Organisations worldwide are investing billions of dollars in leadership training – after all it is hard to argue that we want to be led by bad leaders.
But are we missing the main point.
Is an organisation full of heroes going to be enough? Are we over-investing in leadership training and under-investing in building quality organisation infrastructure to support our leaders?
A singular focus on leadership training leads to a hero-based organisation. It is like training up racing car drivers and then giving them Ford Laser to drive – instead of a Ferrari. In high performing organisations, we have racing car drivers driving Ferraris.
As Organisational Development managers our goal is higher productivity and organisational effectiveness. This is the ability to get the tasks of the organisation done more effectively and efficiently.
So what is Organisational Infrastructure?
Organisational infrastructure is all of those things that enable employees to do their work. All organisations have some sort of organisational infrastructure – because if they did not, there would be complete anarchy. You can put the best people in a room but without a sense of purpose, an understanding of who is doing what and a method of getting work done, there will be little achieved.
Organisational infrastructure comprises:
- A clear purpose for the organisation and plan to achieve the purpose (ie, an actionable business plan)
- A structure which defines the accountabilities of all employees in the organisation
- Reliable systems and processes for employees to use.
So here are some questions to help you decide whether you have solid organisational infrastructure:
- Is the purpose of the organisation clear to every employee? Have you tested this at the front line?
- Does every employee in the organisation know how their role relates to the goal of the organisation? Have you tested this at the front line?
- Does every employee in your organisation know who their manager is?
- Does every employee in your organisation report to only one manager?
- Is the organisation structured horizontally based on your organisation’s value chain?
- Is there a correct number of levels in your organisation? Most Australian organisations should have no more than 5 levels but most have too many levels.
- Is it clear to all employees what assistance they can expect from service providers in the organisation (eg payroll, IT)?
- Is it clear to all employees their accountabilities to provide assistance and data to those in the organisation who are tasked with roles of supporting the organisation (eg financial accountants, safety officers)?
- Is every employee clear on their accountabilities and fully understand the accountabilities of their peers in their team? Have you tested this?
- Is there a consistent way of labelling job titles for each of the levels in the organisation so everyone understands who they are talking to when working across the organisation?
- Is there a documented set of managerial practices that all managers in your organisation must follow?
- Are all managers (leaders) in your organisation held accountable for implementing the agreed managerial practices?
- Is the quality system respected?
- Are the systems and processes described in the quality system complied with?
- Are systems and processes in the organisation productive and support quality outcomes – or restrictive?
So, before you design a new leadership development program or spend lots of money outsourcing it, think about whether your efforts would be better spent on strengthening the organisation infrastructure instead. A group of heroes is not what we want. As Margaret Heffernan describes in her TED talk, “super chickens peck each other to death”. It is how the organisation works together that is critical.
