Unblocking Organisations
Meet Jurriaan Kamer, a Dutch organisational change expert and co-founder of Unblock, a modern management consultancy. The discussion revolved around the concept of “blocking” within organisations and how it can impede effectiveness. Jurriaan shared insights from his recently published book, “Unblock: Clear the Way for Results and Develop a Thriving Organisation,” which serves as a practical guide for leaders facing organisational challenges.
Understanding Organisational Blockers
Jurriaan identifies six key blockers that can hinder organisational effectiveness. These blockers are common pitfalls that many organizations face, and addressing them can lead to significant improvements in outcomes. Let’s delve into each blocker in detail and explore actionable advice to overcome them.
1. Strategy: Bridging the Gap Between Vision and Action
Key Issues:
- Disconnect Between Strategy and Action: Often, strategies are either too vague or overly detailed, leading to confusion and misalignment.
- Air Sandwich: A lofty vision at the top and detailed tasks at the bottom, with nothing in between to help employees understand how their work aligns with the overall strategy.
Actionable Advice:
- Create Clarity and Focus: A successful strategy should create clarity and focus, enabling teams to understand their goals and how to achieve them.
- Aligned Autonomy: Empower teams to make decisions while remaining aligned with the organisation’s strategic goals. Effective communication is crucial for fostering this alignment.
- Use Real-Life Scenarios: Provide employees with real-life scenarios and dilemmas to help them apply the strategy in practical situations.
2. Steering: Setting Clear Goals and Tracking Progress
Key Issues:
- Rigidity in Goal-Setting: Many organisations fixate on annual goals, which can lead to rigidity and a lack of adaptability.
Actionable Advice:
- Shorter Goal Cycles: Implement shorter goal cycles—30, 60, or 90 days—to allow for adaptability and responsiveness to changing circumstances.
- Feedback Loops: Integrate feedback loops into the goal-setting process to ensure continuous improvement and alignment with strategic objectives.
3. Decisions: Streamlining the Decision-Making Process
Key Issues:
- Bottlenecks in Decision-Making: Organisations often treat all decisions as equally significant, leading to unnecessary delays.
Actionable Advice:
- Distinguish Between Decisions: Differentiate between reversible and irreversible decisions to streamline the process.
- Decision-Making Framework: Clarify the decision-making framework to empower teams to make timely and effective choices.
4. Ownership: Fostering a Culture of Empowerment
Key Issues:
- Lack of Ownership: A common complaint among leaders is the lack of ownership among employees.
Actionable Advice:
- Empower Employees: Create environments where employees feel empowered to take initiative without waiting for approval. This requires trust and clear guidelines.
- Encourage Initiative: Foster a culture where employees are encouraged to take ownership of their work and make decisions that align with the organisation’s goals.
5. Teamwork: Enhancing Collaboration and Psychological Safety
Key Issues:
- Lack of Psychological Safety: Many teams struggle with psychological safety, which is essential for effective collaboration.
Actionable Advice:
- Create a Safe Environment: Ensure that team members feel safe to express their ideas and concerns without fear of ridicule.
- Built-In Reflection Moments: Implement regular reflection moments to enhance performance continuously, similar to how Formula One teams operate.
6. Meetings: Maximising Effectiveness and Minimising Wasted Time
Key Issues:
- Poorly Structured Meetings: Meetings can be a significant source of frustration, especially when they are poorly structured or overly frequent.
Actionable Advice:
- Intentional Meeting Design: Ensure that each meeting has a clear purpose and outcome. Be deliberate about how meetings are conducted to maximise their effectiveness.
- Reduce Meeting Frequency: Evaluate the necessity of each meeting and reduce the frequency of redundant meetings to minimise wasted time.
Strategic Communication: The Key to Overcoming Blockers
Throughout the episode, Jurriaan emphasised the importance of clear communication in articulating strategy and overcoming organisational blockers. Here are some additional insights on strategic communication:
Integrative Set of Choices
Key Insight:
- Strategy as an Integrative Set of Choices: Strategy should be viewed as an integrative set of choices that enhances an organization’s chances of success in a specific context.
Actionable Advice:
- Make Tough Choices: Be willing to make tough choices and adapt based on feedback and changing circumstances.
- Communicate Trade-Offs: Clearly communicate the trade-offs involved in strategic decisions to ensure alignment and understanding among employees.
Engaging Internal Communications Teams
Key Insight:
- Facilitating Dialogue: Internal communications teams should focus on facilitating dialogue and integrating feedback from employees rather than simply broadcasting messages from leadership.
Actionable Advice:
- Two-Way Communication Flow: Encourage a two-way communication flow to foster a deeper understanding of the strategy and its implications for day-to-day operations.
- Digital Summits: Leverage modern tools and facilitation techniques, such as digital summits, to engage employees and shape the strategy.
Long-Term Planning and Adaptability
Key Insight:
- Long-Term Planning: Many organisations adopt a default one-year time horizon for strategic plans, which can create unproductive dynamics.
Actionable Advice:
- Two to Three-Year Horizon: Aim for a two to three-year horizon to create a more inspiring and actionable strategy.
- 90-Day Cycles: Plan in 90-day cycles to allow for both long-term and short-term planning while avoiding the pitfalls of being stuck in the middle.
Conclusion
In conclusion, organisations must prioritise clear communication and strategic alignment to overcome common blockers to effectiveness. By fostering an environment where employees feel empowered to make decisions and understand the broader context of their work, organisations can enhance their overall performance and achieve their strategic objectives. Jurriaan’s insights provide a valuable roadmap for leaders looking to create more agile, responsive organisations.
Guest profile
Jurriaan Kamer is a Dutch organisational change expert focused on applying modern methods to unblock organisations and improve their outcomes. He helps leaders make more impact by eliminating ineffective strategy, pointless meetings, bureaucratic structures, and slow decision-making. He has been in and around the most radical and adaptive organisations globally, including ones without managers and high levels of autonomy. Over the last decade, Jurriaan has worked as a speaker, author, and consultant. He co-founded Unblock, a modern management consultancy that works with leaders worldwide.
Useful links:
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jurriaankamer/
Website: https://www.unblock.works
Episode links:
Link to a relevant episode of the podcast: https://thebigpicturepeople.co.uk/blog/podcast/communicating-strategic-intent-s4-e15/