Organizational Development: Adapting and Thriving in a Complex and Competitive Environment

Have you ever stayed up late and watched reruns of The Twilight Zone? If not, you need to try it sometime. I have fond memories of watching them as a young boy with my dad. Many years later, I still enjoy watching them. One episode has stuck with me over the years. In it, three modern era soldiers in a tank find themselves back in time at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. As they listen to the sounds of battle off in the distance, they determine to go to the aid of General Custer and his doomed outfit. But they do so without the benefit of their tank. “What?!” As I watched, I couldn’t believe what was happening. That’s right. They grabbed their rifles, hopped down from the tank, and marched off toward the fight. As you might have guessed, the three soldiers are lost with Custer and his men. It’s hard to believe. Right? What a game changer! They had a tank! In the closing scene, the soldiers’ commander realizes what’s happened and remarks, “Too bad they didn’t have the tank with them. It could’ve helped.”

Sadly, like those soldiers in The Twilight Zone, many leaders today choose to fight their battles without the advantage of game changing tools that are readily available to them. I’m sure you’ve experienced this. It often sounds something like, “I didn’t have that when I was a young leader coming up in this business, so why do we need it now?” Statements like these are indicative of leaders who do not fully understand the dynamic changes that may have taken place in their operating environment over the years. They may have experienced enough success in a small, controlled environment that they believe they can thrive in any environment. They likely take great pride in the hard work they put in to make it to where they are today. But, despite the pleas of their young leaders who serve where the rubber meets the road, they see no need to employ new and improved tools, systems, or processes. To me, that sounds a lot like leaving the tank behind. Bad idea.

Please don’t miss my point. There are fundamental things like organizational values and operating principles that leaders should not change; especially if they are key components to the success of their team and its identity. These are often foundational and endure the test of time. But as an organization’s operating environment changes, so too should the systems and processes by which the organization operates. Increasingly competitive environments require teams to adopt high performance systems and processes to thrive. Imagine for a moment that S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, resisted improvements to the way his organization managed logistics, communicated, managed its talent, or developed its future leaders. Where would Chick-fil-A be today? Well, it’s likely that he and his people would not have grown their business to the colossal success that we know and love today. Life without a Chick-fil-A sandwich? I don’t like to think about that.

“We change the world, and ourselves, by our response to unexpected opportunities.” — S. Truett Cathy

The best leaders seize opportunities and take advantage of the improved “weapons” available to them for the good of their organization. They understand that they must integrate these new “weapons” into their fight to thrive and win. If my Chick-fil-A analogy didn’t click with you, consider this example. If you watch professional sports, you know that today’s athletes are some of the strongest and most physically fit people in the world. Strength and conditioning coaches are some of the highest paid and most important members of coaching staffs. But this was not always the case. Strength and conditioning programs for sports teams did not gain notable attention until the early 1960s. The first full-time strength and conditioning coach was not hired in the National Football League until 1971.* Today, you won’t find a professional sports team that does not have a fully integrated strength and conditioning program. What changed? Well, in the early days, teams that had adopted strength and conditioning for their athletes destroyed those who didn’t. It was like bringing a tank to a knife fight. Leaders who failed to employ this new “weapon” washed out and were replaced by others who could.

Similarly, a new trend has emerged in the way great organizations are developing their leaders. Just a few years ago, as our military’s senior leaders assessed the rapidly changing realities of future warfare, the Chief-of-Staff of the Army declared that leader development had become one of the Army’s highest priorities; second only to Army readiness. Our senior military leaders understood that fighting and winning the future fight would leaders who could thrive in increasingly complex environments. More recently, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, business leaders found that those businesses and institutions that thrived most during shut downs and economic crises were those that had high quality, trusted leaders in key decision-making positions. Gaining renewed appreciation for the value of dynamic leadership, senior leaders are now investing in new and improved leader-development and talent-management strategies to ensure they are best prepared to fight and win their next battle, no matter how complex. No matter the profession, leaders at the cutting edge are adopting organizational development strategies that elevate leader development from an event to a process. In doing so, they are setting the conditions necessary for their organizations to thrive far into the future.

I challenge you to pause for a moment and consider your team’s operating environment. How has it changed over the past five or ten years? How have you and your competitors adapted to this environment? Who’s thriving? Who’s not? Why? Is your organization or business growing? If so, are you improving your systems and processes so that your growing team can thrive? What new “weapons” are available to you? Are you developing your leaders in a way that will ensure the future success of your team. Are you going to send your team into battle with muskets instead of a tank?

Oh, you’ll take the tank? Great choice.

*The History of Strength and Conditioning Coaches in Football, www.thefootballodyssey.com.