ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGNS AND CHANGES

AND CULTURE SHIFTS …

SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, ANYWAY?

Head Start has been in business 50 years and some of you work out of the same offices that were in place in 1965. That

is a significant organizational cultural effect!

•Head Start has endured changes in service delivery, regulations, expectations,

requirements and almost everything else in each and every one of those 50 years, and a

lot of us are becoming …

BOILED FROGS!

WE HAVE ADAPTED INCREMENTALLY TO ALL THESE CHANGES BUT WE MAY NOT HAVE

Changed our organization and it’s culture sufficiently to accommodate the myriad of changes that are inherent in Head Start

ensuring that our organizations are

sufficiently structuredto support our changing

program

In the last five years…We have gotten – among other things -• DRS• CLASS• 5 year grants• Birth to five pilots• Proposed new standards• Major change in fiscal requirements• More and more restrictive oversight• School Readiness Requirements – even for babies• Possible MAJOR changes in service delivery models• Parent, Family and Community Engagement Initiative• Net loss of income (COLA vs. Consumer Price Index)• Huge influx of technology and technological requirements• And pretty much everything in between!

Any one of which can affect the organization’s culture, and all of which

together are major change elements and potentially major culture shift determinants

•As we consider Head Start of the future – we need to recognize the shifting paradigms we have experienced, and look to what we might be facing

as shifting paradigms for the future…

Joel Barker is the world’s guru on paradigms…

So a paradigm is…

• A system of rules and regulations that set boundaries … like the expectations of how we operate our Head Start programs within the boundaries of the standards and the review system

• A paradigm shift is when we move from one set of rules to another… like when we move from a 3 year grant cycle to a 5 year grant cycle, or a simple review system to a DRS review system or a simple part day part year system to a full day, longer year, partnership model…

• What have been your paradigm shifts????? Did you know that’s what your were experiencing????? And how have those shifts worked for you?????

And during all these shifts and changes – how has your organization shifted to make accommodations?• You should be looking at things like:

• Enhanced HR Systems – HR and HRD to accommodate the changing requirements for Head Start staff

• Organization structure – who reports to whom – to ensure the smooth operation of the program

• Fiscal systems – how is Head Start money managed within a larger organization and how are Head Start expenses – payroll, purchases, etc. – accommodated within the organization’s culture

• Board member understanding of the Head Start program so they can meet the requirements of the ACT

• Non-Head Start staff knowledge of and appreciation for Head Start and its program requirements

• Head Start staff members ability to adapt, change and engage

Assuming that all those organizational systems are in place and are working well, then how do we impact the culture?

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SO, WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE EXACTLY?

• The culture defines appropriate behavior

•Bonds and motivates individuals

•Asserts solutions where there is ambiguity

•Governs the way a company processes information

•Governs the way a company manages it’s internal relations and it’s values

• It functions at all levels, from subconscious to visible

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So, then, what is Organizational Climate?

It is a subset of behaviors within an organization’s culture

• INCLUDING…

• Orientation: member’s principal concern (control, excellence and so on)

• Interpersonal relations: such as dependency, cliques, etc.

• Supervision: supervisors’ influence on employee motivation

• Problem management: how the organization view and solves problems

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more...

• Management of mistakes: leaders’ attitudes toward subordinate errors

• Conflict management: processes used to resolve conflict

• Communication: prevalent styles and characteristics of communications

• Decision Making: how decisions are made and by whom; how the decision making process affects relationships

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and still more...

• Trust: who trusts whom, for what

•Management of rewards: what behaviors are rewarded, and what behaviors are reinforced

•Risk taking: The organization’s way of handling risky situations

• Innovation and change: who is responsible for instigating change, by what methods and to what effect

If the organization’s CLIMATE IS not healthy

•The organization’s culture will deteriorate and become

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THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE CONTAINS...

•Organizational history•Deep rooted beliefs•Assumptions•Presumed norms•Values•How things work•The “way we do things around here!”

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And these things support the culture...

• Policies and procedures

• Written and unwritten dress codes

• “Voluntary” activities (but expected to attend)

• Avoid conflict at all times

• Rites and rituals

• War stories

• Informal vs. formal communication channels

• How change is managed

• How decisions get made and who makes them

So… how does the culture of your organization work – and has it impacted your ability to manage the changes we face?

Okay – so what???? Now what????•In the face of current changes, potential changes with the standards in 2016 and the challenges in the field including state efforts – what is necessary back at home to get your agency culture and climate aligned with these changes

VISION SKILLS INCEN-TIVES

RE-SOURCES

ACTIONPLAN

SKILLS INCEN-TIVES

RE-SOURCES

ACTIONPLAN

VISION INCEN-TIVES

RE-SOURCES

ACTIONPLAN

VISION SKILLS RE-SOURCES

ACTIONPLAN

VISION SKILLS INCEN-TIVES

ACTIONPLAN

VISION SKILLS INCEN-TIVES

RE-SOURCES

MANAGING COMPLEX CHANGE

= ANXIETY

= CHANGE

= CONFUSION

= RESISTANCE

= FRUSTRATION

= TREADMILL

LEVELS OF CHANGEMANAGING

LEADERSHIP

Targeted StabilityEfforts to repeat our previous performance

Must manage even this change in order to remain stable

IncrementalGradual to major change… “more of” or “less of”

what we have been doing

This is manageable change for Head Start

TransformationalChanging the way we do things… possibly whole new lines of business. Major changes in the

assumptions and rules by which we do business

Transformation PlusMultiple transformational changes happening at the same time… almost the “perfect storm”

A very high level leadership challenge

MY ORGANIZATION’S CULTURE

Organization’s Function This

NEVER

happens

1 point

This

Sometimes

Happens

2 points

This

Often

Happens

3 points

This is

Routine at

our place

4 points 1. Our agency has a deeply embedded history and that history is very

much a part of who we are now. We make sure our new employees know and

understand the importance of the history of our organization.

2. Our organization’s leaders believe strongly and deeply in our

history and our current work is merely an extension of our foundation

3. Our organization’s values stem from the early days of our business

And that drives everything we do.

4. Our policies and procedures are traditional and very thorough so we don’t

Often have to change or update them

5. There is rarely any overt conflict in our organization. Our leaders choose

not to deal with or address issues where there is likely to be conflict.

6. The communication in our organization is pretty formal, and the leadership

controls what gets communicated down the line. People don’t need to know

everything

7. The people at the top in our organization have deeply rooted beliefs about

how things should happen in our business. We don’t cross them.

8. Everyone in our organization is pretty clear about the rules we have to

follow and no one dares break them

9. There is a clear understanding of how decisions get made in our organization.

They are made at the top by one or two people

10. Frequently some people get treated differently than others in my organization. It’s not fair.

11. I often feel as though I’m battling an army when I try to get needed changes done in

my organization

12. There is often irritation or even resistance from top management when we have to create

a new procedure or policy for Head Start

13. We are just one of many programs in our agency and have to understand that Head Start’s

interests can’t come before everything else

14. Some of our board members have been on the agency board for over 20 years

15. Our systems and procedures make it difficult to process work easily

Totals

Score: 15 - 25 Your culture is fairly flexible and supportive 16 - 35 Your culture is not very flexible

36 – 45 Your culture is fairly rigid 46 – 60 Your culture in anchored in stone

MY ORGANIZATION”S CLIMATE Organization’s Function This

NEVER

happens

1 point

This

Sometimes

Happens

2 points

This

Often

Happens

3 points

This is

Routine at

our place

4 points

1. In my organization most people don’t trust their fellow workers. Too many reasons

not to.

2. People in my organization are often unclear about their roles and responsibilities.

3. Small groups of workers in my organization cluster together often, in support of each

other and exclude people they don’t trust.

4. Mistakes in my organization are not treated kindly. People who make mistakes need

to be reminded of their errors.

5. In my organization we communicate with each other without going through formal

channels because we never get the truth or straight talk from the formal channel

anyway.

6. Everyone knows it is not wise to take too many risks in my organization. We could be

in deep trouble if we went outside the “corporate box”.

7. Communication in my organization is sometimes fuzzy and often misunderstood. We

don’t seem to get details right when we are communicating with each other

8. Change does not come easy to us. There is a lot of resistance to changing things and

ways of doing things in my organization

9. Sometimes when I walk into my office I can pretty much tell that it is not going to

be a good day, just by the looks I see on my fellow employees and the attitudes I

sense from them

10. My fellow employees often are caught up in interpersonal conflict.

11. Many of the supervisors in my organization are not well thought of by those they

supervise.

12. Some people in my organization can ruin my day by their snotty attitudes

13. We have interpersonal problems among and between our employees that never get

resolved

14. Some people in my organization get away with breaking the rules, and no body ever

stops them

15. We do not deal with conflict well in our organization.

Totals

Score: 15 - 25 Your organization’s climate is pretty cool 16 - 35 Your organization’s climate is moderately cool

36 – 45 Your organization’s climate is pretty warm, 46 – 60 Your organization’s culture is red hot, and is probably not

And could be an uncomfortable place to be a comfortable place to be at all