Behavioral Theory in Leadership: Planning Organizational Interventions

Through the years of academic research and applied behavioral theory and science in many organizations, we have come down to three simple design principles (called Intervention Principles, or IP).

These are:

• IP1 - Organizations are open, living systems.
• IP2 - Democratic self-regulation "works." (Pun intended.)
• IP3 - Co-creation accelerates transformation.

These three principles have served as the design basis for our work processes in leadership behavioral theory. Below, the three principles are outlined in greater detail. Please view the PowerPoint Presentation for the accompanying visuals or contact us for a more detailed and thorough explanation.

IP1 - Open Systems

• The system learns from the environment.
• The system makes plans to act on the environment.
• Change occurs through planning and learning.

IP2 - Democratic Self-regulation

• Democratic Self-Regulation "Works."
• Interventions work better when they are self-regulated by the participants.

IP3 - Co-creation Accelerates

• System adaptation comes through planning and acting.
• The more of the system is involved in adaptation, the faster the change occurs.
• If the entire system is involved, the transformation is immediate.

Intervention Principle 1 Examples

• Processes focused on planning and adapting
• Open and frequent communications
• Strong emphasis on the systems interaction with the environment
• Growth and change encouraged
• Experimentation is allowed

Intervention Principle 2 Examples

• Work is coordinated and controlled at the level it is performed.
• Input is expected from all levels.
• Work units are responsible and responsible.

Intervention Principle 3 Examples

• Wide level of participation
• Note: Communications, meetings, report-outs, etc., are not considered participation here.
• Decision-making is widely distributed at the level of the participants.
• The intervention encourages and supports "cook time" in the workplace.

Case 1

• Division changes / merging
• Shift from functional organization to multiple SBUs with nested PMUs
• Time frame constraints
• Method selected based on above criteria

Case 2

• Manufacturing site
• Shift to differentiated product strategy
• Increased demands for flexibility, adaptability
• Increased demands for high skilled / multi-skilled workforce
• No prior organizational planning

High Performance Organization Assessment

Organization Change is one of the content areas in which we support executives. From the perspective of leadership behavioral theory, every change effort we have ever seen is really more of an effort to make the organization higher performing. Moving an organization to high performance is a change process. Scoping that change is an early intervention that increases change readiness and focuses the change effort. We can provide an online assessment of the organization's perceived health that educates people from a behavioral theory in leadership perspective about high performance, assesses the perceptions of the workforce and provides a practical planning tool for change.

We build these assessments on the Organization Wheel, described in detail in the Ten Tasks of Change (2000).

We have a sample organization change assessment that you can try.