The world of work is always going through transformation, and the last few years have been those of profound and exponential changes to our work realities. While every organization may be dealing with a different set of priorities and challenges, the concept of effectiveness can never lose its shine in an ever-changing business landscape.
Because effectiveness saves energy.
Productivity levels, capabilities, capacities, no matter what challenges your organization is dealing with, increasing effectiveness is an integral part of managing the equation.
It is possible that some of these challenges may have caused major disruptions in the way we work. So, what can we do to minimize the negative effects?
Is it possible to maintain or even grow effectiveness in a time of crisis?
We can simplify our objectives and focus on our value proposition.
Systems theorists such as Donella Meadows, Dave Snowden, and Tyson Yunkaporta indicate that over time, most organizations have moved from simple to complicated to complex, and then, into chaos. However, simplifying and refocusing on our organizational objectives will help in:
- Minimizing the chaos
- Improving organizational efficiencies and productivity
- Increasing customer and employee engagement levels
- Creating a sustainable growth path for the business
Pollinate CEO, Christy Pettit offers useful insights on how to refine the struggle and simplify systems, processes, and practices.
Five Steps to Simplify and Refocus on Organizational Objectives
1. Set priorities
Know what matters most by placing key tasks and deliverables in the appropriate quartile of the “urgent” and “important” window. Park or jettison the things that are important but not urgent, while fixing the more pressing gaps in your policies, systems, or processes.
2. Be prepared
Working effectively requires substantial preparation. Both individuals and organizations need to align tasks and, if necessary, relearn how to do them. In a virtual or hybrid working environment, that also means ensuring excellent infrastructure, and the right support through mentoring.
3. Clarify and model the mindset required
Building a growth mindset and promoting continuous learning and skill upgrades are essential elements of a successful competitive landscape, where agility is the key to survival. As leaders, it is important that you adopt this mindset and demonstrate your own skills and experience with self-regulation, resilience and self-management (including managing priorities, critical thinking, and digital and financial literacy).
4. Support your organizational objectives
True effectiveness is about aligning all policies, practices, systems, and processes with your organization’s objectives or “value proposition”. When you clarify and stand behind what you believe in and promise to deliver:
- Your managers and teams understand how they fit into the organizational networks and relationships, and what they need do to perform effectively in their spot.
- Your customers understand what you bring to the table that is unique, or needed by the marketplace, and find and make use of what you have to offer.
5. Develop a culture of continuous improvement
When you set out on the journey of improving effectiveness, apply the principle of “simplify” to EVERY aspect of your business. Whether it is the product design, the service workflow, the internal interactions and communication channels, or the technology systems, be very particular about making every aspect simple, straightforward, short, and smart.
Remember, bringing in such clarity and simplicity for your organization, teams, and yourself, is an iterative process. Hence, in keeping with a growth mindset, you need to keep asking “What’s needed NOW?”
Invest in Smart Assessment and Measurement Tools with Pollinate
At Pollinate, our assessment and matching algorithm are like a continuous cycle of refining organizational objectives and value propositions. It is about identifying who can do what, what do they need to do it well, and putting people together to realize these objectives.
Whether your teams need help with social isolation, job change, skill gaps, ensuring inclusion, or transferring knowledge, our tools can help you create a supportive environment, along with strategic matching of mentoring pairs and cohorts. This is a simple and proven solution to prepare people for the world of work ahead.
Interested in exploring some of our organization-wide assessment and measurement tools? Get in touch with us to learn more.
Christy Pettit is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Pollinate Networks Inc.
For 25 years, Christy has developed new approaches and best practices for agile, effective organizations worldwide. She is an expert on matching people and organizations for applications including knowledge transfer and mentorship programs, flexible virtual and hybrid teams, and productive organizational and business ecosystems and networks.
