Azolla: The inheritance you create shapes your organisation’s success
Every leader, business owner and organisation is both an inheritor and a steward. Are the decisions you’re making today going to stymie or build success now and in the future?
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It’s a commercial reality that most leaders step into their predecessor’s shoes. Whether they choose to follow or forge new directions has significant implications for the organisations they steward. What will those following in their footsteps inherit? And will new executives deal with unresolved, yet persistent, organisational problems?
Whether you’re serving on a board, leading a global company or running a family business or a start-up, they’re questions Marion Burchell, CEO and founder of boutique consultancy Azolla Holdings (Azolla), asks clients, including ASX-listed multinationals and government organisations.
“Azolla is who you call when the problem doesn’t fit neatly in one box. We’ve worked across business and government, leadership, regulation, strategy and delivery, so we’re good at seeing where things connect and where they’re stuck. We find a practical way through, and we leave clients better equipped to handle what comes next,” says Burchell.
Azolla derives its name from a tiny Australian aquatic plant with a variety of ecological uses – from carbon sequestration to fertilisers. “It’s small, but under the right conditions, it can create a disproportionately significant effect,” says Burchell.
“That really resonated with me because our work operates in a very similar way.”
A practical approach
Burchell’s approach draws on two decades in the WA Government, where she worked across digital transformation, data reform and regulatory simplification, before later joining Monitor Deloitte’s strategy and innovation practice.
It’s perhaps unsurprising then that Azolla combines systems thinking with deep government and private consultancy expertise, academic literature, methodologies and practical experience.
Systems thinking identifies which changes will produce the biggest impact. Burchell then adds a proof of concept, saving clients valuable time when executives seek approval to
fund change, a step that can often get caught in a protracted internal sign-off loop. A client recently told Burchell that, thanks to Azolla’s proof of concept, they received approval in three weeks when previously it took three months. Clients are also encouraged to use an independent third party to measure outcomes to ensure her team’s work stands on its own merits.
“Our model identifies what a client needs and assembles the right capability rather than building a pipeline around a proprietary methodology or suite of services,” she says.
“Most consulting businesses offer expertise in strategy, planning, leadership, technology, regulation, governance, or change. Azolla’s strength is when those things collide.”
Keep it simple
Clarity and simplicity are traits Burchell believes are underrated. “Executives think their work is complex, so they need complex solutions, and yet there’s beauty and genius in clarity and simplicity, and I love that.”
She says leaders find it hard to visualise change or recognise a different way. They lose focus on what matters, fearing they won’t get it right, or they try to keep up with competitors.
“They’re good at the ‘what’ and ‘how’, but not very good at the ‘why’. If we’re clear about the why, then everything else cascades nicely to where they need to focus. We help our clients gain clarity.”
The importance of stewardship
Leaving a legacy can cause anxiety for those entrusted with stewardship. Shifting the mindset from individual performance to long-term responsibility helps shape decisions about what is fundamental to an organisation’s identity, trust, and value.
“Stewardship is what we do with what’s been entrusted to us while it’s in our care. It’s temporary. Someone will inherit what leadership strengthens, neglects or creates. The accelerated nature of the world we live in makes stewardship more important than ever before,” Burchell says.
Visit www.theazollaeffect.com
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