In last week’s blog I talked about being willing within the organization to take a chance on trying something new if it means a better organization This week’s post suggests some strategies to get to that point. So here are my suggestions to achieve that fearless organization:

Strategy #1: Eliminate silos – The TLS Continuum and continuous process improvement requires that the process must go across all segments of the organization. As a result we need to have the input of everyone. Silos hinder that effort.

Strategy #2: Open door policy – Let the organization know that there is an open door policy in affect and live it. Be open to anyone within the organization to come to you with ideas or concerns about how the organization is being run and take the suggestions to heart and see if they make sense within the organization.

Strategy #3: Lets have some playtime – Many major corporations around the world have found the value in letting the human capital assets within the organization have time to work on their own initiated projects with the understanding that the organization has first rights to anything they develop if it proves to be in line with the goals of the organization. 3M did it with the Sticky notes. Many of the high tech organizations have done it which have resulted inn many of the devices you maybe working on as you read this.

Strategy #4: Active Collaboration – Get everyone involved in the path forward of the organization. Value the ideas and suggestions that the collaboration develops. Make sure everyone in the organization is involved in determining solutions to pressing problems within the organization.

Strategy #5: Eliminate risk penalties- If you still believe that you have to do performance reviews, turn the process around and concentrate not on what is wrong but on the positives. Forget about penalizing someone because they tried something and it did not work.

Strategy #6: Establish an employee value environment – Determine what the value of each human capital asset is to the organization. They are no longer expense items. They are corporate assets. Determine what the value of that asset is to the organization

Strategy #7: Develop a strong communication plan – The TLS Continuum and process improvement require that the total organization understand why changes are being made. Be sure to develop a communication system that gets the message out to everyone in the organization. Show them how the changes benefit them.

Strategy #8: Eliminate micromanagement – Fear comes from command and control. Do this or else can no longer be part of the vocabulary of the organization. Management’s role is changed to one of trainer and coach not the taskmaster. Rid the organization of the top down manager and move to the collaborative environment.