In the fast-moving business world, organizations are constantly strategizing to keep ahead of a crowded field of competitors. Time is always a commodity and decisions that take too much of it can cost an organization money, positioning and other setbacks. As a result, there is a tremendous amount of pressure on organizations to do things quickly.
This quick pace and pressure to produce results is not necessarily a bad thing in itself. One of the upsides can be a high rate of production. However, there are potential negative consequences that accompany this pressure for speed and results. When organizations and employees make decisions in a shortened time frame and try to make things happen too quickly, this organizational impatience can have a damaging impact on performance and the quality of outcomes.
The Right Pace for Organization Change
The process of organization design and change transformation comes with its own pressure to move fast, shorten the time frame, and use fewer people and resources. Again, this pressure is not always unhealthy: it can help shape a more streamlined overall business. Where it becomes problematic is when it becomes impractical to achieve. For example, we have seen cases when an effective analysis and change plan might require three days to complete but pressure is being exerted to produce it in half a day; or when it requires a team of eight people but only two are made available.
By moving too fast and working with too few resources, an organization transformation activity may not be set up for success. The organizational impatience and the pressure to keep moving, always moving, can easily crowd out prudent judgment and important assessment processes along the way to successful change transformation.
Partners in Change Transformation
The reality is that this pressure to move quickly and nimbly is not going away. If anything it will continue to match increases in the pace of change in the marketplace. The question is how to work effectively to balance the pressure to move fast with the need to be thorough and thoughtful. A successful change transformation requires both change leaders and alignment leaders to be aware of this dynamic and to work together to find the right balance between speed and quality.
Change leaders overseeing organization transformation must take into account the practical needs of the organization. Ideally, they will challenge themselves to work through the change transformation process in a way that is both creative and efficient.
Alignment leaders should continually ask how best to protect the recipients of the organization transformation from the organizational impatience applied by the organization itself. At the same time they need to make sure their change partner and others involved in the organization transformation are working with purpose and continuously moving forward toward applicable solutions.
Finding the Right Balance
While business organizations are under constant pressure to move fast, effective organization transformation has to balance the rapid business time frame with a thorough process, uncompromised by rate of speed. Change transformation leaders who successfully find ways to implement a high-quality change plan while protecting the process from the pressure and risk of moving too fast will be well on their way to achieving desired results.
