Leadership: 4 Keys to Monitoring & Managing Organizational Health [VIDEO]

It is hard to manage what you don’t monitor. To be a smart leader, you must pay attention to the gauges of organizational health that let you know if you are navigating correctly. Here are four keys to monitoring organizational health.

1. Direction

Your car navigation system helps you to know where you are, where you are going, the assessment of how long it is going to take to get there, and what detours you might encounter. Wise organizational leaders take time to look at a road map: Where am I? How did I get here? Do I know where I want to go and why I want to go there? Have I created the right route, the right plan, and the right priorities, tactics, and strategies? Do I have everything needed to accomplish the journey?

2. Resources

Your organization’s resources are like fuel for a car. If you have a lot of fuel but you are not going anywhere, what is the use? Or if you have a great plan but no fuel, you are out of luck. “Watching the gas gauge” means making sure you have the right budget, the right facilities, and the right team doing the right things at the right time. Just like a resource gauge, you have to determine if all of those things are lined up appropriately to meet the priorities that you have set. When I first started driving, I had the “Blue Bomb” and I noticed that when the gas gauge said empty, I had already walked two miles. You don’t want to be planning and getting everyone excited and motivated and then not have the right resources to move forward.

3. Adaptability

When I think of adaptability, I think of my car being able to easily shift from all-wheel drive to two-wheel drive and vise versa. No matter the terrain, if it’s snowing and the roads are icy, I am able to adapt. In an organization, you have to be able to adapt to things that are happening in culture and in the government with regulation and different policies. You have to be aware that things will come along that you could not have possibly planned for. Big organizations are like big ships; they turn slowly. But an agile organization is able to make the adjustments, turn the right dials, and watch the right gauges. A sports car and speedboat can turn on a dime because they prepared for the ability to adapt to whatever may come their way – this is what scenario planning does for organizations.

4. Repairs & Maintenance

While this is not necessarily a gauge, it is important to remember that wise leaders seek counsel. I used to do all of my own work on my car since it wasn’t that complicated – change the breaks, change the oil, etc. Today, it would be very difficult to work on my car myself without all of the sophisticated equipment that is needed. The Center Consulting Group is here to help you if you need something to be diagnosed, assessed, or if you need help thinking about the next stage. As you are reading those gauges in your organization, don’t forget that repair and maintenance are key to keeping your organization on the road.

Comment below with what gauge you use most in leading your organization! Contact us to learn how our experienced consultants can assist you in improving the health of your organization.

Dave Marks is a Senior Consultant at The Center Consulting Group and has over 35 years of church ministry experience including 23 years as a senior pastor. His consulting experience includes ministry assessment, leadership coaching, and strategic planning. Dave’s degrees include a B.S. in Bible, an M.S. in Organizational Leadership and a D.Min. in Leadership.