Resource #3: Organizational Assessment Snapshot

Organizational life is complex and our vitality as a team (or thousands of teams) is contingent upon many variables. When you are concerned about your organization's future sustainability or experiencing a struggle with your current reality, the most important question is "where do we begin?" A good leader will assess the overall situation, find the access point that is most open to a new approach and keep working until the whole system is revitalized.

This set of 7 questions is designed to help you get a quick "snapshot" of where your organization is struggling and where it is thriving. Our approach is based on the 21st Century business model on pages 8 to 10 in The Leadership Imperative that illustrates the components of your business in a "foundational hierarchy." The usefulness in viewing your organizational vitality in this framework is that when you are "unhealthy" in one arena, it means you have foundational work to do lower in the pyramid. Without a strong foundation of inner wisdom and relationships, it is much more difficult to improve processes and implement strategies that improve your business results. . Our rule of thumb, is to begin organizational change efforts at the lowest level on the pyramid that needs help, because improvements there will naturally flow upward!

Rate your team or organization on the 1 to 5 scale for each item below:

Good people are leaving to find more fulfilling opportunities Our people love working here and are happy in their jobs
1 2 3 4 5
We are not making budget and are just getting by Our profits are sufficient to reward and reinvest
1 2 3 4 5
Our strategy is unclear and we are working to different agendas We have a clear customer driven strategy that we are executing successfully
1 2 3 4 5
Operational inefficiencies are costly and making important changes takes too long We consistently find ways to improve workflow and eliminate non value added activity
1 2 3 4 5
Our people are apathetic and we do not help one another well We collaborate well and creatively utilize everyone's talent
1 2 3 4 5
Our people form adversarial subgroups and our distrust impedes peak performance We have the trust and mutual respect to resolve differences directly and quickly
1 2 3 4 5
We do not address performance issues; our culture includes fear, animosity, and lost heart We actively work from our highest principles and practice responsible self improvement
1 2 3 4 5

Place your rating here:
#1____ #2_____ #3____ #4____ #5____ #6____ #7____ Total_____

If your total score is 14 or below, your organization is in immediate jeopardy.
If your total score is 15 to 20, your organization is struggling and needs intervention.
If your total is 21 to 27, you are getting by and will thrive with the right assistance.
If your total is 28 to 35, congratulations, your organization is thriving - keep improving!

Wherever you assess your organization today, trust that change is not only possible, it is inevitable. The most important question is, will you provide the leadership to keep improving all of the aspects of your business' vitality to create the next level of business excellence?

Go on to Resource #4

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