Do organizations have a mindset? If so, what it takes to build a successful mindset?
When I prepared the webinar Positioning Your Mindset for Business Growth for a group of entrepreneurs, it occurred to me I should also talk about the organization’s mindset.
An organization is a system, a dynamic one. It changes in time, and it’s influenced by internal and external factors. It’s like a live entity with a life of its own, which is different from the individuals who are part of it.
If you have a hard time understanding why an organization is a live entity, here’s an example:
An orchestra is a system, a live entity. Besides the conductor and musicians, when they come together to play, they create something totally different from the individual members. In time, the conductor or some musicians might leave, others taking on their roles. And how they play, along with the rest of the team, brings different nuances to the same musical composition. How the orchestra members interact with each other, their level of commitment (influenced by what happens in their respective lives), the resonance of the venue where they play… all can influence the outcome (the sound), and it could be different in time. That’s the live component of this entity (the orchestra in this case).
Back to business
When we speak of an individual, we often hear the expression body-mind-spirit. The proper functioning and how connected are these three components affect both the individual’s personal and professional life.
But what’s the equivalent of this concept for an organization?
Here’s my attempt to describe it, from a system perspective:
The organization’s body is the collection of physical components: resources (supplies, infrastructure, products, etc.), documentation, operational workflow, office space (it might be virtual or hybrid these days), the physical component of their human resources (both healthy and sick employees affect company’s productivity), etc.
The organizational culture is part of the organization’s mind, and it has two components. The formal culture (which the organization tries to impose on employees), and the grassroots culture that develops in time influenced by many factors (including employees’ personality and personal point of views). What happens when these two components of culture are too different? I’ll let you guess.
The organizational structure, the team dynamics (workplace interactions corresponding to their roles), how the departments interact with each other and collaborate toward the organization’s objective… are also part of the organization’s mind.
All these aspects influence the organization’s mind, affecting the organization’s mental health (which, in turn, can affect employees’ mental health).
The organization’s spirit is its vision (why it was created), mission, and values. It’s that Why Simon Sinek talks about in his book Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.
A clear Why can fuel positive change and innovation. For Apple, the Why is Think Different and they design every new product with that Why in mind.
An organization needs to reconnect often with its spirit (the Why that sparked its creation). In doing so, the organization and those within it make better decisions, learn about what to do next, and find creative solutions to problems (even in critical situations).
Otherwise, with all the distractions from outside and inside the organization, it’s easy to lose momentum and get derailed from the original purpose (which is the main motivator factor).
Organizations that recruit employees aligned with their Why have greater chances to keep them motivated along the way, if the organization (as a whole) works toward that vision.
How many organizations do you know that focus on creating harmony between the body, mind and spirit of the organization? And align their actions with their Why?
A positive outcome of the pandemic
Besides the negative impact we’re all aware of, the COVID pandemic was also a catalyst for bringing to surface many unhealthy organizational behaviours (hidden or ignored) – for a chance to be healed.
For example: some companies place more importance on controlling their employees than on their performance… hold unproductive meetings… have an inefficient recruitment process or do not adapt quickly to new conditions… their teams (including management) are not resilient and creative enough… organizational culture focused more on maintaining the status quo or reacting (short-term focus) and less on strategic thinking (letting long-term focus inspire innovation and resolution to current problems)… showed limited capacity to think outside the box… while computer and technology systems could have been put in place even before the pandemic (to facilitate smooth operation and increase productivity), they were not … toxic team dynamics that affected productivity… etc.
When we apply a system approach to an organization – considering it a live entity with a body, mind, and spirit – we can find interconnected, specific aspects to work on, to heal it and restore the organization’s capacity to fulfill its Why.
However, this process requires coordination of all the components to work toward the common goal, not just a quick fix here and here. This coordination allows inspired solutions and initiatives to lead the way.
Also, this process needs discipline and focus on what to do, identify what not to do, and what to stop doing.
By discipline, I don’t mean more control.
I mean… having disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action. Each employee (leaders included) working well without being controlled, committed to help the organization advance toward its Why while focusing on their specific roles.
Having these disciplined elements in place is an outcome of an organizational culture and values that attract talent that already has these qualities. Also, an organizational structure and operations designed with this goal in mind, ingraining these values in all the processes (including recruitment, retaining, training, and internal promotion). I could say a lot about the significant role played by introverts and extroverts in these organizational aspects, but I’ll leave that for another time.
“True discipline requires the independence of mind to reject pressures to conform in ways incompatible with values, performance standards, and long-term aspirations. […] When you have disciplined people, you don’t need hierarchy. When you have disciplined thought, you don’t need bureaucracy. When you have disciplined action, you don’t need excessive controls. When you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you create a powerful mixture that correlates with great performance.
[…] Our research showed that the great companies were not generally luckier than the comparisons—they didn’t get more good luck, less bad luck, bigger spikes of luck, or better timing of luck. Instead, they got a higher return on luck, making more of their luck than others. The critical question is not, will you get luck? But what will you do with the luck that you get?”
~ Jim Collins, Turning the Flywheel: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great (book)
From a system coaching perspective
• As a live entity, any system has an intelligence of itself. In ORSC* we call it the Relationship System Intelligence™ (RSI). And there are ways to tap into the system’s RSI to get inspired for creative problem-solving, and design new products or services that align with the organization’s Why.
• Even in situations like pandemic or recession, there are companies who found ways to survive and even thrive. But that required an openness to understand the whole system (organization’s body-mind-spirit) and allow themselves to get inspired… instead of just reacting to circumstances.
Organizations – which are organizational and relationship systems – are naturally creative and resourceful. How to tap into that capacity? By reconnecting often with the organization’s spirit, which expresses itself through its RSI.
Like humans, organizations can also have a fixed or growth mindset.
The organizations with a fix mindset seem to work on autopilot, without paying much attention to how well their body, mind, and spirit are aligned.
The organizations with a growth mindset are more flexible, resilient, creative, open to learn and adjust quickly. They stay focused on adjusting their actions to maintain a healthy body-mind-spirit connection (aligned with their Why)… which helps them become more successful. Hence the term successful mindset.
Back to you
• If you’re an employee:
Do you know your organization’s Why? What can you do (differently) to understand and align your actions with it?
It can give you a sense of purpose, which increases motivation and gives you more energy for performing your daily tasks… leading to better performance and results.
If you don’t agree with the company’s Why – or with what’s going on in the organization – do you let frustration to accumulate and affect your performance? Or do you redirect it toward actions that bring you more satisfaction? (problem-solving and innovation within the company, professional development, preparing your next career step, etc.).
• If you’re an entrepreneur:
Does your business have a successful mindset? How often do you evaluate the health of your organization’s body and mind? And think about how to improve and grow your business, making decisions aligned with its spirit?
Work ON your business (not IN your business) refers to the capacity to detach yourself from the day-to-day operations – periodically or when important situations occur – to not get lost in details and miss what’s most important to do. Such detachment is a must in order to assess the situation and reconnect with the business’ Why. It’s also a component of building a successful mindset.
—-
If you need help to understand the Why of your organization… how to assess its mental and physical health… make smarter decisions aligned its spirit… learn how to become more creative, resourceful and resilient (as an individual, team, or organization)… I’m only a click away!
As a system coach* with a multi-disciplinary background, I enjoy using a system thinking approach to deal with complex situations. And Introverts Academy helps organizations as well.
Gabriela Casineanu, MSc, MBA, ORSC
GabrielaCasineanu.com • IntrovertsAcademy.org • My books
—-
*ORSC™ = Organizational & Relationship Systems Coaching (which I call System Coaching)
