A "spectrum" approach to organizational design

* The Spectrum image above is from this article

Our brains are wired to think in binary terms- good vs. bad, option A vs. option B. In this article, "Binary vs Spectrum Thinking" by Oz Chen, he shares his mental model for spectrum thinking which is a way to get us out of binary thinking. This topic is on my mind, ALL THE TIME, and is relevant to three organizational design projects I'm working on right now.  First and foremost, I can be a VERY binary thinker. I think it comes from my extremely process focused, linear thinking. One of the biggest shifts I've made through my experience of becoming a certified professional coach is that I can more easily catch myself when I start resorting to binary thinking. It helps that my coach doesn't let me get away with it either!! When I catch myself stuck in binary thinking I use the famous improv technique of "yes, and". What's the "yes, and" in the problem I'm trying to solve. I also ask myself, "What else can be true?" or "What can be true at the same time?". By reframing with these questions I'm able to shift my thinking from binary to spectrum thinking. 

Secondly, this principle of spectrum solutions vs. binary ones is critical to my work with three organizational design clients. Although the organizational design projects are slightly different- one is within an Executive Coaching engagement, one is part of a significant growth plan project, and one is a stand-alone organizational design project- the outcome I'm working to achieve with each client is the same. Each client wants to create an organizational structure that works with their culture, helps them achieve their vision, and increases employee effectiveness and satisfaction. Ultimately, each leader wants to create the best team and way of working to execute the work.

This brings me to binary vs. spectrum thinking in organizational design work. There are two books about organizational design that seem like they would be on opposite sides of binary thinking. One is Traction by Gino Wickman and the other is Reinventing Organizations by Fredric Laloux and Etienne Appert. (A quick shout-out to one of my all-time favorite bosses and people, Karla Oakley, for introducing me to both of these books.) Traction introduces an operating system with six  key components and 19 tools to run a successful organization. It's one of the best frameworks I've seen about the structures organizations can put in place to run well. Think accountability charts, quarterly rocks (i.e. priorities), standard meeting cadence and agendas etc.  Reinventing Organizations pushes us to think about the "next stage organizations", ones that are evolutionary. An evolutionary organization uses multiple roles instead of job descriptions, advice-seeking protocols for decision making, and conflict resolution processes that are self-managed among other techniques to focus on organic growth.  They have ground rules to build culture and practices for meetings that uphold their values. In essence they are self-managed organizations that don't have a standard organizational chart. Their organizational chart may look more like a web of relationships. 

As I work with my clients on their "next-best" structures, I'm able to use spectrum thinking. I leverage components of a more traditional structure approach as in Traction and a more self-management, wholeness approach from Reinventing Organizations. By not resorting to binary thinking of we should use one approach vs. the other we're able to find the right balance for our clients. Spectrum thinking expands our options for our clients' organizational designs. It centers their values and culture, not a one-size fits-all approach of putting people in a box on an organizational chart. 

Spectrum thinking can bring the structure and flow to any solution. 

Reach out anytime! I love hearing from you.

Jodi

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