Prior to the digital revolution, traditional, hierarchical organizations were the norm, representing a new peak of efficiency. Top down management and siloed departments ensured stability and a straightforward chain of command. Conformity, compliance, and competition helped centralize power at the top in a controlled environment, as was common a few decades ago.
Assembly line production as an example.
In assembly line productions, numerous players must follow a specific, repetitive plan, so each piece along a chain of products turns out uniformly, and works together. Rules and structure are paramount in this environment and creative thinking is not part of the formula.
Traditional work such as factory production has simple, structured problems. Workers perform their job functions in a rigid, linear way and managers rely on policy and procedures to define responsibilities and ensure smooth operations. Labor is intended to run like a well-oiled machine. In fact, as we’ve seen over the past few decades, many of these jobs have literally been replaced by well-oiled machines, automated to perfectly perform repetitive actions with no input.
Demands of the Modern Enterprise
In contrast, the workforce today is increasingly expected to have social and emotional intelligence, communication skills, creativity and problem solving. Independent thinking and good judgement matter as much as the ability to work with others.
A Network of Interdependencies
These requirements are unsurprising in the modern world, with its diverse relationships and network of interdependencies. Businesses face increasingly complex unstructured problems, with multiple, diverse stakeholders, and no one “right” answer. The sheer pace of change has kept businesses in constant motion to keep up, and they, in turn, ask their employees to be responsive, adaptable and resilient.
Unfortunately, traditional business structure is not particularly effective in these circumstances, where collaborative problem solving, experimentation, and innovation better meet business needs.
The Transformation of Work
This juxtaposition of traditional organizations and modern business needs is increasingly responsible for toxicity in the workplace. The clash between traditional organizational structure, with established leadership norms, and evolving business needs in a dynamic, networked environment is readily apparent in unprecedented unrest rippling through the workforce.
Businesses across the globe are scrambling to keep sufficient staffing levels, searching for the magic bullet that will attract and retain talent. But polls continue to reveal a disenchanted workforce.
Leaders have been are quick to ask employees to think and be different, without adapting the environment in which they operate. This is like putting a salt water fish into a fresh water tank. The fish isn’t going to thrive. The solution is simple, and yet difficult to obtain. If we want salt water fish to thrive, we need to give them salt water.
Culture Alignment
For organizations that want to be nimble and responsive, leaders need to create an environment that fosters these behaviors in their staff. The focus is on aligning the environmental factors with operating objectives, to ensure performance demands can be met within the context of the working culture.
Nimblitz can work with your leadership team, to support your intentional shift in workplace culture, to foster the inclusion, learning and growth that underly innovation. Whether at the team, organization, or enterprise level, we can help you plot a course and develop tools to support you along the way.