I’ve been an internal organization design consultant for the last five years at Humana, a Fortune 100 insurance/well-being company with 45,000+ associates. There is just a little bit of change occurring at our company and in the health care industry. So our Organization Design and Development (OD) team has more substantive and strategic organization design opportunities available than we could handle if our team were twice the size.
And despite these opportunities for great OD work, I’m moving from the OD Team to work in one of the business units I’ve helped to design.
The first half of this year I led the design of a Center of Excellence (CoE) focused on building stronger relationships with our providers and improving the health of our members. This was one of four CoEs we built at Humana this year to better achieve our evolving strategy. As an internal consultant, this is about as good as it gets; work commissioned by the CEO, linked to our strategy, regular meetings with the Executive Team, and a smart and engaging business leader of the CoE to work with. One of the best engagements I’ve had.
So good, in fact, that from about one month after I started working on this engagement, I thought, “Wouldn’t this be a cool place to work.”
The CoE has a lot going for it: the strength of the leader, the kind of executive that you look forward to hearing from, instead of worrying when you see their name on an email; the excitement of being part of a new organization in a developing field; the importance of the CoE mission to improve the health of our members; the location of the CoE at the heart of our company strategy.
After five years as an internal consultant, designing how our lines of business operate, I want to operate in one of these businesses I’ve helped to build. I want to live the experience I’ve helped to craft. Is there a clear line of sight between strategy and day to day work? Are decisions being made at the right level? Are the incentives aligning the leadership team? Are the processes simple? How can I improve the design of the organization from within the organization?
I also want to learn from the business side what is effective consulting. How could the OD Team add more value, conduct engagements more quickly, and be simpler? What works and what is just extra work for the business? What are the ways to change thinking and performance, and what is just more process?
Finally, I want to learn how we really make money, get to know our customers more closely, and understand the pressure of very clear performance measures.
And then, maybe, return as a more effective organization design consultant.
Michael Gold, Organization Design Consultant, Humana, Inc.