Consulting and Capability Development

The Flex-C3 Framework for Instilling 'Skilled Flexibility'

The Flex-C3 Framework

Three key focus areas

Flex-3C is a proprietary framework grounded in hands-on experience gained as a consultant helping organizations develop the capability to be responsive to uncertainty. The framework has three modules represented in 3Cs

Create Clarity – Ensures the organizations vision, mission, and values are aligned and understood by all.
Practice Collaboration – Where leaders and manages are active role models bringing collaborative values to life.
Enhance Capability – Where organization members master the skills for solving complex challenges .

The first two – create clarity and practice collaboration – are instrumental in enhancing employee commitment. The third – enhance capability – in conjunction with practice collaboration helps develop abilities to skillfully tackle unfamiliar and complex challenges. Together, they bring about skilled flexibility as an organizational capability to skillfully address the unfamiliar and complex challenges associated with extreme uncertainty.

When the framework is applied to an organization, a preliminary assessment reveals which one or more of the three areas need attention and the magnitude of work that needs to be done within each area. Prior versions of the framework, has been applied at different organizational levels – within departments, business units, and the organization as a whole – and has delivered positive results.

Below is a brief description of each of the modules.

Create Clarity

Where leaders in the organization communicate a clear sense of direction – vision, mission, and collaborative values – on an ongoing basis so employees can see how the work they do each day contributes to the bigger picture. If the existing vision, mission, or values of the organization need to be refreshed, support is provided to achieve that.

Clarity of direction provides employees with meaning and fulfillment in their work, which enhances commitment.

Practice Collaboration

Where leaders in the organization are active role models of collaborative behaviors, e.g., reaching out to employees, engaging in brief conversations, asking questions, listening, responding, affirming, etc., on an ongoing basis. Periodic town hall meetings and large and small group sessions to share information and sense feedback also promote collaboration.

When employees witness executives as active role models bringing collaborative values to life, their sense of belonging in the organization is enhanced and they feel connected with their managers and leaders, which contributes to improved commitment.

Enhance Capability

The focus here is on skills and abilities for solving complex challenges that arise in the face of uncertainty. The challenges often lack needed information, or the information available is ambiguous, or emerging. Members have to work with what they have to decipher information. It includes analyzing information needed compared to information available, perspective taking within a team, assumptions analysis, decision making in the face of uncertainty, and skills to resolve disagreements and tension when perspectives collide.

Skills training is customized based on the situation and the needs of each organization. Employees engage in hands-on experience preferably on a real-life situation, and go through the steps involved with solving unfamiliar challenges. They openly share perspectives and assumptions, work through the tension as perspectives collide, and make optimized decisions working together in a systematic way. With success, their confidence level and skills in solving complex challenges together is greatly enhanced and they are better prepared to take on the next big unfamiliar challenge.

The Flex-C3 framework delivers results

The Flex-C3 framework delivers on enhanced employee commitment and enhanced skills to equip the organization with skilled flexibility – the capability needed to effectively navigate uncertainty and solve unfamiliar challenges as they arise in a systematic way, with confidence.

The framework is backed up with tools, consultation, and support services. Please contact me for more information on the framework and how it is used.

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