Successful organisations have a calmness around them. They are confident and focused. Struggling organisations tend to be chaotic and frenzied. What describes your culture – chaos or calm?
In his book ‘Good to Great’, author Jim Collins talks about the five qualities he found in great organisations compared to organisations that were just good. Not surprisingly, leadership was one, followed by having the right people in the right positions. The other three are discipline, keeping it simple and building momentum gradually. Let’s talk about these
Discipline. Struggling organisations lack discipline. There doesn’t seem to be anything controlling behaviour, be that procedures, policies or people. Successful organisations have people that follow guidelines that may be formal or informal, like culture.
Keeping it simple. Underperforming companies allow things to become too complicated. Simple does not mean easy. In fact it is much harder to make things simple than to allow complexity to creep in.
Build momentum gradually. It seems that we are all in a constant rush. Time frames are shorter, deadlines are closer, things can’t happen fast enough for some. This sense of urgency sometimes forces us to rush, plan poorly and knee-jerk react if things aren’t going well. Organisations that plan well, know their environment and are confident, more patient and controlled.
If you want to be more successful, less chaotic and calm, do these things.
- Have systems, policies and procedures in place to guide, not choke behaviour. The most important thing here is to establish a strong positive culture where people feel like they are valued and belong.
- Have a clear, shared vision for your organisation. Make sure people understand it and buy into it. Strive for simplicity in things like job descriptions, project overviews and overall communication.
- Plan adequately and be clear about what you want everyone to do. Allow sufficient time frames for projects to bear fruit. Don’t change direction at the drop of a hat.
You might be wondering whose job it is to put these things in place. Of course it’s the role of the leader. Let us know if we can help.
