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Unsung Heroes of Change
By Keith Jackson, Mindtools Managing Editor
Here’s a sobering fact for leaders – and for the managers who do their bidding: 70 percent of organizational transformations fail. And when does the rot often set in? Day. One.
Leading organizational transformation is a tough gig! So before we look at why it’s such a tough nut to crack, let’s establish what it actually is: Here at Mindtools, we split it into two elements – transformation for growth and transformation for the future.
Transformation for growth maximizes today’s potential (for example, scaling operations, entering new markets, or launching new products). Transformation for the future ensures tomorrow’s viability and relevance (for example, staying aligned with or ahead of societal, technological or environmental trends).
Why Transformation Can Fail
Transformation is definitely not something to be entered into lightly, or by the faint-hearted. In fact, research by global management consultants McKinsey shows that up to 45 percent of the potential financial benefits of transformation can be lost in the target setting and planning stages.
The same research shows that, on average, even companies that say their transformation was a success (i.e.: “improving organizational performance and sustaining those improvements over time”) saw only 67 percent of the benefits they hoped for.
There are myriad reasons why any transformation can misfire, but there are also some common themes that transformation leaders need to bear in mind:
- You didn’t do your homework. Successful transformation requires rigorous, evidence-based research. Solid research gives confidence to bold decision making.
- You didn’t take your people with you. Transformation is likely conceived in the boardroom, but it’s nurtured and nourished by the actions, decisions and conversations that take place at every level of your organization.
- You didn’t take the RIGHT people with you. You might have the right ideas but lack the right capabilities. If you don’t have the best talent in the right roles for transformation, you’ll end up going nowhere fast.
Transformation Is a Culture Shift
Transformation isn’t just another big project – it’s about real leadership in what is very likely a real culture shift. It’s not just systems and structures that change: it can ask, or even demand, that people redefine how they work together and examine their mindsets.
Transformation leaders therefore need to ask themselves these questions: have you clearly communicated the why of your transformation? Are your people engaged with it, or just being carried along for the ride? Are you building the right partnerships and capabilities? Are you modeling the behaviors and energy that you want to see in your people?
Managers: the Unsung Heroes of Change
OK, so managers reading this might be thinking, “This is all well above my pay grade – I just carry out the instructions that filter down to my desk. What’s in this for me?” Actually, this is where you enter the picture.
The C-suite describes the vision, but you bring it to life and shape how it’s experienced. You’re in the trenches and know what’s working or what course-corrections need to be fed back up the chain of command.
Transformation brings both pressure and opportunity. One the one hand, you’re the ones who have to support or implement a decision you didn’t make. Plus ça change! On the other, you’re the real unsung champions of change.
Managers Can Pack on Leadership Muscle!
Transformation is an opportunity to pack on some serious leadership muscle – you’ll acquire or improve skills and insights that show senior leadership potential: adaptability, stakeholder management, systems thinking . . .
So, if transformation is on your organization’s horizon, here are habits to adopt now to get you ready for the challenges ahead:
- Embracing ambiguity: chances are, you won’t always have a clear road map. Guide your team on the purpose and aims of the project as well as the process, especially when the process is subject to change.
- Communicating transparently: help your people to connect the dots and understand the reasons for the change. Link their day-to-day roles with the organization’s vision and overall aims.
- Thinking outside the box: look beyond your team or department. Consider how your decisions impact the wider organization or any external stakeholders.
And finally, here are some questions you should ask yourself when you have a few moments for reflection:
- What’s one behavior I can model that supports our transformation goals?
- How am I helping my team feel part of the change, not just subject to it?
- What feedback loops do I have in place to learn and adapt quickly?
- Who outside my team could I collaborate with to drive innovation?
What’s Next?
Guiding an organization through transformation is one of the ultimate tests of senior leadership, and a challenge for the managers and teams tasked with implementing often radical change.
Mindtools has the resources to help you identify and meet those challenges head-on. Take a deeper dive into the areas covered in this piece by exploring these articles and videos:
Tip of the Week
Plan to Leave Your Work Behind
By Catriona MacLeod, Mindtools Managing Editor
I once had a colleague who shocked me by telling me she had packed for her annual vacation. Why? Her holiday was a whole month away! As I get busier each year with work and family responsibilities, I may be coming around to her kind of thinking.
It’s easy to look at the weeks and days left before you go on leave and aim to fit your own to-do list into the time you have. But you need to keep more than that on your horizon.
So, if you want to start your vacation cool, calm and collected, rather than a hot mess, here are my five top tips to get organized to go on leave.
- Block out your diary well in advance. Give your team and other stakeholders plenty of notice so everyone can plan workloads accordingly – especially since they might head off on vacation before you get back.
- Create a set of detailed notes. Include step-by-step instructions, key contacts and deadlines for the work that needs to happen while you’re away. Don't forget to include those routine tasks that keep things ticking along. The more detail you provide, the more smoothly everything will run.
- Plan for the unexpected. Unanticipated tasks can and do crop up. So try to get your known work finished early to leave some wiggle room. If that's not possible, be ready to delegate these additional requests.
- Finish what you can, organize what you can't. Wrap up as much work as possible before you go, then organize any remaining tasks into clear, manageable chunks with milestones and deadlines for completion.
- Allow plenty of time for handovers. Match your preparation time to your role's complexity and how long you'll be away. Give colleagues time to absorb their allocated responsibilities and ask questions while you're still around to help.
For more advice on being prepared and making the most of your time away, see our article, Ready for a Real Vacation?
Pain Points Podcast
What's the culture like where you work? What are the values, norms, traditions? Which written and unwritten rules of behavior, communication and social interaction most affect how people feel when they're there?
This week's Pain Points guest, Laura Hamill, experienced Microsoft's culture as a director. She then co-founded the employee-engagement company Limeade. And now she's written “The Power of Culture," to reveal everything she's learned about why workplace culture matters, and what it really takes to get it right.
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Video of the Week
Leading in a Polarized World With Heeral Gudka
Is it ever safe to discuss politics at work? Should organizations take a stand on social issues?
Join Heeral Gudka to discover the actionable steps that leaders and managers can take to lead their organizations in a polarized world.
Watch Now
News Roundup
This Week's Global Workplace Insights
Beware the WhatsApp Trap
Think your WhatsApp messages are personal and don’t have relevancy at work? Think again. A recent article in The Conversation highlights the increasing use of WhatsApp messages in workplace tribunals. And these can be in support of an employer’s or an employee’s case.
In the UK, analysis of data from HM Courts and Tribunal Service suggests use of such evidence has tripled since 2019. WhatsApp messages have been cited in a range of disputes including those pertaining to inappropriate behavior, misconduct, harassment, or discrimination. These can include offensive jokes shared on employee group chats, or excluding colleagues from chats altogether.
Employers have come under fire for using WhatsApp to notify employees about changes to their working terms and conditions – and even letting people go.
HR experts agree clarity is key. Employers should update and circulate their communication guidelines to make company policy and expectations clear. And employees and employers alike should avoid putting convenience ahead of appropriateness or even legality.
Put simply by The Conversation’s staff writer, “if you wouldn’t write it in a company email or say it in a meeting, don’t put it into WhatsApp.”
Are We Losing Ourselves in Work?
That’s the question explored this month by insights company Allwork. They cite a Pew Research Center survey which found that nearly 40 percent of U.S. workers said their job or career was very important or extremely important to who they were as a person.
Flexible or hybrid working has removed clear boundaries between work and home, which for some may in turn have blurred the distinction between their personal and professional identities.
While passion and dedication are admirable, allowing work to define your very sense of self can have significant risks and downsides. Not least if you lose agency through market changes, ill health, or even a layoff.
The increased likelihood of burnout need hardly be spelled out. And then there’s the toll on personal relationships.
So what’s the answer? Allwork writer Sheya Michaelides suggests diversifying how we find meaning and purpose. This could be through introducing yourself without your job title, building new relationships, or trying out a new hobby. Workplaces that value and celebrate individuality can also energize their employees and encourage them to bring their whole selves to work.
For more on blending work and other aspects of life, see our article Work-Life Integration.
See you next week for more member-exclusive content and insight from the Mindtools team!
