Organization Structure and Work Processes Designed for High Performance

Poor organization structure and work processes (in other words poor organization design) stop many organization's from achieving high performance. Unfortunately many leaders think of organization design as something done by the H.R boffins. Of this you can be sure ... every day you as a leader are making organizational design choices ... the problem is when you don't understand organizational design and its impact on performance ... you often don't fully appreciate the impact of choices you make. So don't abdicate your responsibility to H.R -- instead partner with them so you have the best chance to design your workplace for high performance. Any H.R specialist worth his or her salt will be jumping with glee when you rock up to their door wanting to understand organizational design and how it impacts on your team!

Before we go much further, you may be wondering "What is a high performance culture? A high performance culture is characterized by:

Planned organization design choices Minimizing of management control Enabling people who do the work to control how it gets done

High commitment Lean, flat, flexible structures Delivery of results that outstrip traditionally run organizations Commitment to a common vision Business focused Integration of people and equipment (not people to equipment) Leadership committed to facilitating the best in others Teamwork and multi-skilling across functions and boundaries Delegation of authority and decision-making to the person closest to the task Principle based rather than rule based Energized people committed to learning and doing their best

For an organization to thrive leaders need to stop thinking of people as expendable, whose hands and head are more important than their heart ... instead of thinking "How can we get them to work harder/faster/better?" The high performance leader's mindset shifts to "How do we create the conditions that inspire commitment to our organizational goals?". Make no mistake. Creating a high performance culture isn't founded on a leadership team that listens more and is nice to people, that provides quality of work life and balance, that puts people in teams. The creation of successful high performance design is founded upon an understanding of how the organization's structure, policies/rules, beliefs, technical systems, decision-making systems, people systems, reward and recognition systems, organizational goals and the external environment all impact each other and impact on the organization's performance. To change your organization culture you need to adjust the design that glues it together ... and understand the impact of those design choices.
The creation of successful high performance design is founded upon an understanding of how the organization's structure, policies/rules, beliefs, technical systems, decision-making systems, people systems, reward and recognition systems, organizational goals and the external environment all impact each other and impact on the organization's performance.

HOW CAN YOU GENERATE HIGH COMMITMENT FOR AN ORGANISATION

Researching and Fostering High Performance and Commitment The TruePoint Center is a research organization dedicated to the development and dissemination of knowledge about how organizations achieve and sustain high performance and high commitment. Why we exist: High-performance, high-commitment organizations are in the minority despite research that shows they achieve extraordinary results in the long run through their distinctive approach to managing people. Their courageous leaders hold unconventional assumptions about the purpose of the firm and the values that should govern it. They believe that their mission is to create value for all stakeholders employees, customers, investors, community and society as opposed to creating value only for economic stakeholders, the dominant belief system today. Our mission: TruePoint Centers mission is to change conventional management thought and practice by bringing together like-minded CEOs who want to learn from each others successes and failures in building high-performance, high-commitment companies. Participating CEOs commit to opening up their organization to practical case-based research about how their firms transformation is progressing and to fact-based discussions of findings. Through periodic discussion with their peers and TruePoint Centers staff, CEOs can obtain an ongoing assessment of their progress and develop new insights about how to deal with the challenges they face. Our strategy: TruePoint Center has a small research staff augmented by academic researchers who develop, document, and disseminate research findings about high-performance, highcommitment organizations. We share our learnings through publications, and through workshops and CEO Roundtables with leaders who seek to lead the journey to high performance and commitment. Research questions: Research parameters are framed jointly with sponsoring leaders. However, we typically investigate the following domains:

Leadership. What leadership behavior is essential to create high performance and commitment? What personal qualities, values, education, knowledge, and cognitive abilities are essential? What are the implications for CEO compensation? What leads senior executives to begin the journey, how do they experience it over the years, and how do they deal with the inevitable dilemmas and choices they face along the way? Design characteristics. What are the capabilities, values and culture, leadership, business strategies and design features, human resource policies and practices of highperformance, high-commitment organizations? Change process. What is the process of corporate transformation? How best to start, sequence, spread, and sustain a transformation?

Measuring success. What are the relevant measures that high-performance, highcommitment organizations should utilize? Constraints. What are the institutional and societal constraints that limit high performance and commitment? How do national culture, capital markets, conventional wisdom, firm history, unions, competitive positioning, board of directors, and other factors affect the leaders capacity to complete the journey? Back to Top

Creating a high-commitment volunteer culture Don't be afraid to ask for a heavy commitment from your volunteers. If you don't, someone else will. By Thomas W. McKee The New Breed of Volunteersthose very busy, cyber-connected, multi-tasked 21st century volunteers--are not afraid of commitment. In fact, today's volunteers almost demand a high level of commitment because they don't want to give time to an organization filled with lazy loafers. But to create a high-commitment culture, we must tap into the "what's in it for me" drive that motivates the 21st Century volunteer. To understand this culture, look at the Master Gardner program, and then test your volunteer culture with the three "What's in it for me" questions.

What's in it for me and commitment go hand-in-hand. WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME # 1: Do you offer a "pay off" for your volunteers?
I am not speaking of salary or money. We all know that volunteers don't get paid; however, there is often a "pay off" for volunteer service. A very popular volunteer program is the Master Gardner program offered by many communities. Why would a busy person commit to contribute 50 hours of community volunteer work during the first year and an additional 25 hours of volunteer service every year after? Easy. The pay off is the prestigious distinction of earning a "Master Gardner Designation." To earn that distinction, the volunteer must spend 50 hours taking horticulture classes in addition to a volunteer service requirement. Each spring a one hour, once a week class is held for fifteen weeks. Applicants must attend all fifteen classes and pay a fee for the materials. The classes are taught by university specialists, horticulture advisors, and community experts. Topics include introduction to horticulture, water and fertilizer management, planting and maintenance of trees, etc. After attending all the sessions and completing all the

weekly quizzes and final exam, trainees receive a graduation certificate. Volunteers are willing to make the commitment to programs like Master Gardner because there is a pay off. When the pay off is worth while for volunteers, they will commit to training, study, dues and even long-term obligations.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME # 2: Is there a "feel-good" factor for the volunteer?

Ever stop by a lemonade stand run by a couple of ten year olds and you give them $5.00 or $10.00 for a glass of lemonade and say, "keep the change." As you see their wide eyes and hear them running into the house yelling to their mom, "Look at what we made today," you walk away feeling better than they do. A primary reason that people volunteer is that it makes them feel good. I know that this sounds somewhat "narcissistic", but it is a reality of life. In America so many of us are blessed, and we are doing so very well compared to the rest of the world that we want to give back. There is hardly a week that goes by that I don't hear some celebrity quoted as saying, "I just wanted to give back." Although most of us are not multi-millionaire celebrities, we are still so blessed that we want to give back. Master Gardeners is not just about learning horticulture. It is about serving the community. The program was developed in the late 1970s by an extension professional in Washington who wanted to train volunteers to handle telephone inquiries. Today many local communities have Master Gardner programs. One of the largest programs is in Texas--growing at a rate of 15 per cent a year. In the urban centers, Master Gardeners are also helping communities feed neighbors in need. The Texas Gulf Coast Chapter in Houston developed several community gardens including two in the shadows of the downtown skyscrapers. The Christ Community Service Center (CCSC) and Bonita Street Recovery House both have community gardens. The two gardens together comprise 1,760 square feet of raised beds; fruit trees provide ornamental landscaping. The Bonita House Garden feeds its residents, and the CCSC distributes the fresh produce to indigent families who receive emergency assistance through their Operation Sunshine program.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME # 3: Are your taking advantage of the slash phenomenon?

Being a volunteer is not about multi-tasking. It's about managing the slash. The 21st century busy volunteer has a new moniker called "The Slash." What is a slash? In fact, you probably are a slash. If you are a business woman/girl scout

leader/mother or a businessman/Little league coach/board member, then you are like millions of other Americans who need more than one label to define themselves. Marci Alboher has written a new book, One Person/Multiple Careers: How the Slash Effect Can Work for You (Warner Business Books). Marci says, "The slash is a phenomenon that's sweeping the work force today. It's about people wanting to lead more multifaceted lives." What Marci wrote about multiple careers is also true about volunteering. When my son Jonathan and I were doing research for our book, The New Breed Understanding and Equipping the 21st Century Volunteer (to be out in November of this year), we found that today many people are volunteering for multiple organizations. Some think that the Master Gardner program is for the retired, but in actuality about 50% of the volunteer Master Gardeners are people who work at home or have flexible schedules to meet the training and volunteer requirements. People want to be active in giving. It is part of life and volunteering is a growing popular way to provide that opportunity. So what? What does this mean? I have several conclusions 1. People don't mind making commitments. Don't be afraid to require training, and a commitment volunteer period -- BUT 2. Look at your mission. Do you have a mission that will excite certain people to make a difference? Your mission should offer a pay-off that feels good. People don't want to make a contributionthey want to make a difference" 3. Are you flexible? The master garden has flexible scheduling after the training. 4. Be sure to lay out off of the requirements in the beginning. Never use the four words that the New Volunteer hates"Oh, by the way." See Tom's article at www.volunteerpower.com/articles/OhByTheWay.asp