When many organisations face growth and change, COLLEAGUES OFTEN DEVELOP a morbid fear of becoming ‘Corporate’ - LIKE IT WERE some sort of contagious disease… to be avoided at all costs!

What’s going on?

The bottom line is change is a challenging time for most people. My experience is that many organisations facing growth and change often focus on explaining and implementing new processes and ways of working. And why not… it is tangible, obvious and measurable. However, then you often hear the accusation that the organisation‘s becoming corporate, bureaucratic and process heavy … and I do wonder if this criticism is often a mask or cover for the underlying and quite natural concerns individuals feel about change and the future.

What’s for certain?

As organiations grow one thing is for sure, things WILL change, this is the nature of all successful organisations.

New processes will be needed to deal with greater volume and complexity
New technologies may be introduced to improve quality, efficiency, accuracy and standards
With growing numbers of employees, good practice needs to be captured and articulated to ensure it can be shared and demonstrated
Organisational structure and design will be adapted to ensure the client’s product or service can be delivered to consistent standards of excellence
Job roles may change, new roles may emerge and some roles may no longer be needed
New behaviours and skills may be needed to meet new demands and challenges
…oh, and some things will stay the same

When organisations fail to really engage in conversations about how people feel and react to change and what people fear or are concerned about, change will always be a struggle.

Thinking more broadly about change

So how can leaders take a more holistic and integrated approach to change that will create more engagement and deliver better results? Ken Wilber's Integrated Model provides an excellent framework to think more broadly about organisational challenges and is particularly helpful in considering growth and change.

The key to success is creating alignment between these four quadrants. When focus is isolated to 1 or 2 areas, a lack of alignment is likely which inevitably leads to low engagement and poor results. For example, organisations that aspire to a culture of innovation, but have reward systems that penalise mistakes and riskier behaviours, are likely to create tension and frustration in their teams.

Mind set: The personal values and beliefs held by the individual.

These will drive the behaviours usually demonstrated by individuals. If the organisation has a culture, or requires individuals to work in a way that is not aligned to their personal mind set, tension and frustration is created.

Culture: The internal beliefs and values of the group or organisation.

It is these collectively held values that create the culture of the organisation. During times of change and growth it is helpful for organisations to recognise the culture they have, and also what might need to change to support the future they desire. Tension will arise when organisations have a culture that is not aligned with the systems & processes.

Behaviours: The behaviours and actions that are demonstrated by the individual.

When an individual’s behaviours are not aligned with the systems and processes the organisation will be inefficient and process will not be applied. In successful organisations, the behaviours of individuals often reflect the culture of the organisation. Where they do not, the individual is likely to feel like they don’t fit or belong.

Systems/processes: All the observable external behaviours of a group or organisation.

It is the policies, ways of working, operating methods and processes of the organisation. This is often the area focused on most during change and growth.

How do you keep your identity as you grow, and AVOID becoming ‘Corporate’?

Always keep the customer and market in mind and involve your teams throughout

Work out and describe the culture, process, behaviour & mind-set you have that has got you to where you are now?
What elements of this culture, process, behaviour & mind-set have been distracting & unhelpful – where have you succeeded in spite of yourselves?
Imagine the future – which elements of your current culture, process, behaviour & mind-set will be critical?
What else might you need that you don’t have now?
How can you practically build this into the very fabric, the culture, process, behaviour & mind-set of how you work? (More than just having it on a poster on the wall in the HRD’s office)

Here’s the good news!

Change during growth is exciting. It creates numerous opportunities for new ideas, new roles, new ways of working and making a difference. It allows people to be challenged and to grow, flourish and succeed. Being part of a growth organisation is a fantastic place to be!

So balance your approach to growth and change by considering culture, behaviour, mindset as well as process & systems. Avoid unnecessary bureaucracy and process... and stop employees hiding behind the 'corporate' banner as an excuse not to change. A leader's role is to take responsibility for facing the difficulties of change and to think broadly.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

If you would like to chat about this more, and how to take an integrated approach to driving growth and change in your organisation, please do get in touch.

Contact us:
Call: 07881 915657
Email: claire@downtoearth-development.co.uk

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