Developing a Change Ready Organization

Introduction

Agility defined:Change AgilityOrganizational Agility Characteristics of an agile organization. Keys to creating an agile organization. Potential Factors: Internal and external factors that impact an agile organization. Examples of the structure required to establish and maintain agility within our organization.

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FCUSD Vision Statement

Provide our students with a broad range of rigorous educational opportunities. Enable students to reach their full potential and successfully meet the demands and opportunities of a highly technological 21st Century. Students graduate with a core of knowledge, positive attitude, leadership, character, and academic skills necessary to excel in a global arena. Create business and community partnerships that offer students the opportunities to apply their learning to real-world situations. Our schools facilities are a reflection of the entire community. Provide students with the educational tools to meet the technological demands of the future and the social skills to function in a culturally diverse society.

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Agility Defined

Agility refers to the ability to easily think, understand, act and move quickly.

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Organizational Agility

Organizational agility refers to an organization’s capacity to identify and capture opportunities more quickly than rivals do. They have the ability to respond quickly to strategic shifts in internal and external environments, make collective commitments, and deploy the necessary resources to capitalize on new opportunities.

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Change Agility

Change agility is the ability to identify and seize opportunities in the environment faster than competitors. An organization who has mastered this skill can rapidly adapt to market and environmental changes in productive and cost-effective ways. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_agility

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Characteristics of an Agile Organization

People – growth mindset Cognitive flexibility Resilient and adaptable Ability to rise over the bumps in the road Ability to work well with others Establish and maintain a “we” and not “me” mentality Project – based and self managed Encourage collaboration and networking Readily available contingency plans Technological leverage

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Keys to Creating an Agile Organization

Pay attention to what is happening inside and outside of the district and respond quickly to the opportunities presented. Integrate the voices of FCUSD stakeholders throughout your decision making process. Keep an eye on risk management. Changing quickly does not mean putting at risk what the organization has already built. Set up interdisciplinary project teams: these different points of views and perspectives will help you find faster and better paths/solutions. Encourage cross management in your organization that allows you to eliminate organizational silos.

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Keys to Creating an Agile Organization (cont.)

Have contingency plans that enable you to take on the changing environment. While you may not have all the answers, you can have a plan of action for the changes as they arise. Use iterative project management practices to ensure the development of successful initiatives / projects. Technological leverage. For obvious reasons, technology will be your ally, make the most of the advances and possibilities that this offers us, otherwise you will lag behind. Anticipate and plan change, integrate this into all your initiatives / projects and convert it so it becomes part of your DNA, as this will be the key for people to become the protagonists of their transformation.

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Potential Factors(that impact an agile organization)

Internal:

Strategic alignment:Have we identified the critical capabilities we need to establish? Are relationships well thought-through? Are we effective at defining employee roles, relationships, and job scope? Are timing, budget, and resourcing consistent with what is required for a successful outcome? Performance alignment:How well do we convert a plan or an initiative into well-defined objectives and timelines? Are performance expectations clearly defined, established, and communicated? How often is performance assessed and feedback provided? What metrics are used, and are they reasonable? When performance problems arise, how promptly and effectively does FCUSD take the required action?

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Potential Factors(that impact an agile organization – cont.)

Internal:

Relationship alignment:How much is cultural fit as well as technical expertise considered in the choice of external talent? Are externals thrown right into the task or do we provide them with a solid orientation to the FCUSD and the people with whom they will work? How are issues between internal staff and external resources resolved? Administrative alignment:Is FCUSD set up to work well with externals, or are they treated poorly?Is FCUSD excessively bureaucratic in dealing with agile talent? Are FCUSD rules and procedures communicated appropriately? Are externals paid promptly?Is the orientation of FCUSD one that views external talent as a necessary evil or as welcome colleagues?

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Potential Factors(that impact an agile organization – cont.)

External:

External competition:External talent can be a threat to our current managers and technical professionals, especially outside talent that offers strategic benefits, is highly trained, and possess capability that internals don’t. Clash of expectations:Externals candidates may believe that the organizations for which they work are too slow, too bureaucratic, and too complex. Similarly, FCUSD may view externals as clueless about the business and unwilling or unable to have a deep understanding of the district’s issues. Failure to deliver results:Most projects involve external resources, this increases the potential failure to meet expectations. How FCUSD selects, engages, and manages the performance of external resources and the quality of the partnership will deeply impact this process.

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Structure required to establish and maintain agility within our organization:

Example 1: Strong Culture

Culture takes a long time to create and change. It takes a long time to build up a healthy culture and it requires a lot of thought. Part of building a healthy culture requires transparency from the top down. I am proposing the following from our Superintendent, Sarah Koligian, as well as our Managers and Directors: Transparency:Allow all employees to feel they know the thinking, responsibilities, and strategy at various levels of the district and can share the district’s vision as well as ideas and feedback no matter who they are.Allow all district employees to participate in bi-weekly “ask anything” forums where they can remain anonymous if they choose. Offer an any-question-welcome situation, where we will build a private forum on the district server where employees can ask anonymous questions of the board members, superintendent and upper management.

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Structure required to establish and maintain agility within our organization:

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Organizational design and processes are extremely important. How does our district operate? What adds value? What are the decisions that are made to add value? Who makes those decisions? How do they get measured? To create a strong organizational design, I am proposing the following: Strong Communication:Weekly Meetings:Meeting will include district and department communication, company policies, team building, performance indicators, performance evaluations, division of responsibilities, scheduling. Meetings will occur at all levels consistently and as needed to meet the needs of the department and the district. Department head to determine location, thee, team building activities, items to be addressed, etc.Each communication should provide a channel for response. This can consists of meetings with question and answer periods, direct emails, or online discussion forums.

EXAMPLE 2: ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN

Conclusion

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In conclusion, developing a change ready organization is very possible here at Folsom Cordova Unified School District. Involve stakeholders in the process and change will be better received. Communicate our goals and vision and ask the, to invest and participate in that change process. They will jump at the chance to be a part of something great and worthwhile that will have a long lasting impact on our community. Thank you, to all the board members for your time and consideration in this deeply important and impactful matter. My deepest gratitude to you all…JoAnne Reinking, President Sarah Aquino, Vice PresidentChris Clark, ClerkZak Ford, MemberEd Short, Member

Questions

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References

Parker, D., Charlton, J., Ribeiro, A., & Pathak, R. D. (2013). Integration of project-based management and change management Intervention methodology. International Journal Of Productivity & Performance Management, 62(5), 534-544. doi:10.1108/IJPPM-10-2012-0108 Learning to love the “VUCA” world with Shell and Nokia. (2016). Strategic Direction, 32(1), 19-21.Warrilow, S. (2009). Change Management: Facing Up to the Horror of It All. Accessed 11-30-2011 at http://www. strategies-for-managing-change.com/change-management-facing-up-to-the-horror-of-it-all.html.Hallgren, M., & Olhager, J. (2009). Lean and agile manufacturing: external and internal drivers and performance outcomes. International Journal Of Operations & Production Management, 29(10), 976-999. doi:10.1108/01443570910993456 Folsom Cordova Unified School District. Vision Statement. https://www.fcusd.org/Page/2449. Retrieved May 10, 2018. https://hbr.org/2016/02/aligning-your-organization-with-an-agile-workforce

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