Organization leaders have to change with the times in order to effectively lead a company.  Identifying and getting information on some vital issues for organization change is not always easy to find. Yet, without this insider information,  leaders can find their confidence remains low when it comes to being able to be a real power broker who gets things done.  Here are several  business related issues organization leaders must learn about in order to build real confidence as a leader. 

Organization Development: Leaders must have the confidence to know how an organization is put together in order to be able to lead all parts of the organization. To simplify this concept, think of an organization like an automobile. You might know that you put gas in the tank when it’s empty, but if you don’t know that you also have to keep the oil clean and fill other fluids your automobile is not going to run correctly. The organization doesn’t run by one unit. Knowing how the organization functions as a whole is true organization development. Many leaders are not clear about this concept and find their companies and organization suffering as a result.    

Organization Growth: Similar to knowing how an organization is developed, a leader needs to have the confidence to properly grow an  organization. Organization growth patterns differ according to the different types of organizations. It’s important to design methods to forecast future needs of your organization or company in order to make right decisions for growth. Leaders without knowledge of how growth affects all aspects of the organization will find that some decisions result in dysfunction instead of increases.   

Systems Concepts: Another concept that few leaders have strong confidence in is really understanding systems concepts. This lack of understanding is easy to see when a leader seems to get hit by what seems like sudden changes in the economy or society that negatively affects their company. While it sounds complex, the basic explanation of systems in organizations is that every organization or group that exists is effected by what goes on around it. Another concept of systems is that whatever you do to one part of the organization will affect the rest of the organization.   

Power Issues: Some organization leaders lack confidence to know how to use power to get things done. Power can be gained through position or by having resources others desire. One resource is your knowledge base and knowledge really is power in organizations.  Having power means being able to reach goals, quicker and easier than those without the power. Gain power by being willing to use your leadership to take on high profile positions. Get your name out and take calculated risks that let you gain visibility.  

Politics in Business: Acting politically takes a lot of confidence. It means knowing when to speak and what to say when you speak. You have to understand change of command and when to approach one person over another in a business. Being politically savvy is important to advance your career as a leader. It’s important to understand business politics and be able to use your skills to influence others in a positive and effective manner.  

Build Networks: Leaders need strong networks of influence makers who can get things done. This is a part of the power and politics of leadership. Knowing people who have power is a key confidence builder for women leaders to use in order to move ahead.  Go to the right gatherings where you can be in the company of people who have contacts and information you need to get your goals met. Be willing to stand out from the crowd and make your mark as a risk taker worth knowing.  

Look the part: Your physical appearance is a visual way to show your confidence as a leader. You have to look like a leader to be considered a leader. That means dressing for the part at all times; and even a trip to the grocery store means dressing to impress. That doesn’t mean a woman in leadership has to wear high heels all of the time but it does mean being well groomed with a style that says “professional.” Take time to create a professional wardrobe that you can count on to take you to any occasion at any time of day.  

Each of the issues presented above can be quite complex in nature. Some can take years to master when you try to do this alone. But taking time to learn important organization issues will build your confidence to be a leader who gets things done in an effective manner. You will feel less intimidated by others, you will move easier in the high powered world of leadership and your self confidence will greatly increase in your role as an organizational leader.

Organization leaders need to know a very important factor about companies; that is the organization culture. Organization culture exists in every business if you recognize it or not.  The culture of the organization is the normal way things happen. It shows the business values, habits, behaviors and expected activities. An effective leader will recognize the organization culture and know how it affects each of the company operations. These 7 tips will help you recognize and understand organization culture.

1. Basic Language. People in companies have a particular way of talking. They use certain words or acronyms to describe operations or activities. This way of talking will differ according to your business and industry, as well as the norms and behaviors in the company.

2. Dress. Clothing styles will be different in different businesses. Observe how new people look when they first enter the company and how they start to change their dress as they stay longer to get an understanding of the spoken or unspoken dress code.

3. Meetings. Does your company conduct long or short meetings or do the people meet at all? Each organization will have its own way of gathering people to meet or not.

4. Communication. Is it common for everyone in the organization to know what’s going on at all times or does the communication stay at the top levels? Some companies freely share information while other workers always feel left out when it comes to communications.

5. Chain of Command. Culture lets you know how to address senior level people in a company and also tells you whom you can address directly or not. For some, you can go straight to the President’s office while other companies are very stick about who talks to whom.

6. Office. What you see in office spaces can tell if a company is casual or formal. There might be closed doors or no doors to close which makes the atmosphere different in either case. This also controls communication patterns and interactions.

7. Groups. Are there groups that form strong cliques in that only allow certain members into the inner circle? Are you a member of those cliques? Those on the inside often overlook the many people on the outside. This can have an effect on the trust levels in the business. 

These 7 quick tips can help you look for the patterns in your business that form a part of the organization culture. When you can recognize the culture, you will be able to better interact with more people and understand how to form organization change and growth strategies.

It’s always interesting to hear people discuss the question “How do we manage change?”  As an organizational specialist, change presents a constant concern. Even when I’m training organization executives and managers, the question of change brings up the idea that change is often something that suddenly is out of hand and uncontrollable.

Here’s the business and organization reality; change is a part of growth in organizations and in life.  In fact, change is happening on a constant basis.  You can find ways to measure this change so it doesn’t happen by surprise.  In fact, it seems that the lack of forecasting some rather obvious changes by leaders in major US corporations is what resulted in a lot of our current economic crisis – but I digress.

Here are a few basic concepts to know about change and change management.

• The first concept is that organizations are “open systems.”  That means they are a part of the world around them and they are open to the influences of the world around them. Recognizing changes for organizations means staying aware of what’s happening outside as well as inside of the organization.
• An open system is influenced by both internal and external forces.  Internal forces can be controlled from within the organization while external forces effect the organization but these can’t be controlled by the organization. 
• Internal forces that affect any organization include its products or service lines, leadership and management structures, policies and procedures, human resources, marketing strategies, and operations.  These are directly controlled by organization leadership and should be influenced by external changes.
• Some external forces include the political, economic, financial educational, societal changes that directly affect the organization’s industry, location, product, people and stakeholders.
• Both internal and external forces can be watched and monitored in order to predict to the best of the organization leaders ability, the impacts any changes in these forces will have on the organization.  For instance, if politicians change a law that directly affects how your industry exchanges goods and services, this will change internal operations of the organization.  If prices of gas and oil increase and the income levels of people who purchase cars remains relatively the same, the car industry would need to make adjustments to respond to the needs and economic situation of the buying market.
• All parts of a system must work in harmony for greatest effectiveness.  Change often goes array in organizations because the effects of that change on various departments is often overlooked.  In other words, change in one area of the organization has a ripple effect on other areas.  Say for instance, marketing decides that products need to be shipped faster in order to increase customer service. The marketing department creates marketing materials promising faster shipping. However, the shipping department is the ones that have to make the faster shipping happen. They need to inform the marketing department about whether or not faster shipping is possible. This means also looking at the production department to see if products are available faster on a regular basis. It also includes accounting and of course human resources. In other words, every part of the organization system must get involved in a change for it to be effective.
• Society influences changes in the desires of your target market. It is important to watch how society is influencing the buying habits of people in your target market group. While your company provides a particular type of product or service you have to be sure you’re relating in a contemporary manner to the rapidly changing ideas of what’s in or out for your target market group. For instance, if you target young people, you’ll have to constantly change your inventory to keep up with their changing interests.  Some companies fail to make change quickly enough at price points that fit the buying ability of their target group.
• Keep your finger on the pulse point of the consumer market.  In other words, keep looking outward in order to bring new ideas inward.  Hold focus group meetings of people in your target market or let consumers ‘touch” your products.  Companies that set up stations that allow people to try their products have a way to conduct real time research by watching reactions and seeing what keeps people coming back. Even in highly self service industries, company sales people can be trained to ask more questions about buying interests and what the consumer wants. Collect this data to recognize coming changes you need to meet.

Change is going to happen because the world will never stand still.  Setting up systems to collect information is an important and basically simple way to stay informed of coming changes. Awareness for change takes place at all levels of the organization. You can move from simple data collection and awareness systems to more complex forms of forecasting to be sure you are controlling change instead of it controlling you.

Tiger Woods is all the news these days and that’s not good; at least not for the reasons he’s in the news.  Some might argue that this infidelity situation with so many women is a personal thing between him and his wife. But it also brings up a question for business owners and organizational leaders who select a public “face” to represent their businesses. 

It’s a well known marketing fact that using famous personalities is a great marketing strategy.  Well-known celebrities quickly attract attention, build instant credibility and promote trust in the product or services they represent. The goal of course, is to increase sales as much as potentially possible.

But what happens when the “face of the business” messes up?  One of the first things the public wonders about is, will there be a loss of endorsements? While worrying about the loss of money for an already wealthy celebrity is entertaining, this issue opens up the opportunity to think about and discuss how having a person attached to your business who is sucking in negative publicity on the personal level can affect the credibility of the business.    

Perhaps it’s time for businesses to change their ideas about who or what should be representing their business to the public. 

No one is perfect so it’s impossible to know what will happen with any human being at any time. That makes selecting a “face” to represent your business or organization a tricky marketing strategy. You’re counting on the person to propel your product or service to higher levels in the eyes of your target market. 

But what happens if you get a Tiger Woods situation?  What happens when your business name is totally linked to a person that totally messes up? How do you change the negative image that could stick to you based on your selection of a representative? 

That is always a potential risk that has to be considered when dealing with human nature.  It might be the luck of the draw to find a person who starts with and maintains a spotless background over the long term to be your representative.  The problem is that it seems to be a gamble these days. With the widespread availability of video and audio devices almost nothing is a secret anymore.  Add a down economy and the potential to benefit financially by either outing someone’s bad behavior or better yet, having a relationship to someone shaky and nothing is sacred anymore.

Whether or not Tiger Woods will remain the face of all of the major companies he’s been affiliated with after this situation still remains to be seen.  Like other celebrities that have provided us with their own version of entertainment through their failures for a few weeks, the world will wait to see what the companies will decide. Meanwhile, this contemporary dilemma gives business and organization professionals just one more detail to consider if you intend (or already do) select a public person to be the marketing face of your business. 

This is just one more issue to add to the strategic plan when looking at what changes to make in your organization for 2010.