Why responsibility is vital to change an organization

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Anders Mannerhagen has a background in Cognitive Science, and within the realms of service design and UX, he has discovered tools and methods for creating solutions that add value for both end-users and service providers. We asked Anders to share his thoughts about organizational change and why responsibility is crucial.

Working with large organizations, I realized that real change is challenging. And that the old saying that many change initiatives fail, not due to the idea, but somewhere in the execution is true in many cases.

Real change requires an organization to abandon the old way of doing things, roles, and established territories, which entails processes, tools, culture, and, foremost, people. Almost all organizations have high-level visions of a future state where everything is good. There are also usually lots of work improvement and innovation initiatives going on.

So why is real change so hard to achieve?

It is not about the organization resisting change. It has more to do with needing the right conditions to act in accordance with the vision. Usually, the vision for the organization is to abstract to guide decisions in the right direction effectively.

How can we enable an organization to move from where it is to where it needs/wants to be?

In Agile philosophy, decisions should be taken as far down in the hierarchy as possible because it’s where the most detailed knowledge about challenges, prerequisites, and solutions is. But, a vision on an organizational level is seldom helpful in daily development work.Taking responsibility is the key to preventing the vision from becoming buzzwords or superficial statements repeated mindlessly within the organization.

Each “level” in the organization needs to take responsibility and work through what it means to their context, exploring questions and describing the effects it will have in their context. Doing this work enables the layers below to do their job and continuously detail and break down further in the organization to answer questions relevant to that context.

The outcome and what to expect

Such work creates a traceable path from decisions in a boardroom, enabling the organization to work with a shared purpose and make informed decisions in the context of their work. Say hi to change management, allowing more people to understand and be a part of shaping their future.

It is not a small task, and it starts at the top, figuring out what outcomes are needed for the organization to thrive in the future. These outcomes will inform the layer beneath the intent and allow them to take responsibility for their level in the hierarchy. If it’s done successfully, it becomes easier for a department executive to explain the change in the organization and where it will take it.

 

Transforming vision into reality isn’t rocket science, but it does require a committed organization willing to put in the effort to bring about meaningful change. It’s not uncommon for executive teams to excel in many areas yet struggle when it comes to exploring and visualizing transformation. And this is precisely where the skills and expertise of designers shine.

Designers are uniquely positioned to facilitate, visualize, and assist organizations in crystallizing their vision into a concrete roadmap that can guide and inspire every corner of the company. -> It’s about turning visions into actionable plans; we at Knightec can help!

We are here to help

AtKnightec, we come armed with the experience, tools, and curiosity to help your organization take those visionary ideas and turn them into actionable plans. The time for change is now, and we’re ready to make your vision a reality.

Contact us at Knightec or Anders Mannerhagen; we would love to discuss how we can add value to your business.


About

Anders Mannerhagen is a highly experienced digital designer with over 11 years of experience, driven by a passion to understand and improve the world, one small step at a time. He has extensive customer-centric design expertise within larger organizations such as Telia, Swedbank, Arbetsförmedlingen, and Skatteverket.

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