How do you create an agile organization?

How do you create an agile organization?

In a world that is becoming less and less predictable, it is increasingly important for organizations to be agile. Because what is true today is probably obsolete tomorrow. But how do you get it right, to be a resilient and agile organisation?

According to BSI, a specialist in auditing, certification and business standards, a resilient organization is characterized by “the ability to anticipate, prepare for and adapt to successive changes and sudden disruptions in order to survive and succeed.

While retaining identity, core values and credibility

Resilient organizations are therefore organizations that are sufficiently agile to respond quickly to developments. And to adapt quickly to the new reality. Without compromising on its own identity, core values and credibility. Especially the latter is quite a challenge. Because if an organisation blows with all the winds too easily, it runs the risk of adapting too much. And that she is losing identity in the process. Adapting to the new situation is not an end in itself. It’s about surviving and being successful.

Continuous development

But how do you become a resilient organisation? In any case, it is important to continuously monitor which developments are taking place and which developments could pose a threat to your organisation. The question then arises: do I have the qualities on board to deal with these threats? This is an ongoing process. A resilient organization develops itself continuously, seizes opportunities and adapts the internal organization accordingly.

Leadership requirements

The continuous response to change demands quite a lot from the leaders within an organization. As a leader, you must be a beacon of self-confidence. A leader must have an eye for change and know how best to adapt the internal organisation to it. He or she must be able to improvise. At least as important is that the leader radiates confidence and optimism. Because people don’t like change. And that can lead to grumbling or even opposition. A good leader keeps calm and gives direction to the change.

Read more about resilient leadership

Large organizations more agile

It is often claimed that large companies in particular struggle to keep their heads above water. After all, the bigger, the bulkier. And thus: the less maneuverable. However, figures from the Chamber of Commerce show that this is not the case (see table 1). Because as it turns out? Small businesses are about twice as likely to go bankrupt or liquidate than large businesses. And that’s not a trend of the last few years. Tilburg University research shows that between 1981 and 1994 small businesses went bankrupt faster than large ones.

Table 1. Discontinued companies in 2016

Conclusion: larger companies appear on average to be more resilient than smaller companies. The data analysis below from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) shows that the life expectancy of a company increases with the number of employees it has (Table 2).

Table 2. bankruptcy of enterprises by enterprise size

So it’s important that companies grow quickly, because that increases the chances of longevity. And it helps a lot if your company has a wide range of products and services that are constantly evolving and adapting to market developments. Responding quickly and flexibly to the changing environment makes the organisation less vulnerable.

Increase the resilience of your organization

Do you want to work towards a more agile organisation? This can be done very well using the seven domains of resilience. Essenburgh Training & Advice has been working with this for many years with great success. The seven domains apply not only to individuals, but also to organizations.

People and organizations that pay attention to all 7 resilience domains, succeed better in responding to developments. The areas in question are these 7:

Financial

What about the strategic flexibility of your organization? Do you know what to expect? And can you anticipate this, with the deployment of people and (financial) resources?

Physical

Are the leaders within the organization sufficiently flexible? Can they switch between the scope of resilience, based on need and available competencies? A resilient and agile organization requires value-driven leadership.

Social

How do you know what developments are and will be? As an organisation, you need a strong social network for this. A network of people inside and outside the organisation with feelers in the market. It also calls for a strong board that keeps the conversation going with the work force. Good communication therefore between all layers of the organisation.

Surroundings

Provide a pleasant working environment. An environment in which employees have the space to respond to developments and develop good ideas. Stretching and stretching within the range of movement.

Intellectual

To what extent does your organisation have insight into its own processes? And to what extent do you learn from complex situations? So evaluate how your organization handles unexpected situations. The area ‘Intellectual’ demands challenge and innovation. To dare to step out of your comfort zone to achieve better results. And to provide sufficient intellectual challenge for employees.

Spiritual

Encourage a supportive management culture and formulate a pursuable goal for the organization. Think of opportunities for developments and challenges for employees.

Emotional

Give room for head, heart and hands. So that employees can do their work with passion. And so that they have the space to develop resilience. After all, an agile organization requires agile employees.

And: make work of value-creating leadership

The term was already there: value-creating leadership. By this we mean leadership that revolves around value creation: economically feasible, ecologically sound and socially just. These leaders look beyond quarterly numbers and profit maximization. They give direction and are able to (re)define values and principles and create sustainable value. Value-creating leadership is based on connecting people and organizations with different views, interests and competences. With the aim of achieving together an economically feasible, ecologically sound and socially just result. A result that none of the parties could have achieved individually. Value-creating leadership makes your organization agile and resilient.

Read more about value creating leadership

Do you want to know more about value creating leadership? Download the free e-book ‘Leadership in the economy of value’. Or
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