Seeking Sustainability

For organizations—for profit and not, large and small, public and private—in today’s fast-paced and changing landscape, sustainability is a critical factor in the development and implementation of change efforts.

“How do we make sure that today’s changes will sustain inside our organizations over time?”

“What programs or structures do we implement to support us in the face of constant change and challenges?”

These questions haunt leaders as they work for long-term success for their organizations; their employees; and their shareholders, communities, and other stakeholders. Organizations are complex human systems where the factors that influence sustainability are massively entangled. No one factor can be teased out and pointed to as the “magic one” that assures long-term sustainability. In fact, sustainability is affected by a milieu of interdependent and interrelated issues that must be addressed.

Even the definition of “sustainability” is evolving over time. In the past, sustainability meant building structures that could withstand the test of time. Today technology brings greater power and facility, environments evolve, economic and demographic landscapes shift, so any structures that we build today can, in fact, be obsolete tomorrow.

The challenge change agents face is to build flexible systems that sustain the original purpose of the initiative, even as the structures change in response to the needs of the organization. Sustainability was about building structures that would last. Sustainability today is about maintaining the purpose of an initiative, regardless of the structures that support it.

Think about leadership development programs. A company may invest huge resources in developing a program to identify and develop potential leaders from its own ranks. Structures are established for selecting and supporting these people, mentorships are set up, and an entire series of training events is scheduled. This can be a very expensive proposition.

Then, when the company goes through a time of fiscal challenges and budgets have to be decreased, hard decisions have to be faced. Leadership development is often seen as a luxury, and eliminated early in times of fiscal difficulty. Leadership development has not become a sustainable program in those organizations.

On the other hand, in organizations where leadership development has been established as a “concept” rather than a “program,” it has been sustainable. More experienced employees mentor newer employees. Training is scheduled when it can be. Young, promising leaders are identified and nurtured through networks in the organization.

In the Human Systems Dynamics Institute, we use a model that helps us build this flexibility and adaptability into our systems to assure the long-term sustainability of projects and initiatives. It is built around 7 concepts that enable us to embed the purposes our work into the organization, rather than relying on structures of the organization to sustain our work. These concepts are listed below.

Connections - We look at how our work is connected in the organization. Connections to current work, connections across departments, and connections to the community and customer base assure that others know about the work and understand its benefit to them.

Coherence - This sustainability model reminds us to assure that the work we are doing is coherent with the organizational direction, that it fits with the internal policies and procedures, and that it fits with external forces and trends.

Constructs - Too often, initiatives are "person dependent" and when the champion of the work leaves, its history goes with that person. We believe that documentation of planning, of resources, and of decision making helps to sustain our work, regardless of shifting personnel.

Commitment - Sustainability requires the commitment of individuals across the organization, of resources to support the work, and of the organization, itself. By helping people see the value of the work, by garnering resources to support the work, and by aligning with the stated values of the organization, we increase the overall commitment of the system.

Continuous Assessment - Work that is successful in contributing to the overall goals of the organization is more likely to be sustained in times of change. From the initial planning through implementation and operation, measures of outcomes and progress must reflect powerful contributions to the organization's overall success.

Communications - People cannot support what they don't know about. From the earliest stages of an initiative, a thorough and up-to-date communications plan is crucial to keep people informed of the goals and progress of the work, as well as the benefits the initiative offers to the organization.

Capacity Building - These six concepts become a part of the overall planning and implementation of an initiative, and are developed in a context of increasing the capacity of the organization to sustain and benefit from the work. Capacity building focuses on assuring that employees have the necessary skills to do the work, and it also focuses on the capacity of the organization to hold and maintain the work.

We refer to this model as the Legacy Model because it provides a foundation for establishing lasting and important contributions to the health, productivity, and success of an organization. We invite you to talk with us about creating a legacy in your organization. For more information, visit our website at www.hsdinstitute.org.