Developing an Effective OD Team to Enable Continuous Development and Change. Spencer Lord Yorkshire Building Society Group

Transcription

1 Developing an Effective OD Team to Enable Continuous Development and Change Spencer Lord Yorkshire Building Society Group

2 October 2017 Developing an effective OD team to enable continuous development and change Starting from scratch - how to use internal resources to create innovative outcomes Translating OD language into business dialogue and building credibility to ensure stakeholders buy-in Created by: Spencer Lord, Yorkshire Building Society Group slord@ybs.co.uk

3 Today Background on OD at Yorkshire Building Society Building an OD team from scratch Getting traction in the business Over-stretching a metaphor

4 YBS: 153 years old and a fascinating place to work in OD The organisation Owned by our 3 million+ members Its recent development Merger driven growth The UK s 3 rd largest building society National business with rich family tree Around 4,500 colleagues Other changes in leadership Design People Division Branding Physical space

5 OD sits within our People Division, focusing on strategic business wide people projects Situated alongside a recognisable group of HR functions; OD is there to lay deep foundations, to enable and align HR Business Partnering Reward & Recognition Internal Communication Learning Talent & Resourcing Colleague Services Organisational Development Capabilities and SWFP Culture Development Performance Development

6 Building an OD team from scratch, is a bit like crewing a pirate ship

7 There are some specific capabilities that help Explorer Intrepid, curious about change Will dig and dig for insight Loves the unknown Navigator Finds their way around the organisation fast Uses their knowledge and contacts to get things done High action orientation Always implementing and iterating Could be a bit mutinous if underutilised! Eyes on the prize! Willing to adapt and keep going Relentless when they need to be

8 And a few swashbuckling practices to learn from Draw from all backgrounds Non-obvious internal movers Run a ship with democratic principles Get flat! Patiently use the wind and waves to your advantage Make time part of your team

9 Building an OD team re-cap 1. Non-obvious internal moves offer a great route for developing that priceless navigator capability within the team. Talent spot relentlessly. Lots of people are doing OD already, they just might not know it yet! 2. Practicing what we (often) preach through an egalitarian working environment is important. OD teams experiment and self-manage. 3. A high drive to implement is crucial for reliably translating complex and nuanced OD work in to tangible outcomes. It also helps you to sow the seed early, which in turn helps you to 4. Make the best use of the time that is on your side. Lots of OD work takes years and years, be a gardener, not a carpenter. 5. If in doubt, think like a pirate!

10 Starting with a project based team helps build credibility, traction and awareness Some of the main things we re working on right now Capabilities and SWFP Culture Development Performance Development Have a number of things in common Are pretty clearly OD activity Are direct from the HR strategy Require substantial leadership engagement Can interface effectively with organisational governance Make clear the expertise to build in to the team Give plenty of space to run a parallel process

11 And a parallel process of diagnostic OD and dialogic OD builds connection and continuity Front of house diagnostic Programmatic rigour in design and delivery Clarity of evidence base, logic and business outcomes Use of familiar business language is 1) considerate and 2) aids engagement and ownership Integrating strategic HR, change and communications activity Back of house dialogic Creating opportunities for colleagues to develop their own meaning from the work Opening up multiple channels direct and in-direct to keep the discussion going Never missing a chance to set a Trojan Mouse free Connected behaviours and shared experiences This is helping an evolution from project work to continuous OD Placing emphasis on the more familiar, accessible, practical elements builds trust and interest amongst important stakeholders Creating opportunities for colleagues to engage in their own way builds a critical mass of connection and in-coming insight

12 Building traction re-cap 1. Project working is a solid way to earn trust and build credibility. It also brings you in to contact with other teams that are doing OD but might not know it yet (e.g. change, customer experience, leadership) 2. It s probably easier to go from project work to continuous OD than it is the other way around. 3. Governance frameworks are a powerful way to develop traction. Take (and/or make) every possible opportunity, no matter how many hoops you need to jump through! 4. Every now and again, a set-piece opportunity will present itself to put a dialogic intervention front and centre. For most of the time though, it needs to be a way of working, rather than front of house. 5. Put in the hard yards to implement with rigour and be seen to do so! It earns the trust of leadership in a language they understand.

13 To finish: some mistakes to learn from 1. Know your audience. Just because a senior leader asks for the full, detailed results of that highly involved culture survey you did, it doesn t mean they actually want to see the full 268 pages it might not resonate!! 2. Know your people. Not every team you ll lead or be part of wants to run like an ultra-flat OD team. Or will be as excited as you are when you say let s try holacracy! 3. Join the dots don t assume knowledge or even interest! Amazingly and I state that with no irony some people aren t fascinated by OD. Just because you know five relevant models for the situation, it doesn t mean you should refer to any of them! You need to give the so what?. All of the time!!