How to Govern Adaptive Work Systems

How to Govern Adaptive Work Systems:
The Power of Strengths in Relationships

Bernard Mohr & Neil Samuels

October 24, 2012

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Today’s Speakers

Bernard Mohr Neil Samuels
Partner President
Innovation Partners International Profound Conversations, Inc.

Assisting with chat questions: Hosting:
Jamie Maloney, Nonprofit Webinars Sam Frank, Synthesis Partnership

A Service
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Integrative Governance
for
Adaptive Work Systems

Tapping The Power of Strengths

Bernard Mohr, Innovation Partners International
Neil Samuels, Profound Conversations
5

Purpose Of This Session
Overall…
• To explore how to we can create adaptive work system for increased
flexibility and responsiveness
Specifically….
• What are adaptive work systems and why are they essential.
• What is “work system governance” and what does it have to do with
adaptive work systems
• What do Strengths have to do with governance and adaptive work
systems?
• How do you make this work?

Bernard J. Mohr, , www.InnovationPartners.com , 207-874-0118 and Neil Samuels, www.ProfoundConversations.com 630-605-4610 6

How Important Is Flexibility and Responsiveness In
Your Non-Profit?
1. We experience shifts in demand that we don’t always respond to effectively
(Scale of 1-5, 5 being “yes that’s us” )

2. Increased agility, speed, flexibility and re-would help us significantly
(Scale of 1-5, 5 being “yes that’s us” )

3. Our clients would be better served if the way we delivered services was even more
integrated. (Scale of 1-5, 5 being “yes that’s us” )

4. People in our organization sometimes complain about a lack of coordination (Scale
of 1-5, 5 being “yes that’s us” )

5. We live in a somewhat unpredictable world where new opportunities have to be
seized quickly. (Scale of 1-5, 5 being “yes that’s us” )

7

Bernard J. Mohr, , www.InnovationPartners.com , 207-874-0118 and Neil Samuels, www.ProfoundConversations.com 630-605-4610

Adaptive Work Systems 8

• “The Adaptive Work System is an arrangement of roles,
processes and relationships that, by design, allow greater
responsiveness to shifts in demand or opportunity.

• Performance characteristics such as agility, speed,
flexibility and re-configurability are typically delivered by
the adaptive work system”.

adapted from S. Winby, Sapience Network


Why Govern? 9

Dimension Traditional View of Governance
Goal Controlling or preventing behavior that is
illegal, unethical, or detrimental to the interests
of shareholders.
Key Actors The board of directors
Focus · senior management selection/compensation,
· advising senior management on strategy
· reviewing accuracy of financial reporting and
adequacy of compliance efforts.
Orientation Begins with a problem-prevention point of
view and is advocacy driven.


10

Why Govern – An Alternative
Goal
Attainment

Integration
Long-Term of Efforts Adapting
through
Sustainability
Innovating


What is Integration*?
• The management of interdependencies
between tasks and relationships
• i.e. coordinating efforts (towards common
goals), of different groups and individuals
across time, space, and other “boundaries”
(such as status and departmental lines)

• Based on conversations with Jody Hoffer-Gittell author of 11
“High Performance HealthCare” by Jody Hoffer-Gittell, McGraw Hlll publishers, 2009

12

Patient Care : An Integration Challenge
Case
Managers
Attending
Nurses Physicians

Nursing Residents
Assistants
Patient
Physical
Therapists
Social
Workers
Technicians
Referring
Physicians


Why Integration Matters? 13

(A Health Care Context)

Quality of Outcomes

Cost

Patient Experience

Joy of Practice


Why Integration Matters? 14

(A Health Care Context)

Quality of Outcomes

Task Cost
Integration
And
People
Integration Patient Experience

Joy of Practice


What If We Re-Imagined Governance
as…
“All the structures, practices, and processes that
mobilize human capability in support of Goal
Attainment, Adaptation, Long Term
Sustainability … and particularly INTEGRATION

15

So… if Integration Matters, What Can Be Done
Example Governance Design Variables
In Healthcare Context
Selection Process
Quality of Outcomes
Measures and Rewards

Role Design

Boundary Placement & Mngt Task Cost
Integration
Care Maps/Pathways And
Information Access & Display People
Integration Patient Experience
Patient Round Participation

Supplier Relations
Joy of Practice
Goal Setting Processes

Leadership Development
16


WHY STRENGTHS MATTER


Working From Strengths
Best predictor of performance in the Gallup
survey is the response to the question:
“I have the opportunity to do
what I do best every day at work”
How can that happen without everyone
knowing everyone’s
(and the organization’s) strengths?

And designing all the governance variables
around them.

Why Strengths Matter?
The Crisis of Employee Disengagement
• RIP (retired in place); presenteeism
• 80% of population not flourishing
• 22%-29% of employees are engaged
• 54%-66% are not engaged
• 11%-17% are actively disengaged
(Gallup 2008; Towers Perrin Global Workforce Study, 2008)

Releasing the Extraordinary in ALL

A New Language of Strengths

CSV DSM-IV


A New Language of Strengths
– Wisdom & Knowledge: Creativity, Judgment &
Open-Mindedness, Curiosity, Love of Learning,
Perspective
– Courage: Bravery, Perseverance, Honesty, Zest
– Humanity: Love, Kindness, Social Intelligence
– Justice: Teamwork, Fairness, Leadership
– Temperance: Forgiveness & Mercy, Modesty &
Humility, Prudence, Self-Regulation
– Transcendence: Appreciation of Beauty and
Excellence, Gratitude, Hope, Humor, Religiousness &
Spirituality

What does the design of an organization’s
structures, practices, and processes
have to do with Integration?
“ I am led to conclude that an organization’s
(governance) structure can be moral or immoral
in and of itself.
Thus I realize that consciously constructing an
organization that, by its design, impairs people’s
health is ultimately no different than willfully using
asbestos in the construction of a brick-and-
mortar building when we know that the material is
likely to compromise the health of the buildings
inhabitants.”
Jerry Harvey, PhD.,
Professor Emeritus of Management Science at The George Washington
University.
Author of “The Abilene Paradox”.
24

Select Most
Promising
Option

Design the
Deliver-
Deliver Stress Test Evolve Use New Review and
& Evolve and Iterate Processes
System Reconfigure

Mobilize
Deliver and Evolve
Mobilize
Generate multiple options
(roles, processes,
structures)
and create prototypes for
each option - particularly
around deliberations and
Imagine decision rights

Imagine

Connect/
Explore Clarify purpose for
new system
Discover what is already working,
AND agree on opportunities,
aspirations, requirements

Connect-Explore

Bernard J. Mohr, , www.InnovationPartners.com , 207-874-0118 and Neil Samuels, www.ProfoundConversations.com 630-605-4610 25

Contact Information
Bernard Mohr:
Innovation Partners International
www.InnovationPartners.com
207-874-0118
bjMohr@InnovationPartners.com

Neil Samuels:
Profound Conversations, Inc.
www.profoundconversations.com
630-605-4610
neil@profoundconversations.com

26

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