Oxford Libero Consulting

Building Capacity for RedevelopingYour Organization

White Paper

The Standard Result

Too often, underperformingorganizations turn to a new leader tosave them from themselves. Theseleaders come in with good credentials,relevant experience and a fire toimprove the organization. They haveheard the war stories from theorganization. They also have all kinds ofopinions from the hiring group on whatneeds to be done.

Inside the organization, the personnelhave many years of experience, have awill to improve the fortunes of the

organization and unfortunately,significant frustration. They are oftenblamed for the lack of success of theorganization. It could be true or not.

The traditional approach is to start witha strategic review, go on a road showand begin the process of organizationredevelopment. Unfortunately, thesenew ideas are sent to the sameineffective organization forimplementation. This leads to inevitablefrustration both in the trenches andexecutive suite.

This is the point where organization change can go either way. Leaders have the choiceof working with the organization or blowing it up and starting again. This is usuallywhere the consultants come in looking to find fault and sacrifice a few bodies to thechange gods. The question is, was this fair? Does a new direction really change anorganization? Are these consultants really vested in doing what is right for theorganization or do they find fault because that is what they are there for? Are you, asthe new leader, guilty of ‘management by magic wand’ where you give some direction,wave your wand and expect years of issues to magically correct themselves?

Rather than finding fault and making sacrifices, wouldn’t you prefer to heal theorganization and understand who can help and who will hinder your new direction?

Management by Magic Wand?

The Oxford Libero Way

There is no silver bullet. Organizationsare not reformed by one, two or threeday courses. Adding a single programcan improve organizational efficiencybut will not transform your organization.Leadership does not come from a ‘magicwand’. Change does not happenbecause the leader says so, but througha comprehensive integrated programthat changes every aspect of anorganization.

At Oxford Libero Consulting, theextensive experience we have inorganizational redesign forms thefoundation of our integrated reformapproach. It allows us to take on themost complex change initiatives. It alsomeans that we can support theintroduction of any of our programswhile keeping the big picture of yourorganizational change in mind.

Organizations seek to undertake twotypes of organizational change: radicaland incremental. Programs like SixSigma, Lean, etc. are excellent for the

incremental changes most well designedorganizations need (Process Control inFigure 1). We recognize these as criticalprograms for ensuring on-goingincremental change. This is importantfor maintaining the momentum afterthe implementation of our radicalchange process. However, it doesn’tenact radical change.

Figure 1: Oxford Libero Change Model

Our process seeks to rebuild theorganization to meet its strategic needs.We completely redesign the operationand then ‘burn the bridges behind us’ toensure that the organization cannotresume its old ways after the change.To do this requires a complete rethinkand redesign of: organizational culture;mandate; vision; strategies andobjectives; processes and workflows;policies and business rules;accountabilities, roles andresponsibilities; decisions andinformation requirements; technologyand infrastructure; procedures; andthen a program of process control tokeep the program evolving.

We can offer each of our programsindependently. For organizationslooking to effect significant change, allof our programs seamlessly integrateinto a single program.

By combining our: Strategy Program;Leadership Program; BusinessIntelligence Program; EnterpriseArchitecture; and Quality Program, we

are able to completely redesign andimplement a comprehensive andsustainable change for your organization(Figure 2). In addition to these programs,we have a series of support programs thatassist in the implementation of effectiveorganization projects.

Figure 2: Oxford Libero Delivery Program

Redeveloping Your OrganizationAs a leader, you have the choice of

dismantling, only to have to build again,or redeveloping and adjusting yourorganization with surgical precision,effectively putting the levers of controlin your hands. There are alwaysconsultants willing to take your moneyto do the former. We prefer to work toput your leadership back in control, ableto pull the levers and have theorganization adjust to your strategicintent. We do this while buildingleadership capacity and correspondinglyidentifying your high potentialmanagement candidates.

Our Program can take you through acomplete organizational reformationfacilitated by Oxford Libero Consultingbut led by your leadership group. This isdone while you develop your leadershipcapacity throughout all levels of theorganization, creating your nextgeneration of senior leaders. Ourapproach is consultant light, providingfacilitated sessions for all levels ofleadership and mentorship to ensurethe program continues to transform

the organization. The transformationwill be executed by your completeleadership team as part of ourleadership development program. Wetake each level of management througha structured program that will cover allaspects of organizational redesign at theappropriate levels of the organization.Participants will be taken throughprograms ranging from 10 to 20 weeks,building their skills and understanding oftheir role while they work on theorganization. For many, this may be thefirst time they truly understand theirrole in the organization.

The executive team is taken through aprogram, customized to their situation,called Leadership by Design. It buildsthe capacity of the executive team tomentor the organization whilerethinking their strategic intent. Thesenior and middle management teamsare taken through our Leadership in theMiddle Program. The critical frontlinemanagement team is taken through ourLeadership on the Line Program.

The Leader By Design®

Leaders By Design are primarilyresponsible for defining theorganization’s Strategic ValueProposition and being sure that theorganization is effectively delivering thatvalue. They create an organization withpurpose on purpose….AND they craftthe organization so its resources areproperly focused and fully optimized.

Leaders By Design are responsible forthe organization’s sustainable vitality-for the organization being an integrated,congruent whole. A Leader By Designplays two critical roles:

The Architect. This is the role they playat the interface between theorganization and the marketplace. Theyfocus less on the status quo and moreon what the organization needs tobecome to continue being vital.

Additionally, The Architect designs thesystems and structures that focus theresources of the organization.

The Organizational DevelopmentConsultant. This is the role they play atthe interface between the organizationand the Tactical Teams. The Leaders ByDesign are responsible for being surethe organization is creating the capacityit needs to succeed and for how wellpeople are connecting to, and activelyparticipating in, making the organizationhappen.

Of these two roles—The Architect andthe Organizational DevelopmentConsultant, their primary focus is on theArchitect role.

The Leader In The Middlesm

The primary focus of a Leader In TheMiddle is on the interface between theTactical Teams and the organizationitself. These are the classic MiddleManagers. They are the Value StreamManagers who are responsible for theeffective execution of the flow of aproduct or service. Because of thisresponsibility, they are the ones who

lead (or can impede) strategic change.They sit at the critical interface of thechanging strategy, being driven by theexecutive managers—the Leaders ByDesign, and the day-to-day execution ofthe organization, being led by the first-line supervisors—the Leaders On TheLine. As such, they must bothunderstand and participate in thestrategic evolution process, and theymust understand and assist the LeadersOn The Line in resetting their teams’capacity to execute the changingbusiness model of the organization.

While their primary emphasis is on theOrganizational Development Consultantrole, they must also actively participatein the Architect role of the Leaders ByDesign and in the HR Generalist role ofthe Leaders On The Line.

The Leader On The Line®

The primary responsibility as a LeaderOn The Line is to execute the day-to-daywork of a part of their organization. Ofthe two roles they play—the ChiefOperating Officer and the HRGeneralist— their primary emphasis willbe on the HR Generalist role.

The Leaders On The Line are thenumber one reason why employees stayor leave, are a major factor inproductivity, and are the principalarchitect of skill development formembers of their team. Their ability toconnect and fully utilize both thecurrent and potential talent in the teamto achieve the team’s Critical Outcomesis central to the success of the team.

Program Architecture

Our transformation program starts withthe executive team. We take themthrough the Leadership by Designprogram. This is generally a 10 weekprogram aimed at fulfilling the Architectrole, chartering the transformationinitiative and establishing a team tomentor the senior and middlemanagement as they undertake theirredevelopment projects. This work iscompleted before we roll the remainderof the program out to the organization.This is critical, as the cohesion andclarity of the executive team isfundamental to organizational success.

The second stage, under the mentorship

Figure 3: Leadership Program Areas of Focus in Organizational Redevelopment

of the executive team, is to take the senior and middle management teams through our20 week Leadership in the Middle program. The functions of this program are to havethe management redevelop their units to support the new strategic direction and equipthem with the tools to manage the people side of change. This begins the tacticalprocess of restructuring the organization and rethinking its operation.

At week 12 of the Leadership in the Middle program, the senior and middle managementteams, will be in a position to begin the process of mentoring your frontline managers.The most critical aspect of our transformation process is converting the strategic intent

of the organization into tangible actions.The interface to your most valuableassets are your frontline managers. TheLeadership on the Line program equipsyour managers with the organizationalknowledge and skills to ensure acomplete organizational transformation.The integrated nature of the programsensure that a common message isembedded in all aspects of theorganizational redevelopment.

The Leadership on the Line program is a20 week program that provides the skillsand perspective necessary tounderstand and execute their newaccountability. It helps them tounderstand the role of the ChiefOperating Officer, by having them ‘go tothe balcony’ to understand their part ofthe organization. It then equips themwith the tools necessary to lead theirteam effectively.

Our consultancy provides a programfacilitator who takes your team throughthe bi-weekly sessions (4 hours each) foreach of the leadership programs. Wewill also provide a mentor consultant tooversee the development program inyour organization for the duration

of the redevelopment effort. Ourapproach relies on building strength inyour management team and havingthem own the redevelopment effort.Rather than having a team ofconsultants come in to drive the changeinitiative for the people in theorganization, we expect the people inthe organization to put in the effort tochange themselves, with our assistanceand the mentorship of your seniorleadership.

Overall, the program will take theorganization through a complete andsuccessful redevelopment in 42 weeks.The leadership program is foundationalto the redevelopment approach. Inaddition we have a number ofintegrated programs that we use tocustomize the program to the uniqueneeds of the organization.

Program Structure

Our leadership program is based on theSocratic style of education, much likethe oldest English speaking university inthe World, Oxford University. Oxfordhas been using this method successfullyfor 800 years. Our program is not a

traditional ‘training’ program withPowerpoint slides and lectures. Instead,it is a facilitated discussion focused onthe course content and reviewinglearning from previous assignments.This allows for learning both from ourfacilitator and the remainder of theparticipants. These sessions are heldevery two weeks for the duration of theprogram. In between sessions,participants are engaged in assignmentsthat are used to rethink their operationand prepare them to manage effectivelyin the reformed organization.Participants are twinned with a mentorin their organization who assuresalignment throughout the organizationas the reform occurs and assists theparticipant in their development asleaders.

The approach ‘sweats the details’ ofstrategic reform, driving it right to thefront line. It provides the platform foryour own people to drive the changeinstead of a group of consultants withlimited organizational context. Thepresentation of the work completed bythe leadership teams to the executiveteam also allows your organization

to identify high potential future leadersand those who might not be able tomake the transition. Ultimately, yourorganization is left with clear: strategy;accountability; roles; processes; decisionstructures; and informationrequirements. You are also left with amanagement team who understandtheir expectations and who have a roadmap for reforming their organization inline with your strategic direction. As anorganizational leader, this puts thelevers of control firmly in your hands.You will no longer suffer from the‘Management by Magic Wand’ approachto management as you will have anorganization that understands their rolein making your strategy reality.

Additional Programs

The leadership program provides theplatform for a comprehensive andstrategic organizational redevelopment.We supplement this program with ourunique approaches in strategy, businessintelligence, quality programs andenterprise architecture. In each case,we break outside of the norm to get tothe true value of these programs. We

Figure 4: Oxford Libero Consulting Comprehensive Program Model

encourage you to review our program offerings to get further information on how wecan use our innovative programs to push your organization to its true potential. Fromassessing the appropriate type of strategic program that your organization shouldundertake to developing appropriate decision structures to support your BusinessIntelligence initiative, Oxford Libero Consulting has experience in designing programsthat get real results. Our focus is on outputs not inputs.

We also supplement our program offering with a number of training programs thatsupport building internal capacity in your organization. We provide training in projectmanagement and project systems, Prosci change management, business analysis,business process management and Matrix Management 2.0. All are part of developingyour own agents of change similar to our Oxford Libero consultants.

More Information…We provide significantly more

information about each of ourleadership programs in individualdocuments located on our website. Inthese you will get a full appreciation forthe content and approach to delivery.These are not standard 3 day courses.These are truly transformative.

For more information on our programand each of the sub-programs we offer,please consult our website atwww.oxlib.ca or contact us for our moredetailed documents describing each ofthe programs we offer. We are happyto provide additional details on ourprograms and about our consultinggroup.

We also encourage you to visit ourwebsite and follow us on Facebook andTwitter. We are happy to providebriefings in each of our areas ofexpertise. We often have uniqueperspectives that you may find

interesting or even provocative. Wealso provide information regardingpublic courses being offered by OxfordLibero Consulting throughout the year.

Contact Us:

You can contact us via e-mail at:info@oxlib.ca

Phone:Michael Dumelie B.Admin. CMAMBA(Oxon.), Partner(306) 502-1036

Barbara Osborne B.Admin. CMA,Partner(306) 541-5061

Address:3036 Albert Street, Regina SK S4S 3N7