Building super teams

3 tips for getting the mandate to make things happen in an organisation

Imagine you have to been invited to ‘make things happen’ in an organisation. You may have been asked, for example, to introduce a new approach to customer service, create a new business or bring about radical change.

There is good news and bad news. The good news is that it is possible. The bad news is that the corridors may be littered with corpses of people who ‘tried to change the culture’. So how can you deliver the goods?

Before even accepting the role, it is important to know the organisation's picture of success. Strangely, some organisations invite people to create 'change', as if that in itself is enough.

Sit down with the key sponsors and clarify the organisation's goals. This will provide the context within which the change can take place. The key backers must agree on the picture. You can keep referring back to it to ensure things are on track.

You can then proceed to getting the mandate for making things happen. Let's explore three steps for setting things up to succeed.

1) You can clarify what the organisation wants to keep and wants to change.

Every organisation has rules. Some rules are written, some are unwritten; some may be contradictory. Some rules work well for the present time, but other rules may be required in the future.

Get to know an organisation’s rules before embarking on a project. Be diplomatic, but ask the decision-makers about:

* The things we want to keep doing – because some of these will have contributed to their success.

* The things we want to add, develop or change – because we need to do these to be successful in the future.

“Tackling this exercise was fascinating,” reported one person. “I was once offered a senior role in a relatively successful insurance company. The leaders were worried about new competitors on the net, so the brief was: ‘To build the future business.’

"At first the responses to what they wanted to keep and change were full of modern management speak. Delving beneath the surface, however, the real answers began to emerge.

What they wanted to keep included:

* The quiet, studied atmosphere in the office.

* The formal dress code.

* The numerous internal meetings.

* The rule of no working from home.

* The managers acting as supervisors.

* The staff being relatively ‘compliant’.

What they wanted to develop included:

* The staff to be proactive in order to build a dynamic growing business.

* The staff to more customer focused.

* The morale to improve.

"The two lists contained many contradictions. This was good to know before trying to build the future business."

Let’s imagine you have been asked to make things happen in an organisation. Interview the key people, ask in-depth questions and then complete the following sentences.

2) You can clarify what must be done to really make things happen in the organisation.

“We had an excellent discussion about what they wanted to keep and change,” continued the person charged with building the future business. “After a while it became obvious that it would not work to try to ‘change’ the present culture – there would be too much resistance."

"The leaders wanted to retain what worked in its traditional market, but also develop a more dynamic insurance business. They recognised two factors.

* They wanted the financial benefits from the new business.

* They understood it required new staff applying modern practices in a dynamic culture.

"How to solve the problem? The new business must be in a different location, possibly under a new brand name. Providing I delivered the results, they would not interfere."

"So that is what we did. The new business was set up and it worked. But it only came about from recognising and respecting what they wanted to keep and change.”

Let’s return to your ‘change assignment’. Looking at the organisation, be absolutely brutal about what must happen if you are going to be able to fulfil your mandate.

Try tackling the following exercise. Keep referring back to the picture of success. Then describe: a) The specific things that must be done to achieve the goals; b) The pluses of doing these things; c) The potential minuses; d) The specific ways to build on the pluses and minimise the minuses. Try completing the following sentences.

3) You can clarify the mandate you have for making things happen in the organisation.

Get the authority to act. Agree with the key decision-makers on the 3 A’s: accountability, autonomy and authority. You are prepared to be accountable, but you must have the necessary autonomy and authority to deliver the results. Make sure you have the brief and the mandate.

How to introduce yourself to people who may be affected by the changes? Always start by referring to the Picture of Success. Show how what you are aiming to do fits within this context.

If appropriate, give the organisation's reasons for aiming to achieve these goals. You can explain that:

* There were many options for going forward. There were pluses and minuses to each option.

For example: Option A was: ______. Option B was: ______. Option C was: ______.

* The organisation has chosen Option ______. The reasons for doing this are: ______.

There will, of course, be upsides and downsides. But this is the organisation's goal.

* The overall direction has been decided. It is possible to add ideas to this, but the decision has been made.

People can choose to opt in and contribute towards achieving the goal. They will be given support and enabled to do superb work. People will be given freedom – within parameters – to deliver their part of the picture of success.

Build on the Positive People

The key is to build on the positive energy in the organisation. Great organisations describe their desired future culture and then invite people to decide whether they want to opt-in. People can choose whether or not they want to use their talents to achieve the goals.

Start by creating positive momentum. Build on the people who choose to be positive, professional and peak performers. Encourage them to do superb work, get some early wins and share these success stories across the organisation. This will show people that things are actually happening.

You can find many more tips on this approach in the piece called 3 tips for building on the positive people to build a positive culture.

Make it Physical

Physical changes set the tone. But they must be followed by deeper changes if you are serious about transforming a culture. Start by making physical changes for the employees – beginning with the hygiene factors. Improve the building and give them the tools to do the job.

“Three years ago I took over a company that was in the dark ages,” said one leader. “So we modernised the entrance, gave the receptionists smart uniforms, displayed our products in the reception area, put in proper coffee bars, installed wireless and gutted the office. Previously it had been ‘open plan’, full of 90’s style ‘chicken run’ desks, with little privacy. Stress and sickness were at an all time high."

"Redesigning the office, we got the balance between public and private spaces so people can talk or do creative work. Several Atrium areas are constantly occupied by people working or having informal meetings. They are also encouraged to work from home on Fridays. Customers now use our offices for their meetings, productivity has improved and the changes paid for themselves within one year.”

Make the Tough Decisions

Leaders often mention a common theme when looking back at transformation programmes. This is: "I would have made the tough decisions earlier, especially about people." Great organisations are moral. They explain The Deal to people. They explain:

"This is our purpose. These are the principles we want people to follow towards achieving the purpose. Let us know if you want to follow these principles and translate them into practice. If so, great. If not, we will try to find, as far as possible, a good solution."

Making things happen can be rewarding but challenging. So keep referring back to the picture of success. Then make the tough decisions required to achieve the goals.

Try tackling the final exercise on this theme. This is mainly to clarify things in your own head. First, describe the brief that you have – the specific things that you are to deliver. Second, describe the mandate you have for making things happen. Third, describe how you can get some early wins. Try completing the exercise below.

You can then get on with helping the organisation to achieve its picture of success.