Culture Shift

Seeing WONDER
Seeing WONDER 2000 1333 SageRiver Consulting LLC

As part of SageRiver’s study of how wonder can inspire strategy, we sat down with photographer Tom Riggs. He has built his career around exploring landscapes with wonder to find the story, emotion and meaning in the world around him. His insights can help leaders understand how to open their eyes more fully to see possibilities that would otherwise stay hidden.

Trillium Lake. Published by permission of Tom Riggs Photography.

SageRiver (SR): You’re known for your astounding landscape photography, and it’s often difficult to get to the locations you photograph. Why do you do it? Are these images for you? Or, are you taking them as a gift to others, in the hope the pictures will resonate with them?

Tom Riggs (TR): I take the photographs for myself and process them how I remember the scene. And if that resonates or strikes a chord or an emotion or a memory in someone else, then that’s just the joy of connecting with your audience through your work.

SR: How do you decide what you’re going to photograph?

TR: If I’m out in nature, I’ll have something already in mind that I want to use as my main subject. That will anchor the picture and be what draws you or me to that specific scene. As I look at that, I try to satisfy my need for why I was there in the first place. I make sure I satisfy that curiosity first, and then I’ll look for other things that you can’t see. I’ll look around and explore other angles or a different subject matter or perspective. I may get down on the ground or get an overhead view to capture an idea I was wondering about while I was traveling to that location.

SR: When you look at a scene, how do you compose the photos you take?

TR: Usually, when I come upon a scene, I’m immediately looking for some sort of composition. I don’t know if that’s something inherent or something that is trained, but it seems to come relatively easy to me. I just notice how the eye reaches and flows and focuses around a certain landscape item. I notice the scene itself, as well as how my eye responds to it.

SR: I’ve heard you speak about drawing attention to or eliminating information from the picture. Those feel like strategic choices, and I’m wondering if you can describe the process.

Sol Duc Forest, Olympic National Park. Published by permission.

TR: If I have a subject or an anchor for the photo, I want to decide where to put it in the picture. And it’s usually not smack dab in the middle. It’s usually best to begin with some of the general rules of photography, such as the rule of thirds. That means dividing your frame into horizontal and vertical thirds to create four points where those lines intersect. Typically, it’s a good idea to put your main subject in one of those four intersections. It doesn’t mean you’re locked into that. It just means that’s a good place to start.

Then, I consider how my eye moves around that frame. Do I need to crop out details that pull the eye away from my anchor? Or if I’m walking on a trail, for example, and it leads up to a mountain peak, my eye will naturally follow the trail. If I’m aware of that and use that detail in my composition, it will help give the photograph some depth that leads the viewer into the picture toward my main subject.

SR: Are you conscious about evoking emotion in your composition process?

TR: I think that’s the deepest part of a photograph for me. And the emotion might come from the entire experience I’ve had in capturing the photo. That might mean how I got to that location. It might mean that I waited out a storm for the clouds to clear, and then, miraculously, a beautiful scene reveals itself. Emotion to me is the very essence of a photograph.

SR: Can you tell me about an experience you’ve had like that?

TR: There was a time in Oregon when I wanted to photograph a remote mountain lake at sunrise (see the picture of Trillium Lake, pictured at top). So, I drove there and tried to sleep in my car overnight. I was rewarded with one of the most incredible sunrises—a crystal clear lake with a mirror image of the mountain in the background. It was pitch dark when I got there. I had no idea what the morning would bring. But I made the effort, and it was incredible.

There was only one other photographer there, and we just looked at each other with wonder. It was almost as if we were saying to each other, “I can’t believe we’re visualizing this incredible sunrise and nobody else is around.” The emotion comes out of the whole process. It doesn’t always work out the way I hope, but I have to be open to the possibility. The voice in my head always tells me, “Well, if you don’t go, you’ll probably miss the best sunrise that’s ever been made.”

SR: So, the lesson is to embrace all aspects of the experience as part of the wonder that you’re creating in your life through photography.

TR: Yes. I’d also say that you join a community through those experiences. Most photographers are happy to help with instructions and tidbits about what they’ve learned. Rarely do you find someone who is not forthcoming with helpful information.

SR: And the experience doesn’t stop after you snapped the picture, does it? You also have the opportunity to edit the photo to bring out the wonder of what you saw when you were in nature.

TR: Yes, and the individual expression you can bring to it. It’s interesting that you can have two people who are side by side taking the same photograph, but they will come up with completely different final images. That’s what makes it so exciting.

Becoming Mindful: Unlocking Innovation by Awakening to the Present
Becoming Mindful: Unlocking Innovation by Awakening to the Present 800 533 SageRiver Consulting LLC

During a yoga session one day, my instructor encouraged us to “take an inversion of your choice.” These upside-down poses increase flexibility and circulation and allow us to view the world from different angles. She returned to the idea with a parting question.

mindfulness-yoga

“Where do you have opportunities to welcome new perspectives?” she asked.

It’s a question I pose in my strategy work with clients. Some organizations struggle to execute their strategies because of embedded aspects of their cultures. They may focus on the “way things have been done,” think in top-down terms or instinctively move away from unfamiliar ideas.

Mindfulness can help us shift to generative ways of thinking and experiencing situations.

Stopwatch at 90 Seconds

Mindfulness is a tool I employ with clients at all levels. It’s especially important for leaders, as it supports their focus and stress management. Leaders live demanding lives, and they need tools to help them stay grounded and awake to new possibilities.

Mindfulness works by helping us create space between a stimulus and our response. Research shows that an initial feeling lasts for about 90 seconds. The impact depends on the meaning we assign to our feelings and the resulting decisions we make.

Through a daily mindfulness practice, we can learn to focus our attention on the thoughts, feelings and sensations we are experiencing in the present moment. As thoughts enter our minds, we simply observe them, allow them to move through our consciousness, consider them, honor them and let them go. As we detach and observe, we open ourselves to curiosity and learning, rather than judgment.

Positive Contagions

A mindfulness practice also helps leaders set a positive tone for their organizations. As researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of California at San Diego have demonstrated, people “catch” positive or negative emotions from others. That means a reactive leader can produce anxious, rigid teams. Conversely, open leaders can help their teams interact in more inclusive, collaborative and creative ways.

work-mindfulness-leadershipAt SageRiver, we harness the power of mindfulness in team strategy, as well as executive coaching, sessions. We often begin our sessions with a mindfulness exercise to help participants let go of whatever stresses or demands they experienced that day. By grounding them in the moment and encouraging them to observe, welcome and honor thoughts and feelings, we set the tone for the work to come.

This simple practice pays dividends for the team. As we map their strategic landscapes and illuminate possibilities, we welcome divergent ideas without judgment. We listen with curiosity, seeking first to understand, and then consider what that contribution can add to our thinking.

This curiosity-driven approach creates space for everyone to contribute to and embrace the widest range of potential solutions. As we sift through ideas, we find new connections and possibilities, which create opportunities for innovation and break-through thinking.

Kiss the Earth

mindfulness-practices-walking

It takes practice to become mindful, and I consider myself a student learning alongside my clients. Day by day, however, I see the benefits in my own work and life and enjoy watching others experience greater focus, creativity and calm as they begin their own mindfulness practices.

You can start today by trying this mindfulness exercise:

  • Find a place where you can take a quiet walk (where you can also practice social distancing)
  • Take a moment to stand in place and focus on your breath
  • Notice the rise of your chest and expansion of your abdomen
  • Feel the passage of air as you inhale and exhale
  • Begin walking as though your feet are kissing the earth
  • Notice how the ground feels against your toes and heels
  • Describe the trees, grass, skies and birds (facts not judgment)
  • Connect with your senses and fully experience your surroundings
  • If thoughts intrude simply observe, allow, consider, honor and let them go

After you’ve spent a few minutes walking, stop and take note of how you feel. Repeat this practice every day for a week and notice the difference in your focus and ability to manage stress.

Then, contact us to take the next step in bringing the power of mindfulness to your team and your strategic planning process.

Adventuring Together: Life at Epic
Adventuring Together: Life at Epic 1052 789 SageRiver Consulting LLC

In our “Stories from the Field” series, SageRiver sits down with senior leaders who are transforming their organizations for tomorrow. Our latest conversation is with Mallory Heinzeroth, who leads the Asia Pacific region for Epic. A global leader in healthcare IT, Epic is known for its electronic medical records software and implementations. The company stays at the leading edge of healthcare technology by investing in a creative culture based on collective learning, adventure and fun.

The year was 1979. In a basement in Madison, Wisconsin, an unknown software engineer named Judith Faulkner decided to launch a business. She had a novel idea, but the road ahead was uncertain. Her goal was to develop software that would enable healthcare providers to improve patient care.

With 1-1/2 employees and a $70,000 investment, she established a company whose software now benefits 250 million people worldwide. She also helped create the electronic medical records industry, which revolutionized the way doctors and hospitals care for patients.

It’s the stuff of tech legends.

“Our philosophy is very simple: Do Good, Have Fun, Make Money—in that order,” said Mallory Heinzeroth “Our work affects both individuals and our societies at large, so we have a huge responsibility to do the right thing and help shape systems to improve patient care.”

In a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Known for its unique culture, Epic takes a “learners welcome” approach that fosters innovation and continuous improvement. The company doesn’t require employees to have healthcare technology experience and commits to train and develop them throughout their careers. Epic’s growth mindset extends far beyond on-the-job training and tuition reimbursement, however, as even a quick trip to its headquarters shows.

Located in rural Verona, Wisconsin, the Epic campus is a galaxy unto itself. (In fact, Epic refers to it as the “Intergalactic Headquarters.”) Whimsical artwork dots the landscape, and a treehouse often serves as a meeting spot.

All photos courtesy of Mallory Heinzeroth

Ad hoc employee groups—known as “Motley Crews”—can be seen playing board games, competing in sports or exploring other shared interests after work. Participation is voluntary and employee-led, but it’s all part of Epic’s commitment to fostering an engaging workplace.

“We’ve done a lot of research about what it means to have an enriching, productive environment that inspires people,” Heinzeroth said. “We allow space for people to be creative, have fun and try something new.”

To that end, Epic organizes a “Shark Day” to give employees the opportunity to learn together about topics outside their work. The company also enlists speakers and professors from the University of Wisconsin – Madison to lead classes and workshops. Epic employees teach seminars as well.

The activities build camaraderie and create an expectation of continual growth, Heinzeroth said.
“There’s always a new learning adventure, so it feels like something people do every day rather than something that is a set requirement. That’s an aspect of our culture that is unique in the business world.”

Iliads, Odysseys, Sabbaticals

The fun continues off campus through Epic’s adventure and exploration programs, which support experiential learning inside and outside the United States.

Each year, Epic plans Odysseys to far-flung—and often difficult-to-reach—locations. Any employee can sign up for these opportunities to join colleagues on a vacation, and friends and family members are welcome.

After two years with the company, employees who travel for work can earn an Iliad adventure underwritten by Epic. Employees can choose where they go and how they spend their time. The goal is to give them an opportunity to recharge and have fun.

Employees are also eligible for a paid four-week sabbatical every five years, which they can spend in the place and manner of their choosing. Some enjoy time at home exploring outside interests, while others travel internationally to volunteer or experience different cultures. Epic pays a portion of the costs.

Although these adventures have no direct connection to Epic’s work, employees post pictures online and return to the office with renewed energy and fresh learnings.

Mallory Heinzeroth during a sabbatical in New Zealand.

Fuel for Success

After 40 years, Epic now numbers 10,000 strong. It continues to be an innovation leader and enjoys one of the highest employee retention rates in the industry.

Its learning-and-adventure-fueled culture may be a reason why.

“We invest in not-so-basic benefits because they help broaden the views and perspectives of people who work here, which, in turn, makes us better able to design and implement software for all people especially those who may be different from us,” Heinzeroth said.

The results have driven Epic’s success—and improved the lives of patients worldwide.

To learn more about building learning and adventure into your organizational culture, contact SageRiver at (720) 443-2551.

Smart Courage: What I Learned on Yosemite’s Half Dome
Smart Courage: What I Learned on Yosemite’s Half Dome 2560 1610 SageRiver Consulting LLC

The sheer face of Half Dome loomed over us. We’d arrived at Yosemite Park just a few weeks after a woman fell to her death summiting the peak. Already wary of heights, I wasn’t sure I should attempt the entire climb, but I decided I would go as far as I could, understanding my own limitations.

“Boldness has genius, power and magic in it,” I reminded myself.

The quotation—one of my favorites from German playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe—reminds us to commit fully to our boldest ventures. I’d been talking about adventure all year long, and I was determined to push through my fears, join my friends and hike on an #ExcellentAdventure of our own.

Choose Your Own Adventure

We’d been planning the trip for almost a year, and I’d been inspired by photos taken from Half Dome’s summit. I’d also read about the final 500-foot ascent, which requires climbers to cling to steel cables as they scale the face. Almost 300 people have been injured on Half Dome in the past 15 years, and the National Park Service warns that only experienced hikers should climb it.

As I battled misgivings, I took long hikes in Colorado to prepare for Half Dome. Our team also researched what supplies and equipment to bring. Unlike some of my friends, however, I’m not an experienced climber. I also have a longstanding fear of heights, which several members of my family share for good reason, and I wondered if I’d hold the group back when we approached the summit.

Before I could say yes, I had to reclaim the power we all have, which is to choose our own adventures. I wanted to hike Half Dome, but I also wanted to honor my own needs and the concerns of my family. So, I scaled the adventure to my skill level and promised my family I’d bypass the final 500-foot climb to the summit. That felt like the smart approach for me, my family—and the team.

“Yes, You Can!”

Luckily for me, I’d chosen the best team imaginable. I’ve known some of them since childhood, and our trust level was high. I felt comfortable telling them my fears, as well as what I looked forward to most. The conversation encouraged everyone to share personal goals and say how we could coach and encourage each other.

And that’s exactly what happened.

When we got to a steep point in the hike, I felt my fears take hold. While the others continued, one friend stayed behind and coached me through it step-by-step. “Just look at where you’re putting your feet,” he told me. “Don’t look to the right. Don’t look to the left. One foot at a time. You can do this!”

When I reached “my” summit, which was the sub-dome plateau just before the final ascent, I was tempted to keep going. I discussed it with my friend, and he validated my concerns about potential hazards, listened carefully as I explained the commitment I made to my “closest team”—my family and asked me how I’d feel if I didn’t keep that commitment. My ultimate decision allowed me to celebrate my experience with my family later, knowing I had kept my promise to them.

In the end, I learned how wise this choice was. While I enjoyed the view from my summit, I cheered my friends as they climbed toward theirs. One of the most experienced climbers came down the incline on the outside of the cables on his return journey. I was blown away by his skill and nerve, but, to my surprise, he told me I’d been right not to climb higher. Everything my family feared and I observed during our earlier climb, he said, was exaggerated on the cables. He had experience to draw on having hiked Half Dome 20 years before. Even so, he felt fear and anxiety on the cables this time, and he commended me for my choice.

Climb Every Mountain

So often, we think of adventures as risky leaps into the unknown. What my trip reminded me was that adventures come in all shapes and sizes, and we can scale them to our needs, resources, skills and conditions. In the end, adventures require equal parts head and heart—what I call “smart courage”—to challenge us without harming us.

I hope this year of adventuring has inspired you to climb new heights and explore new vistas. And I hope it’s encouraged you to find co-adventurers who will help you stretch and learn with every step. That’s what reaching the summit truly looks like—and it’s that much more meaningful and fun when you arrive there with others!

Share your #ExcellentAdventures with us on Facebook and Twitter—and remember to keep adventuring in 2020 and beyond!

The Habit of Adventure: Five Steps Toward Rejuvenating Your Mind and Spirit
The Habit of Adventure: Five Steps Toward Rejuvenating Your Mind and Spirit 1989 1329 SageRiver Consulting LLC

As a team builder and executive coach, I know leaders worry about keeping their workforce motivated. Disengaged employees lower morale and cause productivity to plummet. If the problem persists, it can have serious consequences for the whole organization.

Why do employees lose their passion and purpose? One of the main culprits is boredom. According to the 2016 Udemy Workplace Boredom Study, employees who are bored at work are more than twice as likely to quit. When faced with stagnant workplaces or repetitive tasks, they look for new mountains to climb. They believe, as Helen Keller once said, that “life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”

Smart leaders know this and offer engaging opportunities to fuel learning and collaboration among their team members. But here’s a question: Do you offer those same opportunities to yourself? Do you keep your own engine humming by incorporating adventure into your work and life?

If you don’t, then it’s time to start. By making adventure a habit, you’ll remain fresh and curious as you strive to become the best version of yourself. Here’s how: 

Mine Your Memories

Adventures are simply exciting or unusual experiences, and they can be challenging, pleasurable—or both! Often, the past offers clues about the adventures we’ll enjoy most. Think back to your childhood or other times when you felt loose, happy and free. Some of my best memories are exploring outside or playing sports with friends. Although I was building skills, those experiences felt nothing like school. I remember only friendship and fun. What about you? What were you doing in your happiest memories? Who were you with? What clues do those experiences offer about adventures you’d enjoy today?

Take Small Steps for Big Results

Often, the best way to build your “adventure muscle” is through small changes that take you into unexplored spaces. For example, you may want to invite another person to lunch, visit a local museum you’ve never tried, read a different type of book, vary your route home from work or enroll in a class. These “mini adventures” require little time or money; they just foster discovery and open you up to bigger adventures down the road. As B.J. Fogg noted in his book, “Tiny Habits,” small steps matter because they help us build momentum toward larger goals.

Plan Your Itinerary

Planning will help you keep the momentum going. Consider scheduling quarterly check-ins with yourself to decide what to explore next and plan bigger adventures that require more time, money or information. The point is not to turn adventures into a task, but rather to make space for novelty and the juicy anticipation of learning.

Bring Buddies

Including others in your adventures will increase your enjoyment. As a team-building facilitator, for example, I intentionally design experiential learning into our client engagements. We’ve asked teams to build and sail boats, oriented through wilderness areas and competed in indoor games. These shared experiences help team members see each other in new ways and deepen their relationships. Adventures also spur learning and retention, as our brains build neural pathways to remember new or unusual experiences.

Reward Yourself

The great thing about adventures is that they’re a reward in and of themselves. It’s just plain fun to experience different cultures, swing down a zip line or meet more people. Still, take a moment to congratulate yourself on having the courage to step out into the unknown. Celebrate your adventure and reflect on what you’ve learned and loved most. Above all, look for ways to bring that newfound fun into your daily life.

Just as ships weren’t built to stay in harbor, people aren’t meant to live without adventure. You were born for it. Get started today—and share your experiences with us on Twitter and Facebook. Or, contact SageRiver to learn more about bringing adventure to your workplace through team building and enhanced organizational design.

 

Beliefs→ Behaviors→ Results: Engaging Teams in Defining Values-Based Behaviors
Beliefs→ Behaviors→ Results: Engaging Teams in Defining Values-Based Behaviors 1630 1223 SageRiver Consulting LLC

The excitement grew as employees flipped the posters to reveal six winning words and then placed them in a new order. When the audience realized the words formed the acronym “WE CARE,” they rose for a thunderous ovation.

The enthusiastic crowd wasn’t a group of fans cheering a rock star. They were DaVita employees—better known as “teammates”—applauding DaVita’s new descriptors of how they would translate their patient care beliefs into everyday behaviors.

The descriptors were unveiled at a 2018 DaVita Academy in Denver. The two-day event is held to nurture the culture of DaVita, which is known as a village because DaVita places community at its center. The unveiling capped a highly democratic process that involved hundreds of teams and thousands of voters worldwide.

Giving Life to Guiding Principles

As part of SageRiver’s “Workplace of the Future” e-newsletter series, we’ve been exploring how leading companies are bringing their guiding principles to life and sharing those insights with clients. After contacting DaVita to learn more about its intentional culture, I was invited to attend a 2018 DaVita Academy. The experience gave me a unique opportunity to see how DaVita was translating its vision, mission and values into behaviors that would guide day-to-day interactions within a specific organizational context.

Why does defining behaviors matter? Because the workplace today includes five generations working across time zones and cultures at a faster pace than ever. Given those factors, employees may understand company values differently without even realizing it. By tying values to specific actions, companies like DaVita help develop a shared understanding that allows teammates to better accomplish their purpose.

Respecting the Commitment

A Fortune 500 company and a leading provider of kidney care, DaVita is known for its human-centered, democratic culture. In fact, DaVita was literally named by its teammates, and its team values were defined almost 20 years ago through a democratic process. That same community spirit guides all aspects of DaVita’s village life today.

A core tenet of DaVita’s culture is that “beliefs drive behaviors, which drive our results.” Village values—or beliefs—are reflected in every aspect of DaVita’s workplaces, events, communications and more. DaVita determined it was time to turn its beliefs around caring for patients into specific, tangible behaviors.

Given its culture, DaVita knew what launching a democratic process to define those behaviors would entail.

“If you truly engage your people, it can make your culture much stronger,” said Dave Hoerman, chief wisdom officer of DaVita Inc. “You have to be ready to listen to what your teammates say, however, and decide to live in integrity and accept the answer, even if it wasn’t what you expected to hear.”

Before engaging teammates, DaVita thinks carefully about the type and level of input they’re seeking and how it will be used. They also consider whether they can commit enough time, money and energy to engage the village in effective ways. As a result, when teammates are asked to provide input, they know their voices will be heard and valued, which helps build trust throughout the village.

Deciding What Caring Looks Like

For this effort, DaVita underwent a global, iterative process to determine which behaviors were critical to making patients feel cared for. The process involved:

  • Facilitating multiple rounds of input to collect top behavior ideas from more than 500 teams across the village
  • Democratically voting to winnow the list of behaviors from 14 to six
  • Engaging more than 11,000 voters from 13 countries (Voters included clinical and corporate office teammates, as well as physicians.)
  • Reviewing the list with all top executives to ensure the behaviors were actionable, not duplicative, and aligned with the mission and values.
  • Organizing the final behaviors into an easy-to-remember acronym

Rather than simply announce the final result, DaVita engaged teammates in an exciting interactive event. The unveiling included more than 2,000 teammates attending the Academy and thousands of others streaming in live from across the globe. Three teammates came on stage to engage this world-wide audience in guessing which six of the final 14 behaviors had been voted the winners.

DaVita defines itself as a community whose teammates “care for each other with the same intensity with which we care for our patients.” Appropriately enough, when the winning behaviors were revealed the next day, their first letters spelled “WE CARE.”

Continuing the Journey

While the Academy reveal generated excitement, DaVita was just beginning its journey toward understanding and living the WE CARE behaviors.

“Relentless reinforcement is absolutely critical to making the behaviors sticky,” Hoerman says, noting that he’s changed his email sign-off to “Every interaction matters!” as a reminder about the importance of WE CARE actions.

As an organization, DaVita will integrate WE CARE behaviors into the culture in several ways, such as:

  • Leaders will share WE CARE stories during village meetings and events to reinforce the meaning, purpose and impact of the behaviors.
  • Team activities will be suggested to help teams learn about and practice the behaviors during regular meetings.
  • Leaders will observe their teams as they interact with patients to identify opportunities for recognition and coaching.
  • The teammate onboarding process will include education around what the behaviors are, how to live them and why they’re critical to DaVita’s culture of caring.
  • WE CARE will become a part of DaVita’s visual imagery and will be represented in its centers, offices, and major events to keep the behaviors top of mind.

Renewing and Strengthening Your Culture

As DaVita’s experience shows, engaging your team in defining behaviors can help renew and strengthen your culture. Behaviors must be embraced by everyone, and teammates are more likely to enthusiastically “own” new behaviors if they create and celebrate them together. Once that initial work is done, the behaviors must then be integrated into HR practices, training, branding and meetings so the culture change takes hold.

The process takes effort, but it’s an investment worth making if you want to breathe new life and power into your vision, mission and values. To discover more about how DaVita built its “radically human” culture, click here.

 

Eating the Elephant: A Bite-by-Bite Approach to Evolving Your Organizational Design
Eating the Elephant: A Bite-by-Bite Approach to Evolving Your Organizational Design 622 415 SageRiver Consulting LLC

Your board of directors has selected a new leader for your organization. Smart and dynamic, the leader sends a jolt of energy through the company.

A few months later, a memo arrives announcing an organizational redesign.

The goals aren’t well defined, but you’re determined to support the change. Your employees, customers and vendors express frustration and ask why the change is happening. You aren’t sure, but you respond as well as you can to move everyone forward in an uncertain direction.

If this scenario sounds familiar, you’re not alone. More than 75 percent of organizational redesigns fail to deliver the intended results, a 2015 McKinsey report showed. Redesigns can lift performance, but they require time, energy and collective will to succeed. When organizations beat the odds, it’s usually because they’ve thought holistically and engaged their team through a full change management process. In short, successful organizations embrace the adage, “You have to go slow to go fast.”

Begin with the End in Mind

As the rate of change accelerates, many organizations are rethinking their designs to help them move faster. One size doesn’t fit all, but the trend is toward flatter, more decentralized organizations that adopt a “team of teams” approach. This type of design can deliver greater speed, innovation and agility by allowing interdisciplinary teams to form and reform in response to organizational needs.

If speed is the desired outcome, then why approach organizational redesigns at a more deliberate pace? Because a redesign involves more than just moving boxes on an organizational chart. In fact, changing your structure may be the final step you take after you assess how the building blocks of your company, which include your people, systems, processes, technology and more, help you execute your strategy. The way you fit those components together is what we mean by organizational design.

Time in the Trenches

At SageRiver, we review your design as one factor in the strategy process. Before recommending changes, we collaborate with you to explore points of light and pain within the organization. For example, we look for efficiency gains, innovation centers and leadership approaches that improve performance. We also consider resource constraints, process gaps and misalignments that hamper your team.

By digging deep and listening carefully, we discover whether evolving your organizational design will help you to realize your strategic vision.

This process involves engaging leaders, employees and stakeholders from all facets of your organization. In addition to asking for their insights, we’re gauging how ready they are for change, using the ADKAR model developed by Jeff Hiatt at Prosci. In the early stages, we assess whether your team sees the need for change. Later, we evaluate what information, tools, training and reinforcement they need to make the desired changes.

Bite by Bite

Although organizations are often tempted to jump right into restructuring their organizations, redesigns work best if you tackle other elements first. For example, if you plan to transition to a flexible team-based structure, it’s important to ask questions such as:

  • Have your employees fully understood and embraced your vision, mission and values?
  • What steps could you take to help your leaders be effective guides, facilitators and coaches, rather than top-down managers?
  • How would you describe your culture in terms of your approach to developing employees? Is feedback offered continually at all levels of your organization and welcomed as an opportunity for growth?
  • What internal tools, structures and coaching resources can you offer to facilitate effective collaboration?
  • How do you share individual and team goals and track progress in achieving them? (Transparent accountability is key to helping teams understand how responsibilities and activities align.)
  • What mechanisms do you have in place to evaluate, reward and advance employees within a flexible team(s) environment?

As you consider those questions and more, you’ll understand how much foundational work a successful redesign requires.

It’s the rare organization that can “eat the elephant” all at once. Successful organizations eat the elephant bite by bite through a series of small snacks.

Welcome Back, Kotter

If this process rings a bell, it’s because it draws on the stages outlined in John Kotter’s change model. One of his key insights was that change must be approached as a shared journey toward a compelling future.

As you begin your journey, it’s important to start with manageable pilot efforts, which you can test, refine and retest before implementing them across the organization. The reason for this is simple: Broadscale change involves big risks and can spark mistrust and resistance if it fails. By focusing first on smaller changes that deliver value, you can invite input from your team as you go and engage them in creating an organization that works for everyone. As you celebrate wins along the way and work together to make improvements, you’ll build trust and ownership and create an accelerating snowball of change. (Kotter’s See-Feel-Change framework, which he outlines with co-author Dan Cohen in their book, “The Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations,” describes why this approach is so effective.)

Evolution Revolution

This approach to organizational redesign is a far cry from the old way, in which leaders huddled with a few people and then imposed a new structure on the organization. That top-down approach matched the top-down structures that characterized an earlier economy.

In the workplace of the future, which demands greater speed, agility, engagement and innovation, the process must fit the type of organization you hope to create. If your vision is of an organization that evolves constantly to meet the changing demands of the marketplace, then you must take a revolutionary approach to change by inviting your team to help design your future.

To find out more about SageRiver’s strategy development and organizational design services, contact us today.

Beyond Open Offices: The Workspace of the Future Is Here
Beyond Open Offices: The Workspace of the Future Is Here 622 622 SageRiver Consulting LLC

A conversation with Layer 10 Consulting

In our latest interview with business thought leaders, SageRiver sits down with Ken Wilkinson, chief enablement officer of Layer 10 Consulting. His firm has pioneered a new service called digital workspace enablement, which looks holistically at how technology can be leveraged to foster more collaborative, creative workplaces that lift team performance. We asked him how leaders should think about workspace technologies, how technology can support culture change and what the workplace of the future may hold.

SageRiver (SR): Your company has created a new service. How would you describe digital workspace enablement?

Ken Wilkinson (KW): We help clients to design technology into their workspace, so they can foster the culture they want and lift team performance.

We’re at the table before a new build or renovation begins to provide a holistic overview. We help clients define what they want to achieve, identify opportunities for technology to enhance their space and then select the right partners to support those technologies based on their goals and budget. Once those decisions are made, we collaborate with architects, engineers, IT staff and interior designers to produce the results our clients want.

SR: What’s driving the need for digital workspace enablement?

KW: The drivers are different for every client, but we see some overarching trends.

First, technology is no longer an add-on to the way we work. In the past, businesses designed their workspaces and then retrofitted them with technology. That approach cost more, and their employees were less productive because the technology didn’t work well. Organizations simply can’t afford to operate that way anymore.

Second, we have an extraordinarily tight labor market, and organizations are fighting to attract and retain talent. Millennials, in particular, want flexible, collaborative and fun workplaces. Having the right technologies in place helps companies create attractive cultures.

“The best solution is to encourage people to come to the office by creating an experience they can’t duplicate from home.”

And, third, many companies have a love-hate relationship with the work-from-home trend. On the one hand, it may help them shrink their office footprint and cut real-estate costs. They also know that many employees want—or need—to work at home at least some of the time. On the other hand, companies know that collaboration and creativity happen when people are together in a space. The best solution is to encourage people to come to the office by creating an experience they can’t duplicate at home. If companies do that while also making it possible for employees to work at home successfully when appropriate, then everyone wins.

SR: You mentioned that employees want flexible, collaborative and fun workplaces. What does that look like?

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. The design depends on who you are, how you work and who you want to be in the future.”

KW: There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Every organization wants a “wow” space or a fun space, but there’s a balance to be struck. Some companies attract employees through open offices with spectacular amenities and recreational areas. If you’re a publicly traded company, you also want to show that you’re spending money wisely on what makes employees productive. The design depends on who you are, how you work and who you want to be in the future.

SR: What are the most important questions for leaders to ask before making workspace technology investments?

KW: We ask our clients to think big and then smart.

“Thinking big” starts with asking who they are today and who they want to be. What kind of work do they do, and how do they work together now? Are they all on site, or do some work from home? Once we know that, we ask how they’d like their culture to evolve and what they’d like to be able to do that they can’t do now.

Once we know their aspirations, we “think smart.” That involves prioritizing goals and options to fit their budget and looking at both technology solutions and other approaches that might fit the need at a lower cost.

SR: How do you design a workspace technology solution for a client?

KW: We take a multilayered approach (see diagram) to designing the right solution for each client, and we always begin with the end in mind.

Our goal is to help our clients achieve their vision in a way that optimizes the experience of individual employees and teams. For example, we often use technology to create privacy in largely open office environments through sound masking, glass masking overlays or other strategies. We’re also incorporating more sophisticated collaborative tools into conference areas to support geographically dispersed teams, or boosting wireless capabilities inside and outside buildings so employees can work anywhere.

Another goal is to help our clients get the best long-term return on their investment. Technology changes by the minute, and no one can guarantee what the future holds. We can be sure of what will stay the same, however: There will be more people with more devices needing more connectivity and mobility. We prioritize those capabilities for our clients to support their future growth and productivity.

SR: Based on your experience, do you believe technology drives culture change?

KW: We’re technology enthusiasts, and we firmly believe that people, partnered with the right technology, can work more effectively and productively. That being said, we think technology can “nudge” an organization towards culture change, but it can’t shove a workforce in a particular direction.

For example, if you have a geographically dispersed team, you may want to use videoconferencing to strengthen team relationships and improve collaboration. To get value from the investment, however, people must use the tools. You have to set expectations about how you work together, and leaders must model that behavior.

Organizations also need to acknowledge that people have different preferences and decide how much variation they’ll allow within their team. When it comes to technology, we tend to think about generational differences. We also find that where people fall on the introversion / extroversion spectrum can make a difference. Not everyone is comfortable being on view or in open spaces all the time, and those employees will be more productive if they can occasionally work in quieter, more private settings.

At the end of the day, technology is a tool that supports culture change. Leaders will get the best results if they model the behaviors they want to see and work with their teams to define group norms while respecting individual differences.

SR: As you look into the future, what are the most important trends or developments you’re noticing in workspace technologies?

KW: Near term, there are four we’re seeing.

First, companies overall are taking advantage of the reliability, functionality and ease of use of cloud-based services and storage. That means they’re spending less for IT infrastructure.

Second, organizations are investing significantly more in wireless capabilities and connection points throughout their buildings and grounds. The investments make it easier for employees to move and work in different areas throughout the day. Even more importantly, companies can now capture real-time information about where people are located and what devices they’re using. The data can help them improve security or quickly evacuate buildings during an emergency. Organizations can also see how work areas are being used and adjust to ensure they’re getting the best return on their real-estate dollars.

Third, companies are increasingly offering personalization, flexibility and choice to employees and teams. For example, in many companies, an employee will check in for a work area assignment for the day. The employee’s badge indicates the employee’s preferences about location, type of work area, temperature, desk height and more. From a team perspective, companies are using structural approaches, such as architectural walls, that enable teams to reconfigure their space as needed to fit their needs.

And, finally, there’s a trend toward detaching from things and spaces. Rather than sit in the same space every day, people are more willing to get up, move to different work areas to collaborate and shift to open or private workspaces as needed. There’s a wellness component to this as well, as many employers are thinking about how to create workspaces that promote walking, standing, interacting and other healthy behaviors.

SR: And what about trends that are further out on the horizon?

KW: Many technologies that once seemed on the distant horizon are already here in some form. Artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things are already being incorporated into our projects, and their role will continue to increase. Robotics are here as well, although many of the applications are too costly to be practical for most companies.

The technology that’s available today is extraordinary. Who knows what the workplace will look like in 10 to 20 years?

Radically Human: The DaVita Way
Radically Human: The DaVita Way 977 652 SageRiver Consulting LLC

In our “Stories from the Field” series, SageRiver sits down with senior leaders who are transforming their organizations for tomorrow. Our latest conversation is with Dave Hoerman, chief wisdom officer of DaVita Inc., a Fortune 500 company and a leading provider of kidney care in the United States. DaVita’s human-centered, democratic culture has caused executives nationwide to rethink why companies exist and how they should be led.

“Sitting outside his home on a Nigerian mountainside, Modupe looked out over the farmlands below. As always, his fellow villagers were tending the fields and caring for their children. But on that day, Modupe watched in fear as a river overflowed its banks and rushed toward his village.

Knowing he couldn’t warn everyone in time, Modupe set fire to his home. When the villagers saw the flames consuming his house, he knew they would come to his aid. Better to lose a home, he thought, then the villagers he loved.

Just as he expected, the villagers saw the flames and abandoned their crops to help him. As they ran up the mountainside, the river flooded their fields. Although their harvest was lost, the villagers all lived to plant again in another valley.”

Leaders tell this story, whose original author is unknown1, at many meetings at DaVita Inc. “What lesson does the story teach?” a leader will ask. “One for all, and all for one,” the DaVita team will often answer. (Taken from the book “The Three Musketeers,” the expression is used as a reminder of their mission and commitment to each other.) In the story, the villagers are not defined by their roles as home owners or farmers. They are part of a community, and community members care for each other. That is what why the village exists and why the villagers thrive.

What We Do Is Not Who We Are

At DaVita, Modupe’s story has special resonance because it speaks to the core purpose of the company, which is to nurture the well-being of the community. This belief is so central that employees, who call themselves “teammates,” refer to their company as a village.

Although many companies describe their culture as a blend of how people think, relate and carry out their work, DaVita distinguishes between what the community is and what the company does.

“When people ask us who we are, we say we’re a community first, and we care for each other,” says Dave Hoerman, chief wisdom officer for DaVita Inc. “What we do is provide healthcare. That fuels the economy of the village. Community first, company second—that’s the shorthand description of our culture.”

Keepers of the Flame

Hoerman should know, as his team focuses full time on tending the flame of DaVita’s culture. Hoerman’s group developed the village credibility book and welcomes new teammates to the village during a two-day experience called the DaVita Academy. They also ensure DaVita’s language, symbols and traditions reflect the community’s values and spirit.

“We’ll often say, `in the spirit of our values’,” Hoerman says. “We believe we have a spirit. We believe love and caring are at our core. We don’t shy away from those ideas and that language because we want this place to feel soulful.”

Under the careful eye of Hoerman’s team, every communication, meeting, event and workspace is designed to reflect DaVita’s spirit. Village leaders’ quotations are painted on office walls, and caring stories are shared with teammates. Storytelling, in fact, is a central component of life at DaVita, as stories open conversations, illuminate meaning and connect to people’s emotions and beliefs.

Voice of the Village

From the beginning, DaVita has taken a radically democratic approach to creating its culture and co-leading the company.

That commitment began in 1999, when Kent Thiry became CEO of a company called Total Renal Care. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy, and its employees were demoralized from working long hours for a failing organization. Although the financial pressures were intense, Thiry decided his first priority was to create a purpose-filled and caring workplace. Accordingly, he invited employees to help transform their company into a place they wanted to be.

Working together, thousands of employees developed and selected a new name, DaVita, which means “he/she gives life.” They also defined seven core values they wanted to live by as a community and held each other accountable for living out those beliefs. Over time, their shared language evolved, and they moved from being employees to teammates who care for each other as a village.

One of the core tenets of DaVita’s culture is that people’s beliefs drive their behaviors, which drive their results, and that quickly proved true. Caring for each other translated into providing extraordinary care to patients, too. That, in turn, fueled DaVita’s turnaround and growth into one of the leading providers of kidney care in the United States.

Today, DaVita teammates are still co-leading the company, and hierarchical titles are rarely used. Even a C-suite executive like Hoerman introduces himself as “a teammate with the wisdom team” to help level the playing field and invite everyone to share their best ideas as equals.

Hoerman’s group also checks in with teammates regularly to ensure the culture is working well and invite input and ideas. Teammates selected the name for the new coffee shop, for example (the winner was “Village Grounds”), and they’re naming a new office tower as well. In addition, DaVita leaders conduct regular “Voice of the Village” calls and drop in on meetings or classes to lead “Town Halls” to solicit instant feedback.

“We gather data and feedback in a lot of different ways, and when we get enough, we adjust,” Hoerman says. “You can stay nimble if you don’t overcomplicate things.”

Deposits in the Village Bank

Instead of prizing status and issuing directives, DaVita’s leaders focus on modeling village values. If the purpose of the company is to nurture the community, Hoerman says, then a leader’s first priority is to know and care about community members.

Hoerman puts this into practice by making what he calls “village deposits.” Each month, he sets a goal for saying hello, introducing himself to teammates he hasn’t met and talking with others about how they’re caring for each other. His assistant holds him accountable by asking questions and noting his progress on a “humanity scorecard.”

The goal is to create a place where people feel welcomed, cared for and known, Hoerman says, and that only happens when people open the door to conversation. Each interaction is like making a deposit in DaVita’s culture bank.

Those caring interactions are bolstered by village programs. One example is a trust fund called the DaVita Village Network, which helps teammates pay for unexpected expenses due to natural disasters or personal or family tragedies. The contributions, which are matched by DaVita, come from other teammates wanting to help their fellow villagers.

DaVita also offers educational programs through DaVita University for teammates with different needs. For example, one course called “Camp Courage” serves teammates battling cancer, while another assists teammates who are military veterans assimilating into life after service.

Mind, Body and Spirit

DaVita promotes other practices to strengthen DaVita’s culture as well. Those include breathing exercises, meditations, yoga poses, stretching breaks and more. Although the techniques are atypical for a Fortune 500 company, DaVita has seen results from acknowledging that people bring all of themselves—mind, body and spirit—to work.

“A community shows up with emotion,” Hoerman says. “We talk about spirit and soul and give people an opening to set their intentions, reflect on an experience or share a story. Initially, people think it’s strange and ask why we’re doing it, but the results are very real.”

The practices help community members care for themselves and each other, as well as perform at their best. One example is starting meetings with a “check-in” to allow teammates to share what is on their minds and in their hearts. As each person talks, the group listens without judgment and asks what the person needs to feel supported. The answer may be as simple as celebrating a success, acknowledging a struggle or letting someone step out of a meeting to take a call.

“What we’ve found is that this process helps people release the worries, stresses, fears and anxieties they’ve brought into the meeting or the class,” Hoerman says. “Once they’ve expressed those feelings, they’re better able to focus on the decisions at hand.”

School for Life

Because DaVita prioritizes community first, company second, learning opportunities are offered continuously and encompass personal transformation as well as professional development.

“We live in a community, and that means we care about the personal beliefs of people,” Hoerman says. “Sometimes those beliefs are self-limiting, and sometimes they’re helpful. We want to give people a chance to examine their beliefs and identify where they can take a step forward to create healthier lives.”

The wisdom team develops and sponsors these human transformation opportunities as part of nurturing the community and its members, Hoerman says. Unlike typical training programs, these programs aren’t tied to job responsibilities or performance measures. Instead, the goal is to care for teammates as whole people and help them grow. That, in turn, strengthens the culture and naturally leads to better patient care.

“Our beliefs drive our behaviors, which in turn drive the results we get in our lives,” Hoerman says. “We want to raise the consciousness of every person in our community because that is what a caring community would do.”

If your organization is interested in transforming its culture, contact SageRiver to learn more.

1 Although the original author of Modupe’s story is unknown, it is included in James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner’s classic book, “Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It.”

It’s Time to Ditch the Employee Handbook
It’s Time to Ditch the Employee Handbook 622 415 SageRiver Consulting LLC

I approach each new consulting engagement with the eye of an anthropologist. I’m listening for business needs, but I’m also looking for signs about the beliefs, values, norms and traditions of the company. I want to understand the company culture, so I can engage and contribute effectively.

New employees feel the same way, which is why leading companies are moving away from policy-filled employee handbooks toward more creative culture books that illuminate their unique “civilization.” This culture investment pays off because culture has become a critical differentiator in attracting and retaining talent, while elevating organizational performance. A vibrant culture is imperative because it provides the “soil” in which employees flourish, which then enables them to embrace and implement a strategic vision. For that reason, smart companies view their cultures as strategic assets and cultivate them accordingly.

What do great culture books look like? They’re as varied as the organizations that produce them. Some are elaborate storybooks; others are simply a series of slides with culture pointers. It really isn’t about the budget or production approach. It’s about painting a picture of life at your company. We’ve summarized key elements from the best culture books to help you inspire, guide and invite new employees into your unique world.

It All Began When…

Your origin story is a powerful way to illustrate the values and purpose that drive you. New employees want to know how your company began, who your founders were and what inspired them to start a company. It’s equally important to show through concrete anecdotes and examples how your mission, vision and values shape your work today. Your culture is an unfolding story that your team is writing together. (IDEO’s culture book is arranged in chapters with just this idea in mind.) Give your new employees a clear picture of how their everyday behaviors will help contribute to your culture.

Many Characters, One Story

A great culture book includes more than a letter from the CEO and a description of what already exists. Great culture books reflect the perspectives of employees, who co-own and shape your evolving culture.

Before you start writing, gather a cross-section of employees and ask them these questions: What do you know today that you wish you’d known on Day One? What makes you stay at this company? What stories or quotations can you share that exemplify this culture? Your new employees will enjoy hearing from the resident experts in their own words, which is why companies like Zappos and Sterling Mining have incorporated employee text messages, photos, video clips and stories directly into their culture books.

Home Away from Home

Help new employees feel at home by explaining the practical dos and don’ts of your workplace, just as New York ad agency Big Spaceship did in its culture book. How do you dress? What communications systems and methods do you use? Where do people congregate or go for breaks? Do you have team activities or recreational events they can join? Are there definite “don’ts,” such as taking calls on speaker in an open office area?

Each company is unique, so identify the tips that will best equip employees to engage in your workplace. Alongside the guidance, try to explain why you live together as you do, so employees can better understand how your daily practices relate back to your values and purpose.

Growth Happens Here

Top performers care about growing throughout their careers. Top companies nurture that desire by providing clear avenues for learning and advancement. Netflix provided a roadmap for its new employees by answering questions, such as: What does top performance looks like, regardless of the individual role? What do teammates expect of each other? What behaviors get rewarded or discouraged? What are some proven avenues for learning and growth? If you answer those questions, you can amplify and direct the enthusiasm new employees feel.

The Best Workplace on Earth

Most workplaces have surprising or “cool” features that make them unique. Epic Systems Corp., a healthcare software company, invites employees to enjoy its beautiful Wisconsin surroundings by climbing up to a treehouse or riding cowhide-painted bikes around campus. True to its outdoor ethos, apparel and gear designer Patagonia lets employees take work-day breaks to go surfing at peak tide. Your surprising workplace benefits will be unique to your company and location. Whatever they are, include them in your culture book so your new employees will know they’ve arrived at the best workplace on Earth.

As your culture book starts to take shape, you’ll identify additional elements that are particular to your workplace and team. You may wonder if you should include policies and procedures, too, as those are critical tools for setting expectations and mitigating risk. We agree that employees need to know the rules that govern them; we’d simply suggest including your policies and procedures as an appendix or directing your employees to your Intranet for the most current and complete listing. Whatever you choose, keep revisiting and evolving your culture book over time. It’s a valuable way to engage your team in strengthening your culture year after year.

Contact us to find out how SageRiver can support your culture book development.

Testing, Testing, 1-2-3
Testing, Testing, 1-2-3 622 415 SageRiver Consulting LLC

By the time I met them, they were ready for change. They were locked into old patterns and conflicted about their direction. Work had become an exercise in frustration, and their stress levels were rising.

This healthcare organization faced real challenges so their team dynamics mattered. Seismic shifts in the marketplace required them to redesign their structures, processes and delivery approaches. And just over the horizon was a wave of likely retirements that would rob them of critical expertise.

Their organization cried out for effective leadership at all levels. Could this team lead the charge?

Opening the “Insights” Box

The answer was a resounding yes, and that shift began with individual and team assessments.

At SageRiver, we use diagnostic tools to open conversations, facilitate growth and unblock teams. In essence, an assessment gives us the keys to a box that contains insights about ourselves and our colleagues—about how we think, behave and interact. We don’t put people in boxes, rather, we take those insights out and use them to help people connect and function more effectively in the workplace.

Our healthcare client, for example, had leaders with conflicting thinking and behavioral styles. Meetings were geared toward the dominant approach, which left others without the information and interactions they needed. The result? Frustration and impasse.

After administering individual and team assessments, we diagnosed the problem and opened a conversation about retooling their meetings and communication approaches to address all participants’ needs. Armed with a common language, they were able to depersonalize the issue and agree on a solution.

That simple change unblocked their decision-making process and allowed them to move forward on other enterprise shifts.

Matching the Tools to the Task

Getting the right results starts with using the right tools. There are dozens of individual, team and organizational diagnostics available today. They fall into different categories to help identify personality traits, behavioral and thinking preferences, emotional intelligence, team dynamics, developmental progress and more.

SageRiver administers a range of the most rigorously validated instruments. Some of the newer assessments—most notably Emergenetics—include integrated tools that provide insights at the individual, team and organizational levels. These assessments look at both behavioral and thinking attributes, which make them a powerful tool for finding the unique “genius” in each person.

Assessments work best when they fit a client’s context. In selecting which diagnostics to use, we consider three questions: What goals do clients have? What obstacles are they encountering? And what level of self-awareness do they possess?

Unblocking Teams, Unlocking Value

Our healthcare client realized value from the assessments because we linked the findings directly to their daily work and long-term goals. They regularly discussed and applied what they had learned, which allowed them to adopt new approaches and measure their progress toward larger objectives.

Ultimately, the leadership team elected to deploy the assessments throughout the enterprise. It was an important first step in enabling essential cultural and behavioral shifts that have taken hold at all levels of the organization.

If you’d like to learn more about how individual, team or organizational assessments could benefit you, contact SageRiver Consulting at (720) 443-2551.

What’s Agile Got to Do with It?
What’s Agile Got to Do with It? 622 415 SageRiver Consulting LLC

Struggling to swim in fast-moving waters, many organizations adapt by trying to “manage” or “lead” change. These efforts can create short-term value, but they miss a central truth—that change is coming faster and faster from all directions and can’t be fully anticipated or controlled.

Organizations that try often expend enormous energy and resources trying to stop change. Or, they’re submerged by a rushing current when their strategy fails to anticipate new developments.

Fortunately, agile offers a better way.

Living in the River of Change

The term agile was first coined to describe a new approach to software development. Today, agile also encompasses a mindset and beliefs, as well as business management frameworks, techniques and processes. Yes, agile organizations disperse decision-making authority and allow cross-functional teams to work more autonomously. They also embed feedback loops into their processes and continuously improve their products.

But agile organizations are characterized by a different way of thinking as well. These organizations live within the river of change. They’ve learned to co-create the future with their customers and employees through ongoing listening, learning and adaptation. They are less focused on absolute judgements of right and wrong and are more open to different ideas that can lead to the next product evolution. They also demonstrate a high degree of trust, believing their employees know what to do, when to do it and how to communicate about their decisions.

Understanding What It Takes to Swim

By adopting this flexible, adaptive approach, organizations hope to become faster and more innovative and resilient. But is agile the right approach for all organizations, and what does it take to transform into a truly agile enterprise?

Based on SageRiver’s experience, there are five keys to success:

Visualize and Commit: Before you jump into the river of change, understand where you want to go and whether you’re committed to the journey. Begin by asking whether an agile approach will help you deliver on your most important goals. If the answer is yes, consider whether you’re really prepared to make the required strategic, cultural and operational shifts. To succeed, you must be clear about your most pressing challenges and your willingness to lead and work differently.

Share Stories with Fellow Swimmers: To empower and engage your team around a common purpose, employ storytelling and story listening throughout the organization. Treat storytelling as a valuable part of team discussions and invite others to respond with their own stories. As Steve Denning writes, this practice helps employees move in the same direction without a command-and-control management structure.

Find the Right Form: As any swimmer knows, finding the right form matters. Similarly, agile organizations need an organizational design that promotes both shared direction and flexibility, thereby unlocking the talents of teams and individuals.

Balance Consistency and Flexibility: Successful swimmers use repetition to build muscle memory, which allows them to execute flawlessly on even their worst days. Yet, swimmers must also adapt to changing circumstances. Agile organizations meet these twin goals by identifying the processes that deliver the most critical value across the enterprise. They then streamline those processes to deliver both standardization and flexibility, thereby increasing speed, innovation and consistency.

Improve Every Day: Strong swimmers evolve through constant practice, coaching and skill-building. Agile organizations operate in the same way. They build a continuous loop of measurement, evaluation, learning and improvement into their culture. They aim to improve in small or large ways every day. This approach creates a bias toward adaptation and change, which in turn produces organizational resilience.

Transforming into an agile enterprise takes time, self-awareness and commitment. The reward comes when you stop struggling against the current of change and start using its energy to propel you forward, knowing you will adapt and thrive no matter what the future holds.

To learn more, contact SageRiver Consulting at (720) 443-2551.

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