MANAGEMENT PARADOXES. Examples of how to manage paradoxes:.
The ImageChoice team know about how organisations function, there are patterns to be understood and managed. We believe that sustainable competitive advantage depends on how well an organisation can manage paradoxes like these.
The following list gives examples of where we apply our knowledge, skills tools and methods to address the issues in solving organizational paradoxes:
1. Leadership Engagement
The first stage is to get leaders to understand the paradox they are in, busy people often ignore the complex organizational issues that demand more time.
2. Root Cause Analyses
Appropriate tools and methods are used to analyse the root causes of the paradox. Only when root cause is understood will it will be possible to identify the appropriate actions necessary to create a more successful operation. Undertake ROI calculations and scorecards to measure effects.
3. Left and Right Brain Problem Solving
Hyper competition ensures survival of the fittest; the exercises that build organisational fitness need to be learnt and practiced consistently. Simple problem solving is often too situational and geared to short term fixes. Better to bring innovation, growth and the sustainable advantage into the limelight. Creating the conditions for out side the box thinking harnesses people power within the organization, this is crucial for sustained fitness. Critical thinking events are facilitated in ways that connect up right brain and left brain thinking.
4. Leading The Change
Working with managers we set their expectations about what is required of them and ensure they are being assessed against the right success criteria. A one size fits all communication plan does not work, people process information in different ways. Better to establish a range of communication processes to deliver stakeholder clarity. All communications should engage stakeholders in brand awareness. In understanding the barriers to change we ensure they are addressed effectively.
5. Develop the Intellectual Capital Of The Organisation
Management competencies are assessed and coaching and development needs identified and actions taken. Short term goals often take managers away from organizational problem solving, thus creating many of the organisational paradoxes. Managers who can raise their game to understand the bigger picture and discover new opportunities for advancing the organizations competitive powers should be recognised and rewarded. Build high performing collaborative teams.
6. System & Processes
Help managers understand how the organization works as a system, Emphasis and explain the complex dependencies between business units and functions. Both formal and informal relationships must be understood. Move beyond the functional organization chart and mix the people in ways that ensure information transfer and the establishment of effective collaboration. Highlight positive behavior patterns and deal with negative ones. Systems and processes should work to embed desired behaviours in the organizations DNA.
7. Live the Brand
Make sure every employee understands and can talk about the brand attributes. Engage employees in how things are done to support the key brand attributes. From the top team to the most junior member of staff, everyone must understand how their effort contributes to organizational success. Incorporate supports for the right behaviours into development processes. Everyone should now know the new rules of the game.
8. Evaluate Performance
Use tools and methods to evaluate and report results, scorecards, focus groups, staff surveys for example. Provide managers with the knowledge and skills to use analytical cause and effect techniques. Coach and develop managers in problem solving skills so they can plan and take effective actions
9. Organisational Transformation
Know what the As-Is state and the To- Be state looks like. Understand the steps in the organizational plan that will guide the journey. Teach the principles of adaptive organizations and what they look like. Communicate, communicate, communicate, bottom up and top down.
10. Encourage Innovation
Liberate creativity, the key to sustaining a competitive edge. Facilitate development of the best ideas, even if it is the idea of one person as opposed to the consensus of many. Empower people to think out-side the box. Reward innovation and make it everyone’s business. Use tools and methods to encourage creative thinking. Build innovation into the cultural values of the organization. Manage information and business intelligence to support commercial adaptation of all innovation.
11. Motivate All Stakeholders
Win people’s hearts and minds by inspirational leadership. Listen to stakeholders and actively seek out the deep rooted causes of negativity. Build feedback mechanisms into the organization to monitor morale and customer satisfaction. Avoid using constant change programmes to cover up organizational weaknesses. Continually communicate the organizations vision and plans in ways that engage employees, create excitement. Embed “Fair Process” into management behaviour.
12. Make Organisational Effectiveness a Strategic Issue
The value generating power of organizational effectiveness tools and methods can only be realized when management incorporates it into its fundamental thinking processes. It must be a strategic issue that is delivered through operational excellence. It is rare for any organization to achieve its optimal state, its best considered as a journey of continuous improvement that enables the transformational leaps of the adaptive organization.