“Well, at least you are going in the right direction; you are going toward the hole.” This is what my father-in-law used to say to me as we would play golf together. I would tee up the ball, interlock my fingers on the golf club, adjust my stance, put my eye on the ball, execute the optimum position for the swing and come down with precision to drive the ball toward the hole (tongue in cheek). My club would top the ball; the ball would dribble off the tee and roll forward a few inches.
There has been much talk about organizational health this year at the regional conferences and in the Connections online section of the Teen Challenge website. Sometimes organizational health can seem as daunting as my golf game. It takes mindfulness and pursuit of many elements to be in place for it to occur. And even when all the elements are in place (such as preparing to tee off), it takes many years to obtain optimum organizational health.
Patrick Lencioni has much to say about organizational health in his book, The Advantage. The pursuit sounds like it can be a monumental task for everyone in the company because of the many components that must come into play, such as:
- Trust—developing vulnerability with team members,
- Conflict—pursuing conflict within the team so that resolve can take place,
- Commitment—to the agenda even when all members don’t agree,
- Accountability—holding each other accountable to the agenda of the organization and not personal gain,
- Results—Giving attention to the goals of the organization and not individual or political agendas.
However, Lencioni writes, there is one crucial element that is key to organizational health. This responsibility rests on one individual more than anyone else. It is the “person in charge”. “There is just no escaping the fact that the single biggest factor determining whether an organization is going to get healthier—or not—is the genuine commitment and active involvement of the person in charge.”
Lencioni touches on that it is not only the “person in charge”, but it is their mindfulness and persistence in the pursuit of the goal. He writes that they must be “selfless” in this pursuit. Many times they must relinquish their treasured tasks and delegate these jobs to others. This is so they can be relentless in the pursuit of their main responsibility which is the health of the team and organization. “The truth is being a leader of a healthy organization is just plain hard. But in the end, it is undeniably worth it.”
Your organization may not quickly reach peak health as Lencioni writes of in his books. However, what I have learned from golf is: If I am mindful of the game and persistent in practicing, then it doesn’t matter if I advance the ball 300 yards or 3 inches, it is going in the right direction and eventually it will reach the hole!
What is one thing you can do today that will drive your center toward organizational health?
