We are at the final stage of our business re-engineering program; it has been a journey, and everyone is looking forward to wrap-up the program.
Most organizational change programs are structured to close the gap with the preferred future but not to achieve a fit with the external environment. Perhaps the biggest challenge for leaders is how to develop an agile workforce, considering that change is the state of business and agility is a state of being.
Most of us hate change. If we had it our way, we would keep the business environment we knew which was stable and secure. As Laing rightly said, we find it hard to live in a world where change is so speedy that we begin to see the present only when it is already disappearing. In such an environment, survival hinges on a company's ability to respond and adapt with speed and stability to the rapidly changing and uncertain environment- organizational agility.
Building an agile organization or team is a continuous process, not a once-off project. One of the common pitfalls of the average organization today is the inability to interpret emerging trends and use the information for competitive advantage. In a turbulent environment, organizations should continually scan the internal and external environment, gathering data, organizing and analyzing it, and use the insights to explore appropriate improvements that equip the organization to adapt and compete.
How do we get ready for an ever-changing world?
The following are critical elements of agile culture:
# 1 Strategic Thinking
Strategic thinkers analyze critical factors and variables that affect the business's viability in the long run. Understanding the environment enables leaders to understand emerging patterns and make decisions that align with the strategic intent. In a dynamic business environment, the future is not a destination. Thus, the ability to influence the interactions within the organization and the external environment enables the organization to respond and compete successfully.
# 2 Empowered teams
The conventional change management methodologies gave top management the exclusive privilege to champion change. Such an approach is fatal in a dynamically changing environment. Agile organizations empower all employees to transform data into information that the organization can utilize to make decisions, and change can originate from anywhere, including lower levels and middle management. The process stimulates triple-loop learning, in which awareness results in teams correcting, challenging, and modifying procedures and assumptions to create value. Empowerment goes beyond having the resources to implement change but understanding the opportunities and risks associated with each decision.
# 3 Innovation & Creativity
When great organizations become content with the status quo and pay less attention to the changing environment, they become victims of change. An agile organization can identify next-generation enabling technology and equip the organization with evolving technology architecture, systems, and tools.
Organizational agility is now a critical competency for corporate survival and continuity. Fortunately, the organization can equip employees with the tools to develop agility.
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