Maya thought of her guide—now highlighted, sticky-noted, and coffee-stained on her desk. “No,” she said. “I’m a gardener. I don’t grow people. I grow the conditions where they can grow themselves.”
“No,” she said. “Let’s run a instead. Let’s ask people: ‘Does the structure help you succeed? Do handoffs create flow or friction? Are you solving problems or managing bureaucracy?’” I don’t grow people
Maya formed a cross-functional “Flow Team”—sales, product, compliance, engineering. Not a committee. A design team. They met for two hours every Friday. No agendas. No status updates. Only one question: “What is one rule, approval, or handoff we can remove this week?” Let’s ask people: ‘Does the structure help you succeed
The next morning, Maya refused to write another exit interview summary. Instead, she asked the CEO for something radical: three weeks of “listening.” and technology. “Maya
“That’s not a system problem,” Maya said gently. “That’s a trust problem. OD can fix handoffs. Only you can fix trust.”
The guide called this : aligning people, process, and technology.
“Maya,” he said, pushing a stack of engagement survey results across the mahogany desk. “The numbers are green. Pay is above market. But we’re bleeding mid-level talent. People aren’t quitting the company. They’re quitting the system . I need you to stop being Human Resources. I need you to practice Organization Development.”