In today’s rapidly changing business environment, companies must be able to adapt to new challenges and opportunities to remain competitive. Todays organizations are facing unprecedented challenges in their business models and in the workplace:
- Covid-19 fundamentally changes how work is performed. Hybrid and Remote Work is here to stay. The majority off employees prefer work from home or remote.
- Companies Re-Thinking their organizational structures. 65% see shift from functional hierarchies to a team-centric and network based model as an important step to remain competetive (Deloitte 2019).
- Digital Transformation, Data & Analytics are on the rise: 89% of organizations redesign jobs based on technology impact (Deloitte 2021); 31% digital transformation and 28% growing value on data & analytics (SIX 2022)
- Need for Adaptable Leadership: 75% of organizations prepare their leaders with future leadership capabilities. 86% see leadership as the most urgent challenge to tackle
- Increasing Skills Shortage: 84% of companies increase investments in up-skilling and learning initiatives. (McKinsey 2020)
This requires not only a flexible and agile organization, but also empowered teams, adaptable leaders, and a focus on your top talents and future skills. What actually mean a “resilient” organization? Its a healthy organization with a high scale of psychological saftey among its employees. A resilient company absorbs downturns and turn them into opportunities to capture sustainable, inclusive growth. When challenges emerge, leaders and teams in resilient company quickly assess the situation, reorient themselves, double down on what’s working, and walk away from what’s not. In addition, McKinsey research shows that organisations with a low organisational health score (as reflected by psychological safety and resilience) are likely to go bankrupt. (McKinsey 2022).
According to Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, Amy Edmondson, the concept of Psychological Safety is “a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes, and that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking” (Amy Edmonson 2022).
Building a more adaptable and resilient company requires a focus on four key strategic areas: a flexible and agile organization, empowered teams and collaboration, adaptable leaders, develop top talents and focus on future skills. By prioritizing these areas, companies can create a culture and structure that is better equipped to respond to changes in the market and business environment, and that is poised for success in the future.
However, building an adaptable and resilient company is an ongoing process, and requires a sustained commitment from all levels of the organization. Companies must be willing to continuously evaluate and adjust their strategies and processes, and to invest in their employees and future talent. With a focus on these four key areas, companies can create an organization that is better positioned to succeed in today’s rapidly changing business environment. In this article, I will explore each of the four strategic areas and provide insights into how companies can build a more adaptable and resilient organization.
A Flexible and Agile Organization
The first step is to create a flexible and agile organization. This means creating a culture and structure that is able to quickly respond to changes in the market, in the business environment and the fast changing customer requirements. One way to achieve this is by implementing agile methodologies, such as Scrum or SAFe, which prioritize flexibility and adaptability in the development and delivery of products and services.
Another key component is the ability to quickly pivot and make changes to strategies, processes, and systems. This requires a culture of continuous improvement, where all employees are encouraged to identify and suggest ways to improve the organization. Companies can also adopt a more decentralized structure, where decision-making is distributed across the organization, and teams are given more autonomy to drive innovation and change:
- Shift toward faster, federated, data-informed decision making
- “Good enough” outcomes can make it easier for leaders and teams to test, learn, and adjust in the wake of complex business challenges
- Organizational Change Management ensures that employees are engaged and directly involved in the change process
Empowered Teams and Collaboration
Todays organizational success lies in empowering teams to make decisions and act on new, imperfect information. The „work“ should be done in diverse, cross-functional teams. Companies must re-evaluate team structures and management to foster resilience and adaptability. Encouraging creative collisions, open feedback, and a culture of continuous improvement will enhance an organization’s ability to tackle future challenges. This means creating a culture where employees feel valued and have the freedom to take ownership of their work and not being pushed back by failures and political unwanted messages. Empowered teams are more motivated, engaged, and committed to their work, and are better equipped to respond to changes and challenges in the business environment.
One way to empower teams is to give them the resources and support they need to be successful. This includes access to technology and tools, opportunities for training and development. Companies can also encourage collaboration by creating cross-functional teams, where employees from different departments work together on projects. This fosters a culture of innovation and creativity and helps to break down silos and foster a more inclusive and supportive environment. This means:
- Held accountable and given ownership of outcomes
- Feel empowered to carry out strategic plans and stay close to customers
- Through several feedback loops continually change course or innovate
- Minimize bureaucracies and foster entrepreneurship
- Decision making in the hands of small crossfunctional teams
Adaptable Leaders
Leaders play a critical role in building a resilient organization, and it is important for leaders to be adaptable and able to respond to changes in the business environment. This means being open to new ideas, technologies, and approaches, and being willing to make changes when necessary. It also means being proactive in anticipating changes and making strategic decisions that position the company for success in the future. Adaptive leaders needs to have a systems mindset, looking for patterns and connections, and are therefore more likely to see opportunities where others see problems. They can set a direction without being about the destination.
Adaptable leaders also understand the importance of fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and they encourage their teams to be proactive in identifying areas for improvement and implementing change. They also provide their teams with the resources and support they need to be successful, and they are open to feedback and willing to make changes to their own leadership style when necessary.
- Enable organizational agility and team empowerment
- They don’t react when face with a change rather be proactive
- They coach team members through the change
- They catalyze new behaviors
- They develop capabilities that can help set the conditions for both a short-term response and long-term resiliency
Develop Top Talents and Future Skills
Companies lack the talent they will need in the future. 87 % say they either are experiencing gaps now or expect them within a few years!
Building a resilient organization requires a strong focus to develop your 5-10% top talents with the focus of future skills. This means to build up a skills-driven organization (Knispel 2022) and ensuring that they have the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the future. This includes providing opportunities for training and development, as well as investing in technology and tools that support continuous learning.
Companies can also stay ahead of the curve by developing a strong pipeline of future talent, by attracting and retaining top talent, and by creating a culture that values and supports continuous learning and development. Additionally, companies can help their employees develop future skills by encouraging them to participate in cross-functional projects, to work on new technologies and tools, and to seek out new challenges and opportunities for growth. Helpful activities are:
- Built up structures and capabilities to increase Talent and People Development
- Invest in people analytics to hire, develop, and retain talent more effectively
- Move from job replacements towards potential hiring and skill-based hiring
- Closing the skill-gap in partnerships (e.g. education clusters with universities and specialized learning content providers)
Building a more adaptable and resilient company requires a focus on four key strategic areas: a flexible and agile organization, empowered teams and collaboration, adaptable leaders, and talent development and future skills. By prioritizing these areas, companies can create a culture and structure that is better equipped to respond to changes in the market and business environment, and that is poised for success in the future.
Building an adaptable and resilient company is an ongoing process, and requires a sustained commitment from all levels of the organization. Companies must be willing to continuously evaluate and adjust their strategies and processes, and to invest in their employees and future talent. With a focus on these four key areas, companies can create a more adaptive and resilient organization that is better positioned to succeed in today’s rapidly changing business environment.
Sources
Deloitte (2019). Global Human Capital Trend Survey 2019
Edmondson, Amy (2022) https://amycedmondson.com/psychological-safety/
Knispel, Karl-L. (2022) How to Build a Skill-Driven Organization. LinkedIn
McKinsey (2020). Beyond hiring: How companies are reskilling to address talent gaps. McKinsey Global Institute.
McKinsey (2022). Raising the resilience of your organization.
SIX Group (2022). The Future of Finance. Zürich: SIX Group
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