Imagine an organization in which the energy and vitality of free and responsible people giving their best sets the tone of everyday interactions. A place in which each person feels that the company and their colleagues have their back, and where trust and appreciation are a natural part of people’s daily experience. This is not just a vision, but a realistic future for your company.

All too often, organizations work at levels of effectiveness far from their full potential. People adjust their behavior to the limiting expectations and rigid structures of their work environment. They operate by rote, and bring only the minimum required motivation and energy to what they do.

The true challenge of improving this situation lies not only in removing impediments to great work from the rules, structures and processes of the organization, but also in giving people the space they need to change the patterns of behavior they adopted to cope with their environment, and which dampen their vitality.

It is an observable fact that the drive that goes with good organizational development towards a more flexible and agile performance culture, which gives people the freedom and responsibility most of them want, often fails to get out of parking position.

The reason? People hesitate to use their new-found freedoms, or doubt the integrity behind the change process. The key to success at this juncture lies in giving people the time they need to self-reflect and to gain trust in the intentions and competence driving the changes.

The key is to give people the opportunity to acquire the knowledge they need to reflect on their changing roles and so to ensure they succeed. This means giving teams the opportunity to learn through facilitated retrospectives. It also means doing regular workshops with management teams to reflect on strategy and their roles in its development and implementation, to ensure that they work on improving their organization, rather than just surviving their operational tasks.

The investment of time and resources in people and the organization is worth it if you want to reap the fruits of a successful transformation. The goal is to cultivate an organizational culture in which each member feels alive and enabled to do great work, a culture through which not only the structure and processes of the organization are transformed, but also one that enables its people to live their full potential at work.