Managers & the Adaptive Cycle

1. Managers & the Adaptive Cycle Alfred Baars ValeriaPogadajeva RoelofReinders Tobias van Oerle Group 5 Information Management & Organizational Change

2. Agenda • Introduction • The four phases of the Adaptive Cycle • Equilibrium • Crisis • New combinations • Business • Conclusions • Discussion

3. Adaptive Cycle

4. Equilibrium • Desired state • Upon reaching, this state must be maintained • Managers: • Mintzberg’s basic roles • Traditional management skills

5. Equilibrium (2) • Basic roles: • Informational • Monitor, disseminator, spokesperson • Interpersonal • Figurehead, leader, liaison • Decisional • Entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, negotiator

6. Equilibrium (3) • Management skills: • Political • Conceptual • Interpersonal • Diagnostic

7. Equilibrium (4) • What makes a good manager? • Positive environment • Succession and long term sense of reward • Willing to fight, but knows which battles to pick • Effectiveness and efficiency

8. Effectiveness and efficiency

9. Equilibrium (5) • But.. what makes a bad manager? • Insecurity • Personal dissatisfaction • Superman

10. Superman

11. Equilibrium (6) • But.. what makes a bad manager?

12. Equilibrium statements 1. A good manager can prevent an organization from going from equilibrium into crisis. 2. A manager can only really prove himself by performing well in a crisis situation/out of the ordinary-situation. 3. When the company is transitioning into a crisis, managers should back off in order not to make it worse.

13. Adaptive cycle

14. Crisis and Reorganization “The old and familiar no longer applies and the future is uncertain and precarious.” A.W. Abcouwer, B.G. Parson Desired state: • Understanding the current situation • Number of alternatives for future

15. Crisis and Reorganization (2) Who is needed to reach “new combinations”?

16. Managers and leaders

17. Crisis and Reorganization (3) Crisis leadership: • Emergency phase • Stabilize situation • Buy time • Adaptive phase • Understand the causes/trends • Build capacity to thrive

18. Crisis and Reorganization (4) Risk: Hunker down or press “Reset” • Short-term fixes • Tighten controls • Restructure plans • Etc.

19. Crisis and Reorganization (5) Leader’s tasks: • Foster adaptation • Excel existing and develop new • Embrace disequilibrium • Orchestrate conflict • Generate leadership • Distribute leadership responsibly

20. Responsibleleadership

21. Crisis and Reorganization statements 4. In the crisis situation it is safer for an organization to stabilize the existing business rather than work on new combinations. 5. The success of the company transitioning from crisis to new combinations is more dependent on employees than on a manager. 6. Inviting external personnel in the reorganization process is the most effective way of looking for new combinations.

22. Adaptive cycle

23. New combinations: introduction

24. Innovation: a magicalprocess? • Don’tbelievethis commercial!! • Creativity is weird and cannotbeforced • Butitcanbeencouraged • Howcan management help? • … also, theircoffee is terrible.

25. New combinations • Climbing out of a crisis situation • “Don’t think in problems, think in oppurtunities” • Start of a creative process

26. New combinations (2) • Part 1: coming up with ideas • Starting point: • The market • Also take into account: • The current product • Competitor’s products • Role of the manager: • Remove protocol, create a free environment, include people from different areas

27. New combinations (3) • Part 2: enhancingideas • Determinewhichideas are promising • Makesure all stakeholders are involved • Ifnecessary, do research • Encouragegoodideas • Cutoff bad ones • Role of the manager: • Guide the creativeprocess, plan resources, increaseeffectiveness

28. New combinations (4) • Part 3: finalizing the process • Form small team • Evaluateideas up to this point • Select oneforextensiveprototyping/development • Hopefully climb into business phase • Role of the manager: • Make decisions, allocate resources

29. New combinations: summary • The idealinnovative manager would look somethinglikethis: • Notafraid to skip protocol ifneeded • Can start up multiple ideas • Allocates resources bycuttingoffunpromisingideas, thusgranting room forpromisingones • Notafraid to maketoughdecisions • Note: the manager does not have to becreative, butjustable to guide the process!

30. New combinations statements 7. Lookingforinnovationshouldbe part of the daily business process, even in anequilibrium 8. It is best to focus onproducingonenewthoroughlydeveloped product, ratherthancreating multiple less-developed prototypes 9. A ‘standard’ day-to-day manager is uncapable of guiding a creativeprocess

31. Adaptive cycle

32. Business • Focus on the desiredimprovement/newdevelopment. • Priorityis reaching the goal • Development is slowedbyanythingoutside the focus • Strong management required

33. Business (2) • Dynamic and fastgrowth, requires a stablestrategy in order to besuccessful • Start Standardisation • Optimise and maintain efficiency • To grow: Focus on the futurenoton the past.

34. Liftingyourstandards

35. Business (3) • Goal is to return to the equilibriumquadrant • Not the same as the oldequilibrium • Maintainstandards and efficiencyonceequilibrium is reached

36. Business Statements 10. For companies in very dynamic environments it is interesting to stay in the business part of the cycle. Because being in an equilibrium phase (which is standardized and bound by a lot of rules) does not benefit them. 11. Though looking forward is important, past practices should be a focus of the business part of the cycle. 12. Traditional management skills should not be the focus when looking for a new manager that has to guide your company back in to the equilibrium.

37. Conclusions Standardize Maintain efficiency Focus on the future Be a leader Foster adaptation Embrace disequilibrium Generate leadership No protocols Encourage divergent thinking Cut off bad ideas quickly Focus on promising ones • Mintzberg’s basic roles • Traditional management skills

38. BREAK • Coffee (noSenseo) • Afterwards: discussion

39. Discussion

40. Equilibrium statements 1. A good manager can prevent an organization from going from equilibrium into crisis. 2. A manager can only really prove himself by performing well in a crisis situation/out of the ordinary-situation. 3. When the company is transitioning into a crisis, managers should back off in order not to make it worse.

41. Crisis and Reorganization statements 4. In the crisis situation it is safer for an organization to stabilize the existing business rather than work on new combinations. 5. The success of the company transitioning from crisis to new combinations is more dependent on employees than on a manager. 6. Inviting external personnel in the reorganization process is the most effective way of looking for new combinations.

42. New combinations statements 7. Lookingforinnovationshouldbe part of the daily business process, even in anequilibrium 8. It is best to focus onproducingonenewthoroughlydeveloped product, ratherthancreating multiple less-developed prototypes 9. A ‘standard’ day-to-day manager is uncapable of guiding a creativeprocess

43. Business Statements 10. For companies in very dynamic environments it is interesting to stay in the business part of the cycle. Because being in an equilibrium phase (which is standardized and bound by a lot of rules) does not benefit them. 11. Though looking forward is important, past practices should be a focus of the business part of the cycle. 12. Traditional management skills should not be the focus when looking for a new manager that has to guide your company back in to the equilibrium.

44. Anyfurtherquestions? • Thankyouforyourattention!