221 Building towards organizational resilience and complexity leadership III. Adaptation The elements of reflection, learning, change and the underlying driver of power and responsibility are analyzed below. Reflections From interviews, respondents reflected on how the organization was impacted by the pandemic by comparing how it was prior to, and during, the pandemic (Table 6.1). Some even called this comparison the “old” versus the “new” Sanquin as they saw a traditional, siloed and slow organization become more connected, flexible and adaptive. For the majority, this was the first time they had experienced such shifts, and the consensus was that it was enriching and empowering. However, two respondents mentioned how they had experienced this activated spirit once before, namely during the HIV pandemic in the 1980s/1990s. Table 6.1 Comparison of the organisation prior to and during the pandemic Before the pandemic During the pandemic Mostly silos Multi-departmental and inter-departmental and divisional collaborations occurred Lack of efficiency Too much to do and too little time; working overtime; increased efficiency due to improvisation Backwardness of systems, procedures and processes Digitalize and modernize; find workarounds as much as possible Employee pride Greater employee pride Identity: Sanquin is not just a blood bank Identity: Sanquin is a multi-expertise organization comprised of multiple divisions that work together for the common good Long history of internal and external collaborations and connections These historical collaborations and connections continued, were strengthened or built on However, while Sanquin was strongly impacted by the pandemic, it was not permanently changed. This was because there were significant leadership changes and organizational restructuring that were occurring simultaneously. These drivers were distinct from COVID-19 as they had begun before the pandemic, but through the interviews, it was found that some effects intertwined. These included how employees were overall more agreeable/cooperative in the processes of the restructuring and adjusting to new leadership (“A pandemic kind of helps in the sense that crises often help to get people to cooperate” Management1, 1 year). One respondent pointed out that COVID’s main effect on the organization was to slow the process of separation. During feedback sessions, respondents agreed that the leadership
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