Many CEOs find the topic of “organizational health” is demotivating. Why? Because they’ve tried, they don’t know why it’s not better, and they can’t see a way forward. The OrgHealth Ascent ModelTM provides a key for unlocking a language that resonates with your leadership team, that evaluates the subjective in a more objective way, and that empowers you with the tools needed to make organizational health measurable—and, ultimately, to ensure sustainable success for your company. There is a way forward.
What Is the OrgHealth Ascent Model?
The Ascent is designed to give you a simplified dashboard view of what a healthy organization looks like. There’s no shortage of thought leadership and of models on this topic, but they tend to be highly specific and detailed, encompassing scores of metrics. Which begs the question: Who has the time and the energy for that? Most of the SLTs we talk with don’t.
As a leader, you don’t want to go through 53 metrics, constantly tracking, tracking, tracking… While details and data are valuable, especially for a specific goal, you don’t have time to wade around in the weeds here when there’s other urgent and important work needing attention. The OrgHealth Ascent Model provides a way for you to keep organizational health as part of the conversation—and to start new, and powerful, ones.
Seeing the Full Picture
The Ascent Model provides a lens for measuring the health of your organization with implementation at the forefront. Each of the categories contained within the model are areas that need to be checked on, monitored, and measured—at least from a high level—consistently.
Using the model, you can build an effective roadmap to a healthy (or healthier) organization. This is the ideal. The assessment helps you identify where your most pressing concerns are. “But,” you might think, “I know that if ______ happened, things would be much better—the problem is right here!” Most often, though, the problem is way over there. The Ascent empowers you to dig deeper, to make connections, to have discussions, to draw out the intricacies and details that raise confidence and clarity about where the problem lies—and where you need to focus and take action.
You don’t have time or capacity for 53 metrics, but you can probably manage four. OrgHealth has identified four categories to help you think about organizational health in a meaningful—and actionable—way.
Four Elements of the Ascent Model
Sure, organizational health is important… but investing in it just slows everything down. It takes too long. We aren’t seeing the results we need yet. Common objections — and we feel your pain as a leader! But the four elements in the model are foundational to implementing change. They are the bedrock on which to build a healthy organization that reaches its full potential.
1. Collaborative Culture
Let’s start at the beginning. Or rather, in the middle. Collaborative culture is at the centre of the model for a reason. It touches on and influences the remaining three elements. We are talking about people and communication — both official messaging and behavioural/perceptual/unintentional threads. What culture is being built intentionally, and what culture is born and raised on its own? What are the subcultures that are at play? Are they increasing the number of silos, or are they building more cohesion and collaboration?
You’ll notice that in the visual model, Collaborative Culture is the odd one out. It’s the only triangle facing in the opposite direction. This is intentional. To logical leaders, it doesn’t make as much sense. It’s the least systematized. It’s not as tangible, not as measurable, and can feel a little… fluffy. Or, likely, uncomfortable. Hard to get a real hold on.
But a collaborative culture is bedrock. There is an ever-increasing amount of data emerging that supports how massively these invisible dynamics make a difference in your organization and its ability to accomplish goals.
2. Leadership Accountability
This is where most leaders live and tend to put their focus. Why? Because most leaders have a deep belief in the value of responsibility. This does not, however, always translate to accountability. (If you’ve ever said, “They don’t understand me. If they got to know me, they’d know I didn’t mean that”... this applies to you!). As a leader, you are accountable for what you model to the entire organization and for the impact that your behaviour/words have on your people. Not only do leaders need to take ownership of this, we need to be skilled and responsive listeners.
3. Strategic Momentum
Finally! We can talk about systems, clarity, goals, measuring, results. But Strategic Momentum also involves going further, faster (or slower but better), and how these systems fit within organizational health. It’s more than systems; it’s systems in concert with the way that innovation is valued in your company. This doesn’t mean “We love good ideas!” Of course you do. Instead, it means, “Is it safe for people to have bad ideas? Is there a cost when ideas do not work out? What does that look like? Is it ok for people to speak up? To challenge? How quickly can they work to solve a problem together? And, obviously, is there profit in this? Will that profit be sustainable?
Most leaders are comfortable here; it’s the most tangible — the least invisible aspect of the model. But it is in the model because it’s the rudder of the ship. You need momentum; it is one piece of the overall picture. But you also need the other elements to complete, and complement it.
4. Talent Magnetism
Right there, at the top of the model in bold, happy, yellow! Talent Magnetism is a beacon for all to see. What about your company makes people want to work there? What draws the right people in? What keeps them there? It’s about the right fit for your culture and intentionally recruiting, selecting, and retaining people who “get it.” A star performer who does not fit will be a spectacular fail. Some with the right mindset and approach, though, may need some training, some skill development, some mentoring and molding… But they fit.
You cannot build Talent Magnetism on its own; it emerges naturally from the other three elements. Everything is interconnected.
Individual and Team Assessments
The point of both the individual and team assessments is to provoke the right kind of conversations. It’s not a way to say, “This is your problem; fix it by doing X, Y, and Z.” If you’ve tried this at all, and read this far, you already know that there are no simple answers. To achieve organizational health, you need discussions, you need reflection.
The individual assessment often reveals what you may already know about yourself. While not a “diagnosis,” per se, it does provide something tangible with which to initiate those conversations and begin to make meaningful action plans. It can be a great first step before bringing the whole SLT in.
The team assessment will unveil a variety of insights. It is more accurate than the individual assessment because it looks at multiple perspectives. It may uncover some ripples of discontent that you were not aware of, but that are right beneath the surface. You need to talk about this. The report makes it easier to have these often difficult conversations, by providing context, language, and questions to gather around. It puts the issues out on the table so you can dig in. Together.
Accelerate Your Ascent to Organizational Health
Take the assessment; have your team take the assessment. If you want to grow, to get better, to lead your company to greater success, it is worth the investment. Talk. Discuss. Reflect. Plan important steps forward. And actually take them. The results will be real.
.jpg)
