Six ways in which aspiration creates the best conditions for organisational success
If you want to test the DNA of an exceptional organisation, look for evidence of aspiration. In the organisational context, aspiration is more than just the ambition or desire to achieve something, it is the very binding agent that holds everything together on the journey towards the desired end goal.
Aspiration is the building block of performance management. Decisions affecting organisational vision, priorities, objectives, targets, resources and success measures are all determinant on aspiration. When taken seriously, it has an irresistible and compelling gravitational pull, bringing critical business systems, structures, functions, competencies and culture into orbital alignment.
Aspiration shapes the ‘hardware’ of an organisation such as the people, policies, procedures and projects as well as its ‘software’ defined by habits, customs, practices, behaviours and attitudes.
But how can aspiration be used in a much more conscious, intentional and deliberate way to create the conditions for organisational success? Well, set out below, are six ways.
1. A purpose for people and people as the purpose
Profit making entities produce optimum results when engaged and inspired employees use their expert talents and best endeavours to create margins of excellence that enhance customer experience. Similarly, public institutions best serve their communities when those responsible for social outcomes, are committed to discharging their functions with equity, empathy and compassion. In simple terms, for organisations that ‘get it’, aspiration is a spectrum of value. You cannot achieve it for the those that need it, if you do not see it in those who produce it.
2. An economic ecosystem
At a fundamental level, the achievement of aspiration is an exercise in elementary economics. As a case in point, think of the ‘opportunity cost’ implications that arise, when priorities that are deemed ‘desirable’ or even ‘essential’, must be jettisoned in favour of those judged to be ‘critical’. A truly aspirant organisation understands these trade-offs as well as the ‘economic conditions’ most likely to create the kind of stimulus necessary for success. As such it can operate effectively, even within rapidly changing environments. Crucially, it understands the distinctive difference between cost and value and is decisive in its decision-making.
3. Adaptive fluency in multiple languages and dialects
To be intelligible, aspiration must be translated into the various ‘languages’ and ‘dialects’ that are spoken at strategic, operational and tactical level. Wherever aspiration drives activity, you will find the workforce conversant in a wide organisational vocabulary. It is this mix of collective and individualised fluency that helps to create a seamless cascade of information, a counter-flow of ideas as well as a culture of assurance. However, the key to adaptive fluency isn’t whether everyone speaks the same language, it is to ensure that they understand the same thing.
4. Occupying the ‘goldilocks zone’
In the context of this blog, it might seem like a contradiction in terms to suggest that aspiration can be dangerous. Notwithstanding, when the desire to achieve ambition becomes all-consuming and obsessive, it can cause organisational ‘sensory failure’. This occurs when those in positions to make decisions, insulate themselves from wise counsel, with potentially disastrous consequences for themselves and others. It is therefore essential to maintain a healthy safe distance between aspiration and good judgement. For organisations, this is the proverbial ‘goldilocks zone’. It is not too hot, it is not too cold, it is just about right.
5. The ‘air-freshener’
Inevitably, there are times when organisational air becomes stale and even noxious. This could be due to internal factors such as disappointing quarterly returns or external factors such as a severe economic downturn. Irrespective, aspiration should always function as an ‘air freshener’ renewing organisational purpose and serving to remind everyone that the effort is worth the risk, the risk is worth the reward and the reward is worth the wait. Aspiration will remind an organisation to keep going forward, even in the moments when it wants to turn back.
6. Clutch control
When a clutch is deployed in a vehicle, it disengages the engine from the wheels and enables the driver to change gear. Aspiration performs the same function for an organisation, enabling it to select appropriate gears to successfully traverse diverse and even challenging terrain. There are times when this gear-shift capability will be necessary to change pace, when rapid acceleration or deceleration is required. At other times it will help bring about a course correction, where better options can produce more desirable results. An organisation without this regulatory capacity will eventually exhaust it resources in uncontrolled effort.
By itself, aspiration is not the ‘secret sauce’ of success. However, neither can any organisation seriously expect to achieve sustainable outcomes, without a means to harness its unique potency. As this blog explains, aspiration extends far beyond the expression of a desire, ambition or will to succeed and improve. The magnetic character and charismatic quality retained within aspiration and radiating from it, helps organisations to rationalise their effort and prevents the fragmentation of business systems and processes. To that extent, aspiration can either be the driver that propels organisational progress or a passive witness to its events.
