Sail the Seven Cs

Creating and maintaining communication is essential to every organization.  It is ideal to have every employee understanding and striving to achieve the organization’s vision.  Senge’s book describes the seven Cs* of mobilizing and sustaining organizations.  We felt it was important to understand how these seven words beginning with the letter “C” can apply to the organization that we are currently working with and consulting.

Capability – this can be achieved by discussing with the whole office to determine everyone’s vision of a sustainable campus as well as the ways to achieve it.  Does everyone understand the organization’s vision and know their roles of achieving the vision?

Commitment – the question to ask is, “How committed are the employees to the sustainable vision?”  To clarify, are the employees within the organization working simply for themselves or are they striving toward the shared vision of the organization as a whole.  Literally, how committed are the employees to their organization?

Contribution – What can the employees (and/or others) do to contribute to the organization’s vision?  Specifically for the organization we are consulting with, contributions to the mission of the organization can include (but is not limited to) a reward system in which employees of the organization are highlighted.

Continuity – establishing relationships with other organizations can help achieve continuity.  Also, routine meetings to help maintain the emphasis on the organization’s goals will help with the continuity of achieving its vision.

Collaboration – routinely highlighting new research and ideas of the employees will allow for collaboration within the organization.  This can be done through physical meetings and newsletters.

Conscience – this can be achieved by reminding employees and others of the ultimate goal of the organization as well as the mission statement.  However, it is still necessary to be considerate of others’ thoughts and needs of the organization.

 

 

 

 

 

ashton

 

*The 7 Cs can be found in The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook