Professional Resource Center

Organizational Leadership Index™ (OLI™)

Leadership is arguably one of the most valuable of human activities. Intuitively we know that leaders possess the talent to bring people together; to get them to work together effectively; to align them around a common purpose and goals; to get them to co-operate and rely on each other; and to trust each other. We also know from the experience of observing leaders in action that the generic attributes of leadership described in the literature, and the actual role that a leader plays do not occur in a vacuum, but are embedded within the organization’s structures, systems, and culture within which people lead. Decades of research has shown that over 85% of the Common Causes of organizational performance issues are in the structures, systems, and culture within which people work; put good managers in bad systems you get poor performance. So trying to improve the overall performance of an organization by focusing on improving the performance of an individual manager (Special Causes) almost guarantees that systemic change will not happen because individual managers are less than 15% of the real problem.

Despite the fact that most individual managers have little or no control over the overall organization within which they are embedded, they are still held accountable for their performance and delivering on commitments, so they have to demonstrate Leadership-In-Context. The question is: a) in what way is organizational change a socio-cultural phenomenon that an individual manager has little or no control over; e.g., the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and b) in what way does organizational change ultimately reduce to the actions, interactions, and beliefs of individual managers within the overall organization? More specifically, to what extent is the change required to improve an individual manager’s performance, their organization’s performance, and the performance of an overall organization something that an individual manager has control or influence over, as opposed to it being a boundary condition that they can’t influence or control?

The Organizational Leadership Index™ (OLI™) is a 360 degree assessment that uses nine interdependent measures to evaluate the degree to which a manager: a) sees the need for change in operational strategies, beliefs, and values that may be barriers to transformation in their organization, b) has the foundation of organizational trust required to achieve change in their organization, and c) has consensus with their manager, peers, and direct reports about how the behaviors associated with the nine perspectives are manifested in day-to-day operations. The OLI™ also enables individual managers to compare their results from the OLI™ with the results of the overall organization when used in combination with the Organizational Transformation Index™ (OTI™). The data and information included in this OLI™ report are designed to be a catalyst for meaningful conversation and dialogue about improving managers’ leadership abilities within the context of the overall organization’s structures, systems, and culture.

Business Applications – The OLI™ can be used as a 360 degree review for managers at any organizational level or functional unit in the following situations.

• Organizational and Behavioral Transformation – The OLI™ helps organizations evaluate: a) the degree to which an individual manager sees the need for organizational change, and b) the degree to which they have the foundation of organizational trust required to successfully achieve organizational and behavioral transformation in their organization.
• Changes in Management – The OLI™ gives new managers the operational and cultural information needed to get “up to speed” more quickly.
• Mergers and Acquisitions – When two companies are merged, or when one company purchases another, the OLI™ helps quantify the level of organizational performance and trust in the Divisions, Departments, teams etc. in both entities, thus facilitating the integration process.
• Organizational Alignment – The OLI™ helps quantify destructive conflict between departments headed by “Border Guards” who: a) have conflicting or competing interests and ways of working, b) create sub-cultures that are misaligned with (or in opposition to) each other and the organization’s overall direction, and c) seal-off their department from effective interaction with the overall organization.

It’s important to remember that organizations are collective-cultural entities that are led, managed, and changed one person at a time. The Organizational Leadership Index™ is a powerful tool for helping you get the right people “on the bus” who will support positive sustainable change. For more information on how the Organizational Leadership Index™ can help your organization achieve organizational and behavioral transformation contact the Breckenridge Institute® today at info@breckenridgeinstitute.com or 1-970-390-1094 to schedule a free consultation.

Personality in Context^®