Organizational agility is one of the key trends in almost all areas of management. Most of the available knowledge about when to apply an agile approach and how to apply it is related to product development. However, there is much more to organizational agility than the well-known product development tools such as SCRUM and Kanban. Especially in an environment characterized by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (VUCA), an agile approach is your first choice. In this blog we provide you with a practical guide that helps you decide when an agile approach makes sense for your team, organization or project, as well as with tips on what you should consider when you want to apply such an approach.
Anthony Giddens' Structuration Theory is one of a set of grand social theories that are capable of describing the very foundation of social systems: these include teams, organizations, and society as a whole. One of the key characteristics of Giddens's theory is the understanding of structure as duality: On the one hand, structures of social systems such as norms, symbols, and physical objects etc. enable social practices. On the other hand, these very structures are reproduced by agents and thus are also result of social practices. This understanding opens up a variety of new perspectives for managing organizations. In this blog post we have a look at some of those perspectives, such as Strategy as Practice, and derive key take-aways for managers and working professionals.
In recent years, there has been a focus on the destructive side of leadership and how dysfunctional leaders can undermine an organization’s value. In fact, empirical research has focused on the personality characteristics of flawed leaders and have pointed to negative personality traits as predictors of leadership derailment (Hogan & Hogan, 2001; Kippenberger, 1997). There appear to be several personality traits that are related to leader failure yet the three that are consistent across all studies are narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, referred to as the “Dark Triad” (Paulhus & Williams, 2002).
Today’s world is characterized as being VUCA - volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Because of this new and unpredictable environment, it is almost impossible to predict threats or opportunities - at the same time, the potential for disruption is very high. VUCA was a term originally coined in the late 1990 to describe a strategic leadership environment. This already hints at the hidden advantages of this seemingly out-of-reach environment. What is VUCA really about and how can organizations and leaders adapt to it? In the following blogpost, we will consider what VUCA can and cannot bring to the table, and give some tips about how to make VUCA work for you through strategic management.
Is the 21st century the downfall of the hierarchical organization? Taking into consideration current discussions about agility, delayering and network organizations one could think that the days of the hierarchical organization are numbered. We have a look behind those claims and come up with a set of arguments why hierarchies will remain one of the most important forms of organizing in the 21st century knowledge economy.
Research findings across a variety of industries and organizations indicate that a strong management team is a key ingredient of organizational performance. While this claim might sound straight-forward, recent examples from the corporate and public sector show that it is incredibly difficult to build and develop a management team that functions well. In this blog post, we take a look at six signs of an ineffective management team that threatens organizational performance in this article.
More and more organizations start to experiment with organizational forms beyond traditional hierarchies. Some of them are incredible successful while others cease to exist. In this blog post we have a look at what organizational design is, what are the novel organizational forms that emerge and whether they are actually that novel, with a set of questions with both academic and practical considerations that can be explored in the future.
Project teams are the new functional departments of modern organizations which come together to understand stakeholder needs and find solutions that delight them. It is virtually impossible to escape teams for professionals today which makes the question of managing them a key concern. Almost all employees working in and for organizations need to acquire the knowledge and learn the skills for building strong project teams, facilitate them through the stages of group formation thereby ensuring that synergistic efforts lead to higher performance. We provide you a comprehensive guide how to manage project teams to deliver high performance in this blog post.
Technology has the potential to amplify human capabilities. Yet, it is not digital transformation but rather business transformation as a whole that will help propel organizations into being top performers in the digital economy. Technology is a trigger and a driving force to re-think processes and business models. Research shows that this is what will constitute real value formation in the VUCA world. This blogpost will present the case of why management innovation is at the core of strategic advantage in the age of disruption, and offer insights into the management skills that are necessary for the digital age.
Hybrid Intelligence combines human and Artificial Intelligence to collectively achieve superior results and learn from each other. It will be a dominant workplace model in the digital age. Because the brain and AI use fundamentally different algorithms, each shines in tasks the other utterly fails. This is why they need to work together. This article tries to explain why Hybrid Intelligence is a vital concept for each professional that wants to thrive in the age of disruption and what will be its impact on a professional career in the next five to ten years. The goal of the article is to provide professionals with thinking tools that will allow them to build their own agenda for their career management in uncertain, disruptive times.
