Adaptability

Primary link:
Culture Management
Managing Culture to Achieve Greater Adaptability

Core Practices:

  • Encourage a more competitive organizational environment to increase watchfulness and reduce resistance to change.
  • Implement results-oriented, decentralized management practices to support creativity and initiative.
Secondary link:
Stakeholder Engagement
Engaging Stakeholders to Achieve Greater Adaptability

Synergies:

  • Engage stakeholders in devising a coherent shared value system.
  • Use stakeholder choice as an adaptability mechanism.
  • Use a distributed approach that support grassroots innovation.

Tensions:

  • Be mindful not to create a culture in which traditional social work is seen as a dead-end, undermining social staff morale.
Tertiary link:
Knowledge Development
Developing Knowledge to Achieve Greater Adaptability

Synergies:

  • Conduct ongoing market research to inform responses to emerging trends and opportunities.
  • Use business performance monitoring and information management practices to improve risk analysis and implementation strategies.

Tensions:

  • Be aware that temporary setbacks and risks inherent to the “trial and error” process central to research and innovation will trigger pressure to come back to a low-risk, more predicable charity mindset.
Quaternary link:
Resource Mobilization
Mobilizing Resources to Achieve Greater Adaptability

Synergies:

  • Take into consideration the inherently restricted nature of particular resources.
  • Increase your focus on client needs instead of funder needs.

Tensions:

  • Be aware that increased requirements for financial returns might have a counter-effect on building a more flexible culture.