When you hear the phrase “organizational development” what comes to mind? Endless meetings? High costs? A massive headache?
You’re not alone.
There’s a reason organizational development feels a bit like a four-letter word, it’s often followed by a lot of conversation, a ton of extra work, and often, minimal results. It doesn’t need to be that way! Organizational development is a good thing, it’s a chance to reset, to make new opportunities for people in your organization, and it’s a chance to improve your operations. The key is doing it the right way.
Engage with Your Stakeholders
When you’re working on something as important as organizational development, you need everyone on board, especially your stakeholders. If stakeholders know how important your development strategy is, they’ll be that much more likely to take it seriously, and when stakeholders are taking your ideas seriously, they’ll be much more likely to help you accomplish your goals.
Get Introspective
Before you start using a tool or reaching out to experts to see what is and isn’t working in your organization, take a look yourself. There’s a good chance you already what’s working well and what’s not going as well in your organization, so make sure you make note of that before reaching out to outside assistance (more on that later). That’s not to say outside help isn’t useful, it’s that you shouldn’t rely on (and pay) them to identify obvious issues.
Communicate
Seems obvious right? Well, it probably ought to be, but that doesn’t mean that smart people don’t have communication issues, and those issues can make stress become toxic quickly. The solution? Talk about what’s happening. Make sure everyone in the decision-making process knows everything they need to so there are no surprises.
Bring in Outside Help
Making big changes to your organization can be intimidating and finding the right partner can take a lot of the stress—and work—off of your plate. However, choosing the right partner makes all the difference. You want a partner that understands your organization and can offer suggestions for improvements that you’ve never considered in areas you might not have realized were lacking.
Don’t Forget to Enjoy the Process
Changing your organizational strategy can be stressful and may take a long time, but it also means you’re taking the steps to improve the way your organization operates. That’s a good thing! Make sure to step back and enjoy the process by considering the positive effect these changes are going to create for your organization.
At SDI, we’ve been helping industry leaders deal with difficult, but important changes in their organizations, and we want to do the same for you. To learn more about how a partnership with SDI can help you move forward with clarity, contact us today.
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