Strategy Meets Reality Podcast Beyond Structures: Building Deliberately Adaptive Organisations with Mike Burrows
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Apr 7, 2025 
Mike Burrows, founder of Agendashift and author, dives deep into the art of creating deliberately adaptive organizations. He emphasizes that adaptability stems from participation rather than strict structures. Burrows warns against blindly adopting models without context and highlights the necessity of clarity of purpose in navigating uncertainty. The discussion touches on the importance of healthy communication, cross-functional collaboration, and unlearning outdated leadership practices to foster resilience and innovation within teams.
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Deliberately Adaptive Organizations
- Deliberately adaptive organizations prioritize participation over rigid structures.
- They use internal signals and feedback to adapt and evolve, valuing diverse experiences.
Focus on Relationships
- Leaders should focus on the relationships between organizational elements, not just structures.
- Ask if each relationship is "healthy and productive" to reveal hidden problems.
Shared Understanding of Progress
- Divergence of thought is good; divergence of action is not.
- Organizations need a shared understanding of progress, often customer-focused.