146: Encourage self-organization and adaptability

Improve adaptability by fostering self-organization in teams

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Off Topic: More freedom leads to increased learning and better performance.

The default assumption is that you can do anything unless a specific policy or agreement prohibits it. We start from a position of trust, recognizing that more freedom leads to increased learning and better performance. Once a decision is made, it should be shared along with the rationale and perspectives that shaped it. This enables others to learn and understand the reasoning behind it. Consensus becomes challenging at scale and needs to reflect the adaptiveness of systems. We must accept that we operate in a changing world where centralized control is too slow and detached from reality. Teams can adapt and steer by pushing authority to the edge of the organization, where the information resides. Structural mediocrity possesses its inertia. The team is self-managed and lean, with multidisciplinary skills to achieve its mission.

In contrast, organizational culture is not a problem to be solved; it is an emergent phenomenon we must cultivate. To legacy leaders, everything still resembles a factory, and they believe hard work can fix all problems. Leaders and teams must internalize that our way of working is flexible and subject to change. While every organization has a purpose, not all ensure its sense permeates every level, forming a fractal structure. The team's goal serves the same function as the organizational one. Purpose enables freedom and autonomy by fostering coherent action. At the top, there is often a belief that more compliance is necessary, while at the bottom, there needs to be more trust in leadership.

Logic and culture are not related. Culture might not make sense to outsiders, but it becomes common sense to those within it. To understand and work within a large organization, one must let go of trying to make sense of it and observe and identify its dynamics. Logic can help find ways to operate within or transform the organization. Mapping the current state and working towards the desired shape is a practical approach.

Leaders and teams must recognize that our way of working is not fixed but a product of our choices. Every organization has a purpose, but ensuring that this purpose is fractal, present at every level, is critical. The team's purpose serves a similar function to the organizational goal. Making decisions and taking action based on a broader understanding of essential intent is crucial. Yet, obsessing over metrics can lead to unintended consequences. Clarifying the purpose for the long term and developing a concise roadmap for a short time is critical. Sense promotes freedom and autonomy, but trust in leadership may be lacking at the lower levels.

[^]: Brave New Work: Are You Ready to Reinvent Your Organization?

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