Organization understanding is "...the ability to understand the workings of structure and culture of the organization as well as the political, social and economic climate in which the organization operates," according to a pdf by the National Research Council of Canada titled Organizational Understanding. (NRC Canada, n.d.) Without organizational understanding, a leader is left making decisions from their own perspective. However, with organizational understanding, the leader knows the structure of the organization, the rules and regulations, the morals, the values, and everything in between to better informed and equipped to make critical decisions.
Organization Understanding in Leadership
Organization understanding in leadership, from my perspective, is understanding the bigger picture and seeing how every moving part functions in the organization as a whole. Organization understanding gives me the opportunity to understand the organization on every level. Understanding how each department works with each other, how well the procedures are being followed, and what foundations the organization runs on will help me lead effectively through the competency of organizational understanding. With this information, I will be have the capacity to make well-informed decisions and adjustments to already existing processes and procedures.
Artifact
The artifact that demonstrates my understanding of organization understanding again comes from OGL 220 - Behavioral Dynamics in Organizations. The assignment was one of our final assignments for the course, and it was a short answer exam that related to influence, organizational culture, and performance-related behaviors: diagnosis and interventions. We were given six prompts that included the following items: reflect on a past experience I used my influence, consider a current or future example I will use my influence, pick an organization to examine the culture, describe a performance-related problem, diagnose possible root cause of previous performance-related problem, and finally, consider the target dimensions of the same performance-related problem. Feel free to review any of this material in the document below.
Reflection
Project Management & Organization Leadership
I have worked in an organization where every employee has to be cross-trained in all of the departments. This does come with incentives like a raise and a new job title that I think are necessary for team members to want to improve themselves. Beyond that though, once I was trained in every area, I began to see the bigger picture. I was able to see all of the small things that each department does come together to have a thorough understanding of the organization runs. This information has helped me make decisions faster and easier by looking at different perspectives to improve functions and operations. It gives me a better understanding of where I stand in the production of the product. It helps me to really get a grasp on how I contribute to the flow of the organization.
Personal Growth & Development
Personally, I see my life as an organization ran by one person--me. Organization understanding within myself means understanding myself on every level. I need to be aware of what angers me, what makes me happy, and what my core values are and holding them close to me. The more I have learned about myself, the more I am able to grow, develop, and heal in order to be in control of myself and my actions throughout the day without projecting my own emotions onto others. Since understanding myself, I have been able to transform personal relationships by letting others assist me in growing myself, but it is ultimately up to me to grow myself. Growing and developing myself is something I will never stop doing in my lifetime. I love learning new things and gaining new skills.
Reference: Organizational understanding definition - nrc.canada.ca. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://nrc.canada.ca/sites/default/files/2019-03/mg_organizational_understanding.pdf