Hacking HR to Build an Adaptability Advantage

The seven headed dragon, slayer needed

It's not easy naming just ONE 'enemy' to adaptability. If fact that could be the only way to describe thé one enemy, it being more than a sole issue. It's a chain of events, a seven headed dragon, a living thing. The bottom, value adding part of an organization will get stuck in a situation not wanting to 'fight the system' because of the vast number of small things going wrong from his point of view, blaming, communication, blaming lack of responsibility, too many procedures, too many 'offices' , blaming management as a whole. As such the average ROI, and you can easily say adaptability of the value adders will be low or non existing, feeling they cannot beat the system.

On the other hand management, as the counterpart of value adders in an organization, are busy fighting the odds. To make sure their career plan doesn't suffer any harm, they tend to stick with 'safe haven management', making sure the numbers add up, that presentations are 'good news shows’, that everybody feels ok, especially, or should I say solely the important people, having some influence on that career plan.

Both have many different and subtle sub-processes (the dragon) keeping the organization in this sleeping mode, preventing it from excelling and adapting.

Yes not everybody is like that, yes some people are willing to adapt, yes some will never adapt (Gaussian curve) but the major part will get stuck, not willing to fight the system or fighting the odds.

HR and L&D, in fact the complete organization will need a holistic approach, an entire plan.

It makes no sense attacking just one or some 'enemies', it needs all of the seven heads attacked to be successful. Participation, responsibility, serving management, common goals, authentic leadership, transparency,  … I guess help of a dragon slayer is needed....

 

 

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bruce-lewin's picture

Hi Jimmy, great metaphor and likewise, the systemic, interlinked and holistic view is spot on...

neelesh-marik's picture

Indeed.
The dragon slayer is probably not a single entity, but each and everyone, beginning to slay the dragons in his/her own mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdKLIeRdJsI

... Think about the marketing, the unintended unification just by getting people to join and adopt that funny concept ...

nigel-barron's picture

Chief Dragon Slayer, now that would be a cool job description.