At Studiorupt we often talk about subjects we find important to create an enjoyable work environment. An environment where everybody is appreciated, understands where they can contribute and can be proud of the result. We like to refer to topics which, when you are still a small organization, run smoothly. But as soon you grow bigger, they tend to get stuck more often.
In times of fast expanding, it becomes hard to tell everybody personally why you started the business and what you think is important for the next 5 years. The story you told before, would spread almost on its own at the coffee machine or when people have their Friday afternoon drinks. But at some point, this isn’t the case anymore.
Today I would like to tell you about the 3 elements that together form the Studiorupt Impact Improvement Model.
Alignment
With alignment, we aim to have everybody on the same page. A page that is also recognizable for everyone when having conversations about it.
Before we can start conversations between teams and the organization, it is important to first find out if people within the team talk about the same. This is why we invented the Alignment Canvas.
When teams fill in the canvas we have the assurance that they gave their ambition and derived goals attention and thought before they start to align outside of their team.
Alignment goes in every direction, vertically and horizontally. When we talk about vertical alignment we like to see team goals set in such a way that they contribute more to the company goals. Hopefully this already happens during the conversations within the team, but still, it is important to take specific time for this.
With horizontal alignment, we want to find out if teams can work together on goals that have overlap, so they can have more impact on the company goals. This is important because when teams only strive for own success it can hinder the company’s success.
Grip
Next to alignment it is important that grip is created on all different actions taken within the organization. Setting goals is important, but it is equally important to work towards reaching these. We need to have a close grip for that.
When we create grip we are able to learn and possibly change course or adjust our goals. With grip, we have an overview of which teams are out there and how they contribute to the bigger picture.
We often see different stages of grip, the first is tracking of goals. When no tracking is being done it is impossible to get grip on the activities that are executed. So we need to start to set goals that have targets or key results we can actually measure.
Rhythm
To strengthen the goals and the grip we have created within a team or organization it is important that we work towards a shared rhythm, an organizational heartbeat. When we have a rhythm everybody understands when the moment is there to draft new goals, share progress and celebrate success. A rhythm provides a way where having goals comes naturally. It helps in securing the process and offers a structure to create habits upon.
The impact improvement model
To help organizations take steps towards maximal impact, we have created the Studiorupt Impact Improvement model.
It starts on the left side, the Ad hoc phase you get for free. In this model, we describe different stepping stones to get from the ‘initial’ phase towards ‘repeatable’ and so on.
The model describes the wished end result in different phases. Every step explains shortly what the outcome of that phase would be. It is possible for a team to be in different steps within the different phases. Behind these short sentences lies a big ambition, which will become clear when you see the connected assessment. We will talk about that in another post.
Rudimentary
In the rudimentary phase, we work towards setting goals consciously and in written form. Goals which are measurable and where occasionally events are held to set and track the goals.
Organized & Repeatable
When we get to the organized & repeatable phase, we expect that goals are set with the bigger picture in mind. While goals are set its discussed how they contribute towards the company goals. The goals are tracked and shared, not only within the team but also outside of it. This happens in a recurring rhythm.
Managed & Sustainable
Reaching the managed & sustainable phase teams are getting so good in recurrently setting, tracking goals that they should be able to find a synchronized rhythm. Because teams are not only used to an internal rhythm, but also an organizational rhythm. It becomes possible to create a central overview of all these teams. Based on this overview teams are able to find partners with overlapping goals so they can work together.
Optimized
In the last phase, which is named ‘optimized’, everything is in reach to optimize all the actions around goals. Teams should be able to not only find partners by coincidence but form conscience partnerships which create more impact together. When the organization learns that a different shared rhythm works better they are able to change this all throughout the organization.
To conclude
At Studiorupt we want to inspire organizations. Something we also aim to do with this model, creating an environment where employees are happy to be part of the bigger picture.
We like to challenge you to start writing down your ambition and goals and if you already did, take the next step and clearly communicate them with the rest of your company.
Don’t stop there. Try to help the rest of your organization to on-board on those goals. You will reach better results when you don’t enforce them with a top to bottom approach, but actually, ask teams to challenge you. Ask them what they believe they are able to contribute from their expertise. Have a dialogue and meet in the middle.
This model can support you in that, but will not give you all the answers. Every step and phase comes with many smaller steps and interactive sessions. In a follow up we will introduce to you the steppingstones that are the backbone of this model.
Please reach out to us if this post inspired you but you don’t really know where to start. We are happy to help get you started.
