Building Organizational Muscle: A New Series From Devin Lemoine
If you’ve worked out or had a fitness regimen at some point you’re probably familiar with a few of the focus areas that are part of a well-balanced fitness plan. Strength, endurance, and flexibility are some of the big ones for optimal functioning, whether you’re training for an athletic event or pursuing personal wellness. No matter your goal, it quickly becomes apparent that health and fitness can’t be achieved by overworking one area — it’s important to understand and take care of each vital part, in order to achieve the best outcomes for the whole.
I’ve been thinking about this philosophy in my own life, and in my work helping people, teams, and organizations function at their highest level. I turned 60 this month, and as I pondered my fitness, I realized that I was in a different place than I had been at 40 or even 50. Mainly, this involves flirting with the line between being in shape and being hurt! Some of the things I’ve always done for wellness no longer work for me, or no longer make sense.
I believe this is also true for organizations, especially coming off a wooly 2020-2022. It’s certainly true for my business. Even as Success Labs grows and reaches new levels of success, it’s clear that what worked in the past is not necessarily the right thing for now. And yet, in my business — and in my workouts — I sometimes persist in trying to ram through some of the same things I’ve done for years because they are habit, and to be honest — they don’t require much creativity or change from me.
Take a minute to think about your own business — especially your organizational fitness plan. Are you building Organizational Muscle through prioritizing Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility, or do you find yourself emphasizing one at the expense of others? Is your organization pursuing practices that serve it well right now, as opposed to what used to work?
Just like I’ve had to rethink my fitness goals around function and health, I think the same is true for many businesses. Sometimes, what seemed like a perfectly good practice, policy, or work culture in the past may no longer be as effective — and maybe it’s even starting to cause injury.
How to Build Organizational Muscle in a Healthy Way
In order to help us think about these concepts, I’m kicking off a blog series exploring different facets of building organizational muscle based on what your organization and people need to achieve success, and stay healthy for the long run. The series will include:
Building Strength through your leadership and values.
Building Endurance by improving speed and capacity.
Building Flexibility by focusing on agile strategic agendas, creativity, and flexing outdated policies and procedures to meet current need and realities.
Just like individuals, any organization can benefit from pursuing well-balanced fitness goals. It just requires a period of reflection, honest assessment, and commitment to building a team and an organization for the long game. I look forward to sharing my thoughts on this important topic, and hearing from you as we think about what organizations need to avoid harm and remain fit for the future.
Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to grow leaders, build teams and drive results through great people strategy. Contact us to get proactive about expanding your company’s potential, and stay up-to-date with our latest news and leadership development updates here.
