Problem Solving – Ask a Library Leader

There are many pathways to organizational change. Some organizations choose a problem-based approach while others choose appreciative inquiry. Before getting into the heart of approaches and resources, it’s important to know that culture is essentially how organizations do things; it is its values. I like to consider Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why” philosophy with regard to the organization. Does the organization (library) and its leadership know why it exists, the purpose it serves and where it wants to go? The realization that there is a need for a change in culture may occur when there is not a shared or cohesive purpose, ideal or understanding about what leadership or executive management and staff are doing. When there is a disconnect, it may stem from the divergence of philosophies. Leadership may have one vision and the staff may feel and observe something completely different. In times of change and transformation in what an organization is doing, some staff may feel left behind and the entire organization finds itself at a crossroads. With all that being said, it’s important to acknowledge the proverbial elephant in the room with regard to culture. The saying, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” is attributed to management guru Peter Drucker and popularized by by Mark Fields of the Ford Motor Corporation. Organizational change is not easy and there is much written about what works, what doesn’t and why.

To begin to think about changing organizational culture, it’s helpful to consider both the problem solving process and the appreciative inquiry process and then a combination of approaches. The problem solving process essentially consists of 6 steps: problem definition, brainstorming, selection, development, action planning and assessment. (https://instituteod.com/six-steps-effective-problem-solving-within-organizations/). It can also be referred to as deficit-based problem solving.Appreciative inquiry is centered around a positive core which can approach change from all levels of a system. One way to view appreciative inquiry is through a cycle where teams define, discover, dream, design and deliver. Teams look at the topic of inquiry, appreciate what is working, imagine what is possible, determine what should be, and then create what will be:

“At its heart, AI is about the search for the best in people, their organizations, and the strengths-filled, opportunity-rich world around them. AI is not so much a shift in the methods and models of organizational change, but AI is a fundamental shift in the overall perspective taken throughout the entire change process to ‘see’ the wholeness of the human system and to “inquire” into that system’s strengths, possibilities, and successes.” (Stavros et al., 2015).

A combination approach begins with assessing your culture, engaging in a dialogue about the assessment, creating behavior promises and a metric for measuring values and behaviors, ensuring your behavior and metrics are aligned with your performance management practices, and regularly communicating and assessing. Beyond the basic problem solving and the appreciative inquiry approaches, there are other methods (https://www.process.st/change-management-models/) which range from Lewin’s three stages of change management to the ADKAR model’s bottom up approach and Bridge’s model which focuses on transition rather than change. Finally, there are tools (https://www.smartsheet.com/which-numerous-change-management-models-and-methodologies-right-your-organization) available which can be helpful in identifying which change management models (https://www.process.st/change-management-models/), methodologies and philosophies could be a right fit for your organization.

Category: Problem Solving

What are the best practices to change organizational culture? What success have other libraries had in changing the culture?