A Better Way to Unlock Innovation and Drive Change

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A Better Way to Unlock Innovation and Drive Change

By Diya Kapur Misra et al., | MIT Sloan Management Review | September 10, 2024

Extractive Summary of the Article | Listen

Leading organizational change according to the conventional management playbook is difficult and often frustrating, and such efforts rarely stay on track. In the authors’ hard-won experience in organizational transformation projects at several companies, they found that the idea of large-scale transformation can leave employees feeling overwhelmed and insecure about their ability to thrive in the new order. But they learned that by deploying a strengths-based approach at the individual level and then using it to constitute and manage diverse teams, we could win employee commitment to transformation. This approach can help reduce anxiety and burnout, increase inclusive and collaborative behaviors, and cut across hierarchical and functional boundaries.  Four steps for successfully driving transformation:  

1. Create a strengths framework for the organization, and begin socializing the language. Assess employees using objective, proven tools to identify their top strengths. Institutionalize communication around strengths through simple actions, like including people’s strengths in their email signatures. Use strengths language routinely to help employees see themselves and others as contributing unique capabilities.
2. Map the strengths profile of all unique roles in the organization so that people start viewing jobs through that lens. Matching available strengths (people) to needed strengths (roles) helps to recast people into roles based on what they are naturally good at and reduces biases in talent decisions.
3. Identify the organization’s strategic priorities with the involvement of midlevel managers from across the organization. Then form diverse, strengths-based teams to work on each of those business priorities, cutting across functions and levels. Ensure that they have the tools to work together effectively. Train and equip teams with design thinking tools and techniques to build the capability for collective, innovative problem-solving with a human-centered approach.
4. Anchor all talent systems and processes to the strengths framework — hiring, onboarding, performance measurement, reward and recognition, development, role change and promotions. Shift the focus of the performance measurement system to measuring the progress and impact of teams rather than individuals.

2 key takeaways from the article

1. Leading organizational change according to the conventional management playbook is difficult and often frustrating, and such efforts rarely stay on track. In the authors’ hard-won experience in organizational transformation projects at several companies, they found that the idea of large-scale transformation can leave employees feeling overwhelmed and insecure about their ability to thrive in the new order. But they learned that by deploying a strengths-based approach at the individual level and then using it to constitute and manage diverse teams, we could win employee commitment to transformation.
2. Four steps for successfully driving transformation are:  create a strengths framework for the organization, and begin socializing the language; map the strengths profile of all unique roles in the organization so that people start viewing jobs through that lens; identify the organization’s strategic priorities with the involvement of midlevel managers from across the organization; and anchor all talent systems and processes to the strengths framework.

Full Article

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Topics:  Teams, Transformation, Agility, Individual’s strengths