often lack experience in building cross-functional teams and organisations, typically having a background in commercial, technical, operational, or financial areas. This can mean that they do not have the right tools or experience to diagnose issues in team and organisational effectiveness.
Secondly, there’s a tendency for boards to over-focus on individual managers rather than the wider team and organisational dynamics. It's easy to assume that ‘management’ is simply a few key people, but in reality, it is a complex system of assets and activities at individual, team, and organisational levels. This means that boards can often fail to see the “submerged iceberg” of management which includes team effectiveness, structures and functions that drive scalability and performance.
Thirdly, executives are often the last to know about issues within their organisation. Layers of management can insulate senior leaders, and issues may need to escalate significantly before reaching their attention. This delayed awareness means that change programs often become catch-up exercises.
Finally, there's a tendency to focus on the ‘what’ rather than the ‘how’. Boards often focus on strategy and external factors, neglecting the internal "inner work lives" of employees. This can lead to an over-reliance on financial metrics and a neglect of manager feedback. There can also be a reluctance to take responsibility for problems, which prevents open discussion and can mean that learning and self-criticism needed for excellence aren't happening.
Why Does Looking at Team and Organisational Effectiveness Matter?
The impact of neglecting team and organisational health can be profound. A fragile partnership, a board with confused governance, misaligned expectations, or inadequate team arrangements can all block value creation. As well, a lack of attention to team and organisational issues post-deal is a major cause of post-deal failure.
Focusing on team and organisational effectiveness is crucial because it is the foundation for executing strategy and achieving scalability. When a business is not working effectively, it limits the amount of available management bandwidth, meaning that the team becomes more reactive, less proactive and more stretched.
Why Are There Usually Such Easy Wins When Light is Shone on This Area?
When attention is finally given to team and organisational effectiveness, improvements can often be made surprisingly easily because the area is often the least optimised aspect of the business. There is often a gap between an organisation’s aspirations and its current capabilities, and by understanding the current situation, you can identify areas where small changes can yield a disproportionate return.
We have found that when management teams are given evidence of organisational bottlenecks, 70% can be resolved with little need for outside involvement.
There is often low-hanging fruit because of untapped potential, and by focusing on small wins, organisations can achieve progress in meaningful work. Resolving negatives can be twice as useful as promoting positives. By addressing and removing negative behaviours, it clears the way for positive changes. Simple changes to the work environment, such as removing unnecessary steps in a process or creating short checklists, can create large gains. As well, it's easier to build on existing strengths than trying to fix everything at once.
What are the High Impact, Low Cost Ways of Doing Something Meaningful in This Area?
There are a variety of ways to approach making the invisible visible, with some being more effective than others. The key is to use a variety of methods and to make sure that the process is not seen as personal criticism, but as about improving how the business operates: it’s all just ‘stuff’. Here are some high-impact, low-cost ways to make a difference:
Use a ‘discovery process’ to uncover root causes go beyond surface-level problems and find the underlying mindsets that drive behaviours that are affecting organisational health. Catalysis has found that team and organisation questionnaires can provide a granular and credible sense of how healthy organisations are. Other techniques such as interviews and focus groups can be used to reveal the hidden drivers of problems;
Focus on feedback loops by implementing systems to gather feedback from employees, and making sure that the feedback goes to people who can act on it;
Prioritise key areas and focus on a few critical moves that can have a significant impact. Make sure that these are specific behaviours rather than abstract goals. Focusing on small improvements and fixing the "plumbing" before "spouting poetry" can eliminate negativity;
Create compelling stories to convey the need for change and its positive impact, resonating on a personal level. Then provide updates to demonstrate progress;
Use the 'pre-mortem' technique asking teams to imagine a change program has failed to identify potential roadblocks;
Start with a burst with a focused period of work to address a specific problem. Emphasize the power of small wins and break down large changes into smaller steps; and
Engage employees in the design of changes that affect them. Change is more likely to be embraced when it is socially constructed rather than being imposed from above. Working groups of second tier and other managers can be surprisingly effective in identifying and addressing issues.
Conclusion
Looking below the surface of the team and organisation isn't just good practice, it's essential for sustainable growth and success. By addressing the underlying issues, organisations can unlock hidden potential, create a more effective working environment and achieve better results. This requires a shift in focus from the 'what' to the 'how' and a commitment to ongoing improvement.
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