Thoughts on ... Organizational Performance

We think of organizations as systems that take some inputs, do something with them and produce outputs. Their performance is measured by how well they do that: taking resources, transforming them and, in the case of a business organization, selling products and services to customers for more than they cost. We believe organizations perform best when they interpret the external environment accurately, set mission and strategy clearly, possess an organizational culture that serves them well and where the leaders live out personally the strategy and culture of the organization. But high performance organizations need effective leaders and good governance.

(Note: this excerpt forms part of our philosophy at The Change Alliance. More can be read on our website)

Thoughts on ... Effective Leadership

We believe that leaders are not the heroes of our imagination, but real people who find an inner capacity to envision a future and live it with such integrity themselves that others are drawn to follow. Without followers, leaders are merely people with titles. The best leaders, in our experience, so live out, in their own unique way, both the mission and strategy or the organization and the values of its culture such that others are inspired to find within themselves the capacity to contribute their own best performance. Leaders go where their organizations need to go, first, and in so doing, win both the credibility and conferred authority of those who will follow.

(Note: this excerpt forms part of our philosophy at The Change Alliance. More can be read on our website)

Thoughts on ... Governance

All around us, our client organizations are experiencing surprises. Not all of them good, unfortunately. In many places, stakeholders and their representatives, boards of directors are asking themselves about the quality of their governance. Much training and even certification of directors has ensued, but Boards need to stay current and effective. Periodically they need to ask “how good is our governance?” and, of individual directors, “how effective is their contribution as an individual director”? Good governance helps effective leaders sustain high performance organizations.

(Note: this excerpt forms part of our philosophy at The Change Alliance. More can be read at our website)