Stability is the backbone of every organisation. The aim of a change process cannot therefore be simply to eliminate the controlling and stabilising elements. Rather, it is important to develop them further and adapt to the new circumstances. Whereas complete autonomy results in chaos and can only be practised in start-ups right at the beginning of the foundation of the company, companies which see their controlling and stabilising elements as unchangeable laws inevitably develop into bureaucratic organisations. However, bureaucracy means a standstill. Ensuring a balance between the two poles of stability and flexibility is the great challenge on the way to an agile organisation. Unfortunately, there is no ready-made recipe to master it. But the ingredients are known.
When designing helpful structures for speed, flexibility and customer-orientation, the following questions are important. What do your employees need to live out a delight in experimentation, entrepreneurship, independent responsibility and flexible role and team behaviour (autonomy)? How is co-operation ensured in multi-functional teams? Which controlling and stabilising elements should be retained because they increase efficiency or are necessary due to basic legal conditions? Find out where you are – we will be pleased to help you with this.
When the strengths of a company are identified, it is necessary to concentrate on the flexibilising and dynamic elements. These must be promoted or also first regarded as permissible. Only then should further measures be introduced to create an agile organisational structure. One important step is the establishment of decentral responsibilities and flat hierarchies. It enables the employees of an organisation to meet on an equal footing. In addition, it opens up the necessary room for manoeuvre for them in order to be able to work independently and be more flexible in terms of decision-making. This requires trust and willingness to enable employees to think in an entrepreneurial manner. In complex social organisations, multi-disciplinary teams which illustrate the complete value-added chain of the customer are more successful than individuals. This inter-disciplinary co-operation promotes both transparency and the communication flow in the company. Employees who no longer have to observe hierarchical structures, know the “whole picture” and moreover are guided by a common vision and common values know how to make decisions in the interest of the company. Could agile organisational forms, such as squads, chapters or swarms also be helpful for your company?
