Have you ever baked a cake or a pie? As you probably know, the right amounts of butter, flour, sugar and eggs are essential for the cake or pie to be successful. In the same way there is also a number of basic ingredients essential to keep your company successful.
Today we would like to share the 7 ingredients that we have experienced over the years that are vital for the continuity of your company. With these ingredients you ensure a resilient and future-proof organization.
First, what do we mean by continuity? By that we mean that your company grows and flourishes at the right time, just like in the seasons. And walks an upward path in the long run. That set goals are achieved, people enjoy working there and that your organization has a lasting impact on it’s environment.
1. Vision, mission and strategy
Maybe obvious, but it starts with knowing where you are going, your vision. For both you as a leader and for the organization. A wise proverb from Solomon says, "Where there is no vision, people cast off restraint." In other words, where there is a lack of direction, people go in all directions. The power of a successful organization always starts with an inspiring vision. This ensures that all employees are on the same page. You can compare it to a large container ship sailing its course. If there are several captains on a ship, because no course is being set because the captain does not take his position, the ship will not get where he needs to be. Because a destination has been chosen on the map, everyone knows where they stand and everyone can contribute to this.
"Where there is no vision, people cast off restraint."
The mission supports the vision. This shows what you exist for as an organization. In the case of the container ship, this is bringing the containers to the right place of destination in the most efficient, safest and fastest way. What does your company "exist" for?
The strategy shows the route you have to take to achieve that vision and fulfill the mission. Consider, for example, things such as: which and how many employees do you need? Who's going to do what? Who is responsible for what? Which processes are required for this? How do we ensure that we sell our products or services? What finances are needed? So on and on.
In short, without these ingredients your company is rudderless. But with these ingredients you can go straight for your goal. And achieve even more than you thought possible.
2. Values
What you and your organization consider as important determines your values. This shapes how you interact with each other. How you communicate internally with each other, with customers and partners. And how you proceed. Values can be kind, sincere, professional, ...
3. Leadership values
An important aspect are also the leadership values. Leadership values specifically state how you want leadership to be conducted. For example delegating, inspiring, solution-oriented, you name it. Together with the values you determine the culture that you want to have in your company.
Culture is the means of transport for your vision, mission and strategy. Just like the container ship that brings the containers to their destination, the culture, through the values and leadership values, brings your vision, mission and strategy to life.
4. Leadership skills
Everything rises or falls with leadership. Many people are in a management position, but find it hard to support their employees in their professional and personal development. While this is of vital importance for your organization. This happens in your leadership and you cannot just delegate this to someone else. These employees are there to help build the company towards the vision you have designed.
"Everything rises or falls with leadership"
Leading others starts with leading yourself. This means that you develop yourself in the areas necessary to be successful as a person. By that we do not mean to make a lot of money. But that you have your life on track. That you are happy with who you are and know what you need and need to do to achieve your personal goals.
When you can do this for yourself, you can also teach this to others. You are responsible as a leader to guide the people under your leadership from A to B. To support them in their development to achieve their personal goals and thus the goals of the company.
Examples of skills are delegation, discipline, stewardship, decision-making skills, time control.
5. Know and complement each other well
It is of vital importance to the organization that the team that leads the organization works well together. This requires that you know each other well and know how to complement each other. Knowing each other means understanding why the other behaves the way they do. And that you know what the other person needs to be able to perform well and to work together.
What you achieve with this is that you become very effective as a team and organization. Because you learn to see what makes you effective with each other, you know how you can work together effectively. Results are achieved faster, decisions are taken faster, and executable plans are forged and successfully realized.
6. Quickly resolve conflicts openly and fairly
A conflict or confrontation is often experienced as negative. Unpleasant. Or people often think that when there is conflict, something is wrong, and that is not how it should be. Conflict is necessary if you want to collaborate effectively. And by entering into conflict the right way, you can ensure that they contribute to your success. A conflict is nothing more than disagreeing with each other and discussing it in a solid dialogue.
Conflicts must be resolved quickly, openly and fairly. It is therefore important to be able to discuss matters that you think differently about and to come to a solution together. That does not mean that you have to agree with each other, but that you determine together how you can give substance to matters that you can both support.
When you do not enter into conflicts or confrontations with each other, the really important matters are not discussed. This ensures that the right choices are not made and solutions do not come. Conflicts can arise about facts and tasks, but also on a relational level when you feel that the other person is communicating something in a way that is unpleasant for you. Discussing these matters openly and honestly ensures that nothing stands in the way of fast and thorough decision-making in the company. And so that you can actually see that great vision become reality.
7. Clear responsibilities and structure that suits the organization
People like you and me want to know where we stand. We don't like uncertainty. Uncertainty is due to lack of clarity. When it is not clear in an organization who is responsible for what, no one knows where it stands. Just as a vision is important for the direction, clear agreements about responsibilities are important for clarity in your organization. This ensures that employees know who to contact. And that they know from whom they can expect matters to be discussed. It also clarifies who makes which decisions. And so these can be taken more quickly. Responsibilities are interconnected and form the structure.
"that structure is of no use when the other ingredients are missing"
We often see that companies want to structure their organization while ingredients 1 to 6 are not in order. Trust us, that structure is of no use if the other ingredients are missing. A structure supports what you want to achieve. A structure should never be an end in itself.
Two things are important to structure in your organization, these are responsibilities and communication. So who should I contact for what and who do I talk to when to connect the most important matters?
We realize that this is quite a lot to keep an eye on. Our advice would therefore be to work on this step by step and start with what you have not worked on yet. Then you get a good idea of where your possibilities lie.
Do you want any support with that? Check out our program here and request more information freely. Or call us! We would be happy to talk to you!
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