Maureen Amakabane
Maureen is the co-founder of Beyond Colors Consulting and a serial Social- Entrepreneur
What is Organization Development?
There are several definitions of organizational development (OD) I will however focus on “OD being a critical and scientific process that helps organizations builds their capacity to change and achieve greater effectiveness by developing, improving and reinforcing strategies, structures and processes”. Organizational Development is a critical component to ensure an organization achieves its goals.
What are the key things that organization leaders should focus on while setting up sustainable organization?
Based on my experience, observation and conversations with founders and leaders of organizations: the following are critical to ensure sustainability:
- Clarity of the problem and solution the organization is offering
- Have the users / customers at the center of the organization
- Niche out the users - niching can be for large populations or small populations
- Test the product or service
- Collect feedback
- Improve based on feedback
- Innovate the product and scale
- Identify the right talent and maximize on their talents and reward
- Set a conducive organizational culture that focuses on productivity
- Have a succession plan in mind
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Are there approaches to organization development? Which one is more effective for organizations driving social change?
Yes there are approaches to Organizational development. The most effective one is based on why the organization exists and if there are implementers. Ideally the success is more in the implementation
The success of the Organization Development is based on how its ideas are implemented.
What are the do’s and don’ts in setting up a team?
Do’s
- Have the interest of the organization at heart
- Recruit talent and attitude- “squares in squares, circles in circles”
- Mobilize resources to attract and retain talent - monetary and otherwise
- Identity a problem and design a solution
- Be firm and committed
- Identity a tribe of peers
- Be ready to learn and unlearn
Dont’s
- Don’t have a fixed mindset
- Don’t mix work and pleasure
The don'ts are few but should not be overlooked. The Do's are quite impressive too.
So what are some values you consider critical in organizations driving social change?
- Ownership
- Empathy
- Resilience
In your opinion, what is the future trend of organizations driving social change?
Organizations will be critical in driving social change. I recently aligned to Africapitalism - Coined and catalyzed by Tony Elumelu - An African Philanthropist. One of the social change organizations’ upcoming trend is Africapitalism.
“Africapitalism is the economic philosophy that the African private sector has the power to transform the continent through long-term investments, creating both economic prosperity and social wealth.”
What is the recommended structure for organizations promoting social development?
Pretty much it depends on the founders - I will encourage each of us to study these structures.
What are some of the policies that one should lay prior team building to be grounded?
Many teams fall apart and this frustrates the vision.
It’s important for the founding team to start by understanding the businesses and its vision and design the implementation processes (they can do or outsource to experts). Clarity of vision allows for the founders to make informed and quality decisions recruitment being part of this.
Please advise mixing business with pleasure, what if you are working with spouse? How can you prevent it from affecting business?
Always define the roles for work and stick by them and also draw Boundaries.
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