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Organizational Health: How do we figure this out?


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7 minutes

By Fatima Momin and Tanvi Joshi

Organizational health is a crucial area of research interest in the New World of Work (NWoW), as it sheds light on a range of factors—organization vision, mission, culture, and innovation—that shape the long-term success and sustainability of businesses. An analysis of existing organizational models, such as McKinsey’s nine elements of organizational health and Lencioni’s five dysfunctions of a team, underscores the importance of having a supportive organizational culture and leadership structure that values employee success and well-being in creating a healthy organization. Understanding the factors that contribute to organizational health helps identify strengths and weaknesses, allowing for informed decision-making. A healthy organization tends to have satisfied and motivated employees, effective communication, efficient processes, and a positive work culture. Moreover, common challenges in the implementation of organizational health practices include resistance to change, poor planning and strategy, and lack of leadership, accountability, and clarity. Despite its direct impact on business performance, productivity, and overall success, organizational health as an area of research has been largely overlooked in applied research discourses.

Organizational health means creating an inclusive and supportive culture where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued. It goes beyond acknowledging diversity; it involves actively engaging with individuals and embracing their unique contributions. This experience provided invaluable lessons that shaped my professional growth. One of the most valuable lessons I learned was the crucial role that organizational health plays in our lives, whether mentally, emotionally, and physically. Chelsea Alasa-as, Research Assistant

Hence, this article explores the research journey of the team at the Office of Research and Innovation (ORI) on this topic, detailing their reflective learning experiences and key findings.

Small human figurines are arranged in a cityspace.


Our Journey!

The journey is comprised of different elements that seamlessly blend various research tools and techniques. It begins with designing the scope of work, which includes a detailed methodology, steps, and a timeline for the research. The key focus here was to gather qualitative data from diverse sources such as peer-reviewed journal articles, business articles, blogs, relevant and insightful books, and data-infused compelling TEDx talks. Examples of online databases and resources explored include the Humber Libraries database, ResearchGate, Harvard Business Review, and books and models developed by established business leaders. This broad spectrum of resources provided a comprehensive understanding of the complex side of organizational health. To analyze the data and simplify the information, the team utilized data visualization techniques, extracting key points and putting them together into a cohesive visual template. Further, the data gathered from these resources were condensed into annotated bibliographies and organized into an internal database.

The journey was not solely confined to the academic dimension; it extended into the collaborative exchange within the team. Regular meetings served as a platform for sharing individual discoveries and thoughts, creating a space to share individual findings and reflections, and fostering an environment where diverse perspectives come together. This team-based method was incredibly valuable, as it generated a diverse collection of ideas and diverse perspectives that shaped the development of the final themes.

The lead research specialist on this project, Jeremy Staples, is a visionary who empowers his team by encouraging open exploration of data, critical thinking, and exploration to its fullest extent; he values the reflection process as a vital component of the learning journey.

Initial research findings were shared through a PowerPoint presentation with the wider team. Further refinement of findings led to the development of an infographic that provided a clear and concise overview of the results in a visual form and served as a powerful tool for disseminating insights to a wider audience. Although a challenging process, this is one of the most effective ways of making research accessible to different demographics.   

I began working on this project as an international co-op student at Humber College and had the privilege to continue to work full-time with the Office of Research and Innovation upon completion of my program. Through this process, I gained invaluable mentorship under Jeremy Staples, Raeshelle Morris-Griffith, and Fatima Momin. These experiences taught me how to prioritize and segment different research tasks based on timelines, enhance my critical thinking and writing abilities, collaborate across cross-functional teams, and participate in presentations, workshops and interviews with relevant stakeholders. After conducting extensive research on organizational health, I can confidently say that individual well-being is tied to organizational well-being, and it all begins with developing vulnerability-based trust at the leadership level. Tanvi Joshi, Research Assistant

Influencing Factors for Organizational Culture

Key findings from the research process include the discovery of five major themes—mindset, leadership, vulnerability-based trust, organizational culture, and employee engagement—that significantly influence the success or failure of an organization.

Mindset: Companies with a fixed mindset often approach challenges with a static perspective, focusing on immediate goals and predetermined outcomes. This mindset may limit adaptability and hinder long-term growth, as it tends to resist change and innovation. Companies with leaders embracing an infinite mindset play an endless game, prioritizing resilience and continuous improvement. They foster a culture of innovation, trust, and empowerment, encouraging employee ownership and decision-making.

“The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.”
—Carol S. Dweck.

Leadership: Leadership is crucial for a healthy organization as it sets the tone, provides direction, and inspires employees to work collaboratively towards common goals, fostering a positive and productive work culture. Transformational leadership is also crucial for creating an environment of trust.

Vulnerability-based Trust: Vulnerability-based trust is a crucial element of effective teams in a healthy organization, emphasizing open and honest communication among team members. In contrast, predictive trust relies on observed patterns or habits to anticipate others' actions. Vulnerability-based trust develops over time, yet the specific timeframe remains unclear, highlighting a research gap.

 “At the heart of vulnerability lies the willingness of people to abandon their pride and their fear, to sacrifice their egos for the collective good of the team.”
Patrick Lencioni

Vulnerability-based trust is a significant factor in the level of cohesion, openness, and confidence that develops between team members and throughout the organization over time. It involves engaging in difficult conversations, acknowledging and taking personal responsibility for mistakes and failures, and developing integrity through the alignment of words and actions.

Organization Culture: Organizational culture is an important aspect of a healthy organization. It helps shape the work environment, influencing employee behaviour and contributing to overall organizational success.

Employee Engagement: Voluntary employee turnover poses a significant financial challenge for organizations. Gallup research identifies key factors contributing to turnover, including engagement, culture, well-being, work-life balance, pay, benefits, and leadership. Shockingly, over half of departing employees (51%) report no discussion about job satisfaction or the future within the organization in the three months before leaving. This lack of communication understandably leads employees to perceive limited prospects. Furthermore, the prevalent use of 'teamwork' as a catch-all term for organizational performance is criticized, with leaders emphasizing obedience over critical thinking, fostering dissonance and guilt among employees.

“Data shows that organizations who actively strive towards this goal demonstrate performance gains within 6 to 12 months.” (Gagnon et al., 2017)

>Where do we go from here?

The key themes and gaps identified in this project will provide an opportunity for further research in this area. We welcome faculty and organizations to join us in this area of exploring the themes deeper. It is recommended that future research prioritize leadership and organizational culture development and focus on enhancing collective capabilities through employee engagement and retention. This allows for the development of organizational best practices to facilitate employee retention and sustainable organizational growth.

Research, to me, is about exploring the unknown in a careful and organized way, all because I'm passionate about finding new ideas, collecting data, solving problems, and adding to what we know as a society. These experiences have not only deepened my expertise in this Organizational Health research project but have also instilled in me a resilient and adaptive approach to problem-solving. As I reflect on my research journey, I am grateful for the lessons learned and the growth achieved. — Fatima Momin

View the Organization Health infographic created by the research assistants.

graphic reads "revisioning organizational health"

More on this topic has been shared in the article “Demystifying Organizational Health: What is it and Why Does it Matter?” written by our team in the Journal of Innovation and Polytechnic Education (JIPE).  

References

Dweck, C. S. (2016). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Ballantine Books.

Gagnon, C., John, E., & Theunissen, R. (2017, September 7). Organizational health: A fast track to performance improvement. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/organizational-health-a-fast-track-to-performance-improvement

Lencioni, P. (2012). The five dysfunctions of a team: Team assessment. Pfeiffer, a Wiley Imprint.

Lencioni, P. (2012). The advantage: Why organizational health trumps everything else in business. Brilliance Audio.

Smet, A. D., Gagnon, C., & Mygatt, E. (2021, January 11). Organizing for the future: Nine keys to becoming a future-ready company. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/organizing-for-the-future-nine-keys-to-becoming-a-future-ready-company