We witnessed this firsthand over the last decade while educating, coaching, and guiding teams to work in a new way, solving customer problems brought forth by stakeholders.
Working in a new way involves leaders and cross-functional teams who:
- Understand the customer problem deeply
- Imagine innovative ideas
- Mitigate risks by testing critical assumptions using rapid experimentation
- Make evidence-based decisions
- Stay focused on outcomes and track progress along the way
Short-term measurable impact was achieved within workshops and Accelerators over 90 days as we coached leaders and teams.
To maintain momentum, we developed internal coaches to guide more teams and leaders in this new way of working.
The Big Problem Remained
We quickly recognized that the organization could not change. The core issue? It wasn’t dynamic or adaptive in how it operated.
They believed a reorganization would solve the problem and bring about change.
But, reorganization is not the same as transformation. It doesn't address:
- Competing priorities
- Working in silos
- Decision-making only at the leadership level
- Stakeholders directing teams on what to build
- Ineffective core practices
Consider the impact of any reorganization. Did we cover every angle? Is everything in place to achieve the desired outcome? How will we know if it succeeded?
The Lesson Here
It's not just about restructuring; it’s about transforming how the entire organization operates to accelerate innovation and tackle evolving challenges and opportunities.
It includes:
- Shifting mindsets and behaviors at every level to become more customer-centric, outcome-focused, and data-driven
- Embracing failure as learning for innovation to thrive
- Evolving incentives to support these changes
- Enhancing collaboration and decision-making processes aligned with roles, skills, capabilities, and core practices
Leverage what's working but rethink the operating model to support people working in new ways that empower leaders and teams to drive value on critical initiatives, solve crucial customer problems, and allow the organization to thrive.
Written By: Pam Krengel