Resilience
Is your team or organization resilient?
What would a 20% increase in effectiveness or 40% increase in engagement do for your team or organization?
How beneficial would it be to easily attract, and keep, quality talent?
I recently read a 2022 McKinsey article which stated: “Resilient organizations don’t just bounce back from misfortune or change; they bounce forward.” https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/raising-the-resilience-of-your-organization#/
Their study suggests only 10% of companies surveyed fell into this category, and that these organizations enjoyed a 21% improvement in work effectiveness, a 46% increase in employee engagement and a 45% improvement in employee well-being. They also note the organizational advantages in areas of shareholder returns, integration of new technologies, customer support, talent attraction and retention, productivity, talent growth.
What stood out for me is that leadership development for these organizations is a priority in order to develop adaptable leaders who can build and enable resilience in the face of change.
“There will always be more change” they continue – and as I captured in a previous blog (Leading into Uncertainty) we are on the precipice of a Tech Super-Cycle which is, and will continue to be disrupting the workplace.
They indicated that “Organizations seeking to cultivate more resilience will need to be crystal clear about how to adapt their cultures and employee experiences to offer value to a newly empowered workforce and win a changed war for talent, while also ensuring the organization can deliver on its strategy and mission.”
(Contrast this with a Gallup article (August 24, 2023 https://www.gallup.com/workplace/509759/remote-workers-organizations-drifting-apart.aspx) notes “ The most worrying finding in the latest survey . . . is that employees who can do their work remotely have an eroding connection to the mission or purpose of the organization.”)
It is interesting the McKinsey article notes that “dynamic decision making” in times of disruption benefits when it includes employee accountability to take a risk- within guidelines (a RACI-based adaptable approach and might include leaders having regular decision and accountability conversations with their team members).
This ties in with empowered, self-sufficient and accountable teams in a psychologically safe workspace: Teams that feel motivated and empowered to act when faced with “new” and the unknown, enabled to be collaborative, creative, candid and adaptable, and able to make “intelligent” mistakes without fear of punishment – within specific guidelines and guardrails.
Cross-silo collaboration is another characteristic McKinsey defines as part of resilient organizations.
“Adaptable leaders enable organizational agility and team empowerment and ultimately set the tone for resilience”. The authors found that these leaders embrace workplace paradox, rather than “right or wrong”, and see opportunities rather than problems. They have taken the time and effort to create frameworks and guidelines that enable team members to explore and grow in their careers.
So, back to the questions at the top: Would like to move your organization or team towards “resilient”? It may be an optimal time to invest in the development of your leadership – through an effective, specific, leadership development program that focuses on creating and leading innovative, creative and resilient teams.