“Organizational health will one day surpass all other disciplines in business as the greatest opportunity for improvement and competitive advantage.” – The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business by Patrick Lencioni
An organization is healthy, according to Patrick Lencioni – “when it is whole, consistent, and complete. It’s management, operations, strategy, and culture fit together and make sense.” Many organizations are smart in areas of strategy, finance, marketing and technology. These are critical to any organization. This is where most leaders focus their time and energy.
SMART
Strategy
Marketing
Finance
Technology
Creating a healthy organization is the other half of the equation. Lencioni points out healthy requirements of success minimize confusion, increase morale, achieve high productivity, minimize politics and experience low turnover of good staff.
HEALTHY
Minimal Politics
Minimal Confusion
High Morale
High Productivity
Low Turnover
In an unhealthy organization, staff dreads coming to work. They experience confusing messages, don’t feel appreciated, put in the minimal amount of work to get by, and are looking for a better job.
Confusion wastes resources. Low morale reduces productivity. Internal politics create a divisive atmosphere. High turnover is costly. Even smart organizations suffer if they neglect the health of the organization. Unhealthy areas reduce your bottom line.
Successful organizations are smart and healthy leading to growing revenue and mission impact.
Leaders often focus on the smart area because it’s easier to measure, it’s objective, and data driven. It is easier to quantify.
The healthy aspect is more difficult to measure but it can be felt by those involved. Healthy organizations build a healthy culture.
"I've become absolutely convinced that the seminal difference between successful companies and mediocre or unsuccessful ones has little, if anything to do with what they know or how smart they are; it has everything to do with how healthy they are." -Patrick Lencioni
What advantage to you is it to create a healthy organization and how much time and energy would it be to invest in making this advantage a reality?
Book a call to talk about tools you can use to build a healthy organization.
Wes Legg
Eldred Legg LLC
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