Innovating us: Our journey towards a networked organisation

Finding a new way to work is becoming a matter of survival.

No matter where in the world your business is located or what sector you work in, the ground has shifted under the old hierarchical corporate model.

There are volumes of literature written on why this is happening and why it had to happen, based on the way our society has been evolving since as far back as the Industrial Revolution.

Connected, TEAL, networked, decentralised or learning organisations are rising as the way forward. They do away with traditional power structures to offer workplaces which are fulfilling, vibrant, self-renewing, sustainable and – very importantly – commercially successful.

The concept is as exciting as it is elusive. Of all the organisations making the shift away from traditional hierarchies – and there are a lot of them – there are few who actually succeed.

Corporate Rebels, two of the most visible management thinkers with this focus, can name only 170 worldwide. It’s easy to see why. Becoming a networked company is much more than implementing agile methodology or shifting towards more transparent digital systems. It’s about challenging power, looking differently at trust and risk and how we see ourselves.

Our vision of a networked organisation at TACSI is that of an operating model capable of responding to an ever-changing environment. It is forward-facing, structured around people learning from the emerging future rather than seeking instruction from the past. It is authentic, completely transparent and always evolving.

Realising we couldn’t afford not to change

For TACSI as a national centre for social innovation, the need to change was existential in nature – hierarchy is anathema to evolution and innovation. How could we fulfil our mission if we weren’t brave enough to live by it? How could we demonstrate meaningful change to other organisations if we couldn’t do it ourselves? We wanted to be more authentic.

We also knew we needed new and better ways to look after our people. The work we do is inherently complex and it draws people who are passionate and committed – they will do whatever it takes. Burnout is a real risk in this sort of workplace. If we wanted TACSI to be a sustainable business, we needed our operating model to keep people well. Simply put, we couldn’t give what we didn’t have.

Our business has also always attracted people looking for something more than a crisply defined role in a great production line. They exemplify in many ways the next-gen workforce, desiring most of all to do something meaningful in the world. They felt a real sense of purpose in their chosen careers, and they wanted a stake in the organisation in which they were so personally invested.

The emerging benefits have been well worth the risk

We want to share our experience and our journey in this series because the change – even at this point – has absolutely been worth it. We see real value in it, for every organisation. The benefits we’ve seen already for our business and our people are inspiring. By keeping decisions close to the work, we are able to respond in ways that are meaningful and effective.

We designed a system that rewards behaviours that support our culture, rather than achievements, and now our culture is a key consideration in everything we do. People are beginning to bring more of themselves to work; they never feel that they’re required to be a different person in their working life. They are more comfortable being vulnerable in offering ideas or sharing concerns. A flatter, leaner structure allows us to capitalise on the diverse skills – both professional and personal – of our workforce.

These behaviours and this culture aren’t incidental to our success – they enable our success. But it takes effort, vulnerability and courage to start things working this way, and more to keep them there. Starting that journey is exhilarating and frightening, and it pays to be prepared. We thought we knew what we were doing, and that was probably our first lesson.

A transformation (always) in progress

This series isn’t so much a guide as a personal account; rather than a map, we hope it offers a light and a compass. It’s the lived experience of what it’s been like for us to make significant, scary changes to our organisation in pursuit of a very worthy goal. It’s everything we wish we’d known before we started.

Each chapter covers an area we think merits some deeper exploration. The process is necessarily unique to every business, but we’ve tried to touch on some of the points which will apply universally. Importantly, we’re not there yet and likely never will be. To be constantly learning and changing is the point – you’ve never really ‘arrived’ on a journey like this.

This journey has been messy, with just as many mistakes and missteps as successes

We certainly made things worse before making them better. However, we also knew that to attract and retain the best people to tackle some of society’s biggest and most complex issues, we needed to be different, and that belief remains.