Knowing that you need to have a culture of high-performance in the workplace is one thing – stepping up and creating that culture is entirely another. For most business leaders, knowing where to start is the hardest part.
High Performance – A Systematic Approach
The key to getting started in creating a high performance organization is to lay out a systematic approach. Culture can be an ethereal thing – difficult to nail down and even harder to change. In order to get the results that you want, as a business leader it’s critical that your parameters are clear, concise and well structured.
Understanding how organizational culture develops, grows and changes is important. Knowledge is truly power in this instance. When companies are able to step back and see where they are in the process, opportunities become visible. There is always room for growth, always room for change and development in the realm of organizational culture.
Transforming Chaos into Stability into High Performance
Many organizations out there work from a place of chaos. Though the day-to-day business might get done well enough to get by, it happens organically, without thought and with a fraction of the effectiveness possible.
However, expecting the chaos to align into something that’s functional for the long-term is like expecting a knotted ball of yarn to unravel itself. Taking the mishmash that businesses begin with and transforming it into a high performance organizational machine means first recognizing the chaos, then intentionally making those changes.
There are three steps to creating high performance organizational structure.
Look hard in the mirror
Use an organization assessment to critically evaluate what’s working and what’s not working. Oftentimes people do things because “that’s how we’ve always done it.” That’s never a good reason. People are often attached to the chaos, it’s familiar. Sometimes it can be painful to evaluate what’s happening. Emotions get involved. The key here is to not come to this process with an eye for criticizing people, but rather for looking coldly at processes.
Bring everyone to the table
Changing organizational structure means pulling all stakeholders into the process. While leaders might take the initiative to begin change, it’s critical to foster trust by including the team. Transparency is at it’s best when those within an organization are able to take an active role in shaping the structure that they will be working through.
Let go and don’t look back
Creating a high performance business means changing when it’s appropriate, letting go of what’s not working no matter how challenging it might be. The most successful businesses are those who know when to shed the old and usher in the new. Creating structure out of chaos necessarily means letting go of the chaos. Nothing works forever so even as changes are made, there’s always the option to mold structures further in the future.
This is an ongoing, never-ending, rewarding process for business leaders. Moving forward to create a better, more high performance culture leads businesses to happier employees, easier processes and higher profits.