Organization Performance Partners

In a previous blog I argued the best way to maximize the uptake of competency models/success profiles is to anchor them to business value. A related and general rule I use when building models is the 60/40 Principle. That is, when building enterprise leadership success profiles, I try to build them with capabilities in two categories: Fundamental and Core Value. Fundamental leadership capabilities are relatively generic and applicable to a wide variety of situations. For

Think of any machine that runs smoothly. Every part has a job. Every part depends on the others. Remove one or let one degrade and the whole system is impacted. Organizations work the same way. I think there are nine elements of organization design, and high performance requires all nine to be tight and aligned. 1. External Factors and Business Drivers. Good org design starts outside the business. Before any internal choices are made, leaders need a clear and shared vie

Getting an organization to operate flawlessly is easier said than done. Every leader knows this — and most have experienced the gap between how an organization is supposed to work and how it actually works. Strategies that make sense on paper stall in execution and talented people work hard yet are not fully aligned – and the organization sub-optimizes. What is Organization Design Jay Galbraith’s classic Star Model and textbook definition is: “a structured approach to alignin

In the first two in this series, I outlined a framework for identifying five fundamental types of organization transformations and explored why digital transformation is a means rather than a fundamental type. This post is about what to do once you know which type(s) you're in. Across dozens of engagements, certain navigation principles have proven relevant regardless of the type of transformation, while some guidance is type-specific. Universal Principles 1. Articula

Every organization is either in the middle of a digital transformation or about to start one. It is the most discussed, most invested-in, and most written-about category of organizational change of the last decade. This is very debatable, but in my opinion, a digital transformation is not technically a transformation type. Let me be clear. Digital change is real, consequential, and in most organizations, absolutely necessary. AI integration, platform modernization, automa

There's a key reason transformation efforts often stall or sub-optimize despite genuine commitment and significant investment. In my experience, the challenge usually begins earlier in the effort — not in execution, but in diagnosis. After working with dozens of organizations across industries, I've found that virtually every transformation challenge falls into one of five fundamental types. Each has its own character, its own drivers, and its own navigation approach. Each

Everyone has heard it said: "That place is so political." It's usually said with a mix of frustration and resignation — as if politics were an inevitable feature of organizational life; something you endure, not something you solve. But what if most of what we call office politics is actually a symptom of how an organization is designed? What We Really Mean When We Say "Political" Office politics is the use of informal influence — rather than formal authority, merit, or p

I’ve seen and built many models; sometimes they create a lot of value and benefit, and sometimes they sit on the shelf under-utilized. There are many reasons for lower utilization: Lack of infrastructure to enable ease-of-use. Not a strong performance management or development culture. People-manager population not adequately skilled. Model content does not capture differentiating capabilities (e.g., too generic). The number one way to maximize usage: make it abundantly clear

Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of 19th Amendment to the Constitution giving women the right to vote. Two weeks ago, author Elaine Weiss was at the Harvard Book Store giving a talk on her book, The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote. She outlined the amazing story of how this debate unfolded over several decades, with a handful of countries (i.e., England, Finland, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand, Australia, Iceland) starting the wave around 1916, culminatin

I’ve enjoyed watching classic mob movies. Once you get passed the glorification of violence, the good ones are full of brilliant acting,...