When we collect stories and approach organizational problems with empathy, we get a deep understanding of the current landscape of an organization, getting to know the people who are a part of it. Every organization is comprised of a unique, one-of-a-kind collection of individuals. Like a snowflake, no two are exactly alike.
These collections of individuals form networks that often interact in unexpected ways. Change in one part of the network can have a ripple effect in other areas. By using design thinking, we seek to understand the unique traits and needs of an organization’s people, and how they’re connected, so that we can understand how they think, behave, learn and change in the organizational setting.
This can make solutioning complicated, especially in an age where constant change has become the norm. The “future of work” is challenging our assumptions around where work gets done, who does the work and what work can be automated. Mergers, leadership changes, and technology are also driving forces that can contribute to an employee’s level of engagement with their organization. With all this instability, consistent levels of engagement become very hard to sustain and solutions that work in one part of the organization may not work somewhere else.
Enter, once again, the beauty and utility of design-thinking. By being nimble, and proto-typing and iterating quickly, creating solutions for unique contexts becomes much more attainable.
Jacque Patterson 