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by Connie Nelson
E-mail Connie
What would you answer if asked to describe a time when your organization was 'at its best'?
In our work, we often ask this question of employees and leaders from across various public organizations. It amazes us the number of times the story told describes their organization's response to an emergency.
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What it is about a crisis that makes an organization excel? One recent client examined this question. This client is a transportation-related agency on the East Coast, but I contend these attributes cross content and geographic lines.
They listed these attributes as underlying their excellence in an emergency:
- Focus. We are able to concentrate on one specific task or outcome.
- Available dedicated resources. No quibbling.
- Either we have a clear "chain of command" (we know who's in charge) or we figure it out real quick. Sometimes, we just do whatever has to be done without worrying about whose job it is. There is clarity of role and lots of personal responsibility.
- Communication. It's face to face, real time, don't wait, call a meeting, get together.
- We're forced to make decisions and move on.
- Institutional barriers are eliminated. Rules are relaxed.
- No debate about goal - the result is clear.
- Willing to live with "good enough" while getting to perfect.
- Fun, exciting-- there's a challenge
- Pride. We believe we're good in emergencies so we are - self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Have to succeed - sense of urgency.
- Less risk averse - willing to try new things.
This client decided to design these "emergency response" attributes into their everyday work. Now they routinely check to see if they have been successful in living and experiencing these characteristics. They ask themselves: What's the focus of this work? What would be success? What might we try differently? What would constitute progress, rather than perfection? What unneeded rules or institutional barriers need to be busted?
We believe this client is creating the 'culture of success' that is necessary for a reinvented, post-bureaucratic public organization to thrive. The challenge to each of us is - 'What can I do to make these attributes part of where I work each and every day?'
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