I conducted a workshop two weeks ago in which a participant mentioned that some of the other participants in the room were not from “mature organizations.” He went on to explain that their organizations were still somewhat small.
I countered that it’s often an illusion to assess the maturity of an organization based on it size. I suggested that maturity depends more on the nature of activities in the organization — that a small or large organization can be immature if, for example, its internal practices are more reactive and crisis-driven than proactive and plan-driven.
I added, even that depends on the culture of the people in the organization. Some cultures don’t do planning in the typical “linear” approach that we so often talk about. Rather than establishing goals, objectives, responsibilities and deadlines, those cultures might do planning in more of an “organic,” unfolding and dynamic approach.
One of the most useful, recent perspectives on organizations is that of life cycles. The view is that, just like people, organizations must evolve through life cycles, for example, birth, growth and maturity. Life cycles apply to many systems, including products and teams. If a system does not successfully evolve to the next stage, it can stagnate or even decline.
I’ve sometimes wondered about the life-cycle theory — if an organization reaches “maturity,” then does it remain there forever, or does it regress to earlier stages whenever there’s a sudden crisis, for example, a major recession? Or, does that organization, by the fact that it’s mature, evolve through the recession in a mature way?
What do you think is a “mature” organization?
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Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD – Authenticity Consulting, LLC – 800-971-2250
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Carter McNamara of Authenticity Consulting, LLC, provides organizational development, consultant training and Action Learning services, and is developer of the Free Management Library.
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I confess I have used the term “mature organization” largely in a negative way. I always qualify my use of the term with the following explanation: a mature organization is one that has reached the place where the belief that maintaining the organization is equivalent to achieving the mission of the organization. From industry to religious denominations, when the focus moves from the pursuit of mission to the pursuit of maintenance, the organization has (in my view) become mature. Put another way, the mature organization says “we have succeeded because were are”.
The counter to this, then, is “immaturity”, defined as focus on mission and the inevitable (often significant) changes to the organization (physical, intellectual and cultural) that follow. The immature organism is unafraid of change (in fact accepts it as the joyful {and unavoidable} necessity of growth). The immature organism is likely unaware of what it will be “when it grows up”. This gives incredible freedom to dream, envision, experiment and grow.
Admittedly this is largely a discussion of language, but for what it’s worth, that’s my thought.
In my opinion a “mature organization” is one that is constantly evolving and learning from past decisions. One that is not afraid to admit when they have made a mistake, and welcomes alternative approaches and ideas. A mature organization is one that solicits and values input from its employees, regardless of their rank or title.