Usually a good leader of a successful organization is first to recognize the need for it to change … then the hard work begins. She must ensure senior managers come to the same level of creative dissatisfaction with the current state of things and that a critical mass of people change tried & true habits that have worked for them. Perhaps the structure must be changed, processes redesigned, or people replaced if unable to step up to meet new expectations. In these situations, the leader has signaled the start of a new era.
Dan helps through:
- An Era Management Plan for operations and organizational improvement tailored for the leader’s particular style & situation. Dan co-developed this approach in the early 1970s and has applied it since then with leaders in various types of organizations as they have implemented new agendas.
- Advising the leader on changing the culture so that it supports operations improvements. Culture is always evolving as it develops from within rather than through top-down directives. And because the organization is a general system, improvements in work processes or altering how performance is measured will cause subtle changes to the culture that, in turn, will affect the success of the leader’s agenda. Through years of being on the front lines of organization change, Dan’s practical advice has helped leaders manage this interaction to ensure continuous progress.
- Diagnosing alliances & coalitions whose support affects both the success and the pace of change; but even for leaders who have been in place for some time, they can remain elusive & out of her control. Dan provides an objective diagnosis of the forces acting on these influential groups and practical ways to ensure they line up behind changes which must be made.
- Advising on operations improvement. Drawing on his long experience in gaining the most benefit from six sigma & lean enterprise techniques, Dan counsels the leader and her senior team on the use of these approaches in their environment. And when outside consultants & educators are necessary, he advises on where, when, & how to utilize them productively.
- Counsel on new teams & structures. Usually leaders in these situations conclude that new senior managers must be put in place to achieve and sustain higher performance, and the organization structure as well as the processes that drive decision-making must be changed. Dan helps think through the right combination of styles that should make up a new top team and how to best integrate new people once they are found, and the structure & processes that best match the strategy.
- Counsel on succession. Often as the leader seeks to strengthen a successful organization, she begins to prepare to pass responsibility to the next generation of leaders. What kinds of people should assume command? What should they know & be able to do? What should be their beliefs & how should they act? What role should the board play & when? How to best prepare the organization for a leadership transition? The wise leader benefits from help to prepare for such questions well before she must answer them.
