Focusing on Improvement

Every organization has room to grow and be more effective. You’ve identified this as a place you should consider investing some time into. The fact that you’re evaluating your processes and seeking ways to improve is a powerful first move. Focus on building a strong foundation, and remember that incremental changes can have a big impact over time.

Leadership Effectiveness

Do you have the right roles and the right people? First, focus on defining clear roles, responsibilities and scopes of control. Draft job scopes or job descriptions. Look at your org chart - is the hierarchy set up in a way that helps the organization do its work?

Then take a look at your people. This is a time to be brutally honest, for your own good, the good of the organization, and for the good of your people. If someone isn’t the right fit, then they aren’t being fulfilled at their job. Conduct a thorough assessment of your team's performance, skills, experience, and suitability for their roles. This may involve 360-degree feedback, external reviews, or other formal evaluations. The team (and org structure) that got you here may not be the team you need to get you to where you need to go next. Changing this may mean making hard decisions like restructuring (the kinds that both involve reorganizing departments and changing leaders).

Finally, make your performance expectations for your leadership team clear. How do you need them to hold themselves accountable for their actions? How should they delegate, and collaborate? What does the organization need out of their role and who do you need on your team?

Practices

Now let’s focus on how you do your work.

In 2020, most of us found ourselves leading distributed organizations, and we had to come up with policies and practices on the fly. Now we may be leading organizations that combine in-person, hybrid, and remote employees. Take some time to consciously look at how your organization works for individuals working in each of those categories. Are there practices that need to change, systems you use, standards? Do you want to change your requirements about in-person or hybrid work? All of your team members will be more satisfied if they know that the organization is consciously thinking about how best to support them where they are.

How well are you addressing workload and burnout? Simply providing remote or hybrid work doesn’t automatically allow for strong work-life balance. Encourage people to identify what is burning them out so you can start to discuss whether you might be able to ameliorate that by resourcing, prioritizing, and realistic deadlines. Normalize talking about burnout to discuss workload and invite emotional support.

Next, how well do your team members collaborate? Consider taking some learnings from how you work to encourage opportunities for more effective ways to people to partner to tackle complex problems.

Finally, think about project management. We’re all conducting projects every time we collaborate. How are we ensuring that all of the tasks get done? And shared? Are there practices (or tools) you should put into place? Protip: think about practices and what you need before you jump to a SAAS tool.

People and Culture

Your people and culture drive your organization’s ability to be effective, and to innovate and adapt. Start by ensuring your structure and roles are clear and aligned with your purpose and your work. Is work distributed equitably, and does your team reflect the communities you serve? Ensure you are recruiting and retaining talent that brings new ideas and fostering an inclusive and equitable organization.

Leaders play a critical role in setting the tone for innovation. You should model curiosity, encourage smart risks, and actively seek input from across the team. Think consciously about collaboration styles and supporting continuous learning—can unlock creativity and drive progress. Think about psychological safety, and how you are rewarding people for experimentation and creativity, not just results.

Conflict is a risk at every workplace. Make sure you are keeping an eye on any issues, and raise your hand for help to look to resolve them–quickly, before they escalate into bigger challenges.

Open conversations about burnout can help your team feel supported. Encourage staff to voice concerns about workloads, and look for quick fixes like redistributing tasks or adjusting priorities to prevent burnout.

An inclusive, equity-centered culture creates space for bold ideas and positions your organization to thrive. Investing in your people unlocks their potential to transform challenges into opportunities.