If you had watched the last two movies of MCU’s the Avengers, you’d appreciate the insane amount of hours that were poured into pre, post production efforts with multiple VFX agencies across continents that produced the visually endearing masterpiece on-screen. Between the 2 movies, about 900 hours of footage was shot. If you think the crew that shot them were overworked, think twice about the crew that transformed that to what we saw on screen. This mammoth task of managing the end to end process of producing, making, editing and distributing the movie, which went on for years, ultimately paid off for Disney’s Marvel, quite literally. Imagine the kind of chaos that they had to endure every step of the way to pull this kind of a cinematic transformation? Like it or not, MCU’s The Avengers movies redefined the cinema experience this decade. Isn’t that the kind of magic we try to create in our organisations? And has there ever been a time when Transformation (be it Digital or Agile or Cultural) in an organisation was not chaotic?
Transformation as we know it today, is anchored around generating new value to “customers” or “employees” or “users” or a combination of all of these. And the reason why they are so chaotic is because a finite set of stakeholders are trying to control the infinite possibilities, the means and the behaviour of a complex adaptive system. When a system (with high potential for self organisation) is subjected to an order, it means that the outcome can be controlled… but that also means the outcome is predictable. Therein lies the biggest question around transformation – if a carefully structured plan complemented by flawless execution leading to predictable outcome is the only end goal, what are we truly transforming? How do organisations foster a culture where they innovate and create products or services that truly matter to the customers?
Self organisation
If you think about it, most of the time people are surviving transformation, rather than thriving. Meaningful Transformation depends on treating every individual as having the potential for self organisation. That simply means that they do their work and serve a purpose but they are also creative, and not locked into any set rhythm and thus are always adapting to change. This self organisation arises from a meeting of stability and instability. In the book, The Quantum Leader by Danah Zohar, the author calls this point as ‘the Edge.’ In Chaos theory, the Edge is the border between order and chaos. She explains the Edge with the example of the human immune system where it supposedly stabilizes itself to fight off diseases. But that is precisely what the immune system does not do. The alien particles constantly mutate themselves trying to outsmart the defenses put forth by the immune system. However, the only way the immune system can stay ahead of its enemies is to be poised at the edge of instability, ready to evolve at a moment’s notice.
Similarly, leadership at the Edge requires all the poise, the gut instinct, the risk taking nature of an entrepreneur and the creative mistakes of a child or an artist. This is the key to a self organising culture and a successful transformation in the organisation.
But what do they need to do first in order to. efficiently activate self organisation?
1. Create Alignment
Many organisations inadvertently place emphasis on a top-down control, tight structure and impose goals downward. What’s being decided in the “top” leadership gathering is imposed on the people at subsequent lower levels as “a goal that they should work towards.” Most of the time, when people carry on a certain task just because their superiors said so, they are not committed to see through the challenges to make something happen. It also results in:
- Silos – when people operationally watch out only for their business units (BUs) losing sight of transformation goals and the company’s overall vision.
- Fatigue – when people end up handling multiple things at the same time, firefighting lots of issues that are beyond their control, and can also lead to perceived lack of progress.
This leads to another big question for people working in transformation projects – “What’s in it for me? Why should I care about this goal? How is this fulfilling for me?” Self organisation highly depends on people whose individual goals intersect with the transformation goals at some level. This does not mean that a company’s strategy has to be made completely personal. Employees are aligned to the strategy when they commit to the same end goal set by the people on top, without losing sight of what’s in it for them.
While there are no frameworks or tools in place to achieve perfect alignment in an organisation, it’s universally known that transparent communication combined with humility from leaders, followed by the habit of ‘practising what you preach’ builds trust.
When the people trust their leaders, alignment follows.
2. Build Commitment
Gone are the days when people were motivated only through high pay. Sure, it buys some time but that is not an effective strategy because people seek something beyond financial gains. Something that gives them purpose, the feeling that their contributions add value and they look for meaning in their work. When people believe that their contributions are producing a bigger impact, they commit to the goals and ultimately self organisation arises.
For more information on how leaders can motivate people beyond financial means, refer to this research by Harvard Business School.
3. Boost Empowerment
Meaningful transformation relies on individuals who are not only motivated, but also empowered. It relies on leaders taking responsibility to create a safe environment where people are encouraged to speak up regardless of their levels. It’s not that the organisation gives up completely on hierarchy and becomes fluid in structure like startups. But, successful transformation requires the ‘power’ to be distributed and not just on ‘top.’ Self organisation arises when there is a subtle shift in leadership mindset where they don’t end up making people feel bad if they disagree with them.
In order for that to happen, leaders need to embrace the Constellations mindset. Constellations are not random but are basically individual stars which are connected with imaginary lines so that they form a picture in our minds. It symbolises how all individuals in any team are like a single star who add their share of ‘shine’ to a unique picture. When leaders give away their power of control, every star shines brightly in teams creating the intended impact and beyond!
In summary, Transformation and all efforts pertaining to this are not a one time effort but more of a habit that has to be constantly practised and reinforced. Transformation is a journey much similar to starting a family. You suddenly go from managing yourself to managing a household, with many moving parts, including young babies who cannot communicate their needs. It may be challenging, may not reap the benefits immediately, but in the long run it gets more rewarding. Success of the transformation does not rest entirely on the shoulders of the leaders alone and that is exactly what self organisation is about…the power of giving away power.
