A multi-step approach to transformation journeys

There’ll be nothing new if I say that transformations are a big challenge for any organization. Numerous organizations have struggled to achieve the purported advantages of a transformation, frequently falling back to the grouse that our people weren’t aligned or committed enough to make it work! Many millions of dollars are lost in this battle of change where organizations fail to achieve the full benefits of a transformation. There are many models and approaches available to make it work, but the fact remains that transformations are a big challenge for any organization. They could be affected by multiple factors like technology, culture, capability or deeper systemic issues that are not directly visible. Transformations are complex and there is no one-size-fits-all solution; in the paragraphs below, however, I share an approach that might make transformation a wee bit more successful.

Start with the 3C’s …… the 3C’s comprise Context, Capability & Commitment. In the numerous change initiatives I have seen, it is usually not the strategy that is lacking, but the gap in the articulation of strategy to the last level. Business does engage employees through mailers, town halls, communication video, the company website etc. but there isn’t enough sharing of the context, which answers questions like ìWhy do we need re-structuring and how will it help the company? Will my job become redundant with the new technology? Will outsourcing cost me my job in the coming months? Change is driven more by emotion than cognition, and businesses need to enable leaders till the last level to address concerns and queries from their team members confidently. 

The next C is that of Capability. Any successful business is underpinned by a clear set of functional and behavioral competencies that support the value chain. If there is a fundamental shift in the business, these competencies need to change; this is where the old ways of working conflict with the new and the overall plan starts to drift.

A successful transformation plan requires a robust capability plan which comprises functional and behavioral competencies that link back to the new success measures for business.

In my experience, I have seen that it is usually the behavioral competencies that are more difficult to achieve and need more focus, reinforcement, and measurement. Developing and measuring their success ensures that we fundamentally shift the ways of working in organizations. One point of caution — these development plans should be made BU wise and should not be a one size fits all solution! 

This brings us to the last and most complex part, of Commitment. While capability building helps build commitment to some extent, commitment itself is driven by feelings which are impacted by a complex set of emotional factors.  Humans are driven by their primal instinct and at a subconscious level, want their leaders to inspire confidence. They want their leaders to articulate with conviction and inspire trust before they commit to a change. It might not be apparent to us but team members read their leaders through fine lenses to look for intent. Their filters look at anything that’s out of the ordinary e.g. the choice of words, a change in tone, a twitch in facial expressions, the blink of an eye, an out of context reference — this makes the job of leaders difficult as the only way you can lead your people is by being transparent. A good way to assess that a transformation is working is by knowing if there is enough positive noise, reflection, and challenge from people. It means that people are thinking and wanting a dialogue and if businesses can create an environment for this dialogue, then they are on the way to true change. Alarm bells should start ringing if there isn’t enough noise and things seem to be cruising along, as it probably hides discontent and is the symptom of deeper problems. 

So how do we make these efforts more robust? I propose a three-step model of 3D’s

The first and possibly the most critical step is that of Diagnose. A well-designed diagnosis would probe deep to understand the current state of the 3C’s. It should not limit itself to obvious symptoms, but look at issues at a deeper level e.g. Is there alignment at an organizational, business unit and functional level? Are there silos that will impact the transformation? What’s the political landscape? Who are the power centers and what power do they wield? Is there an elephant in the room that needs to be brought out in the open? What do success measures look like? Where and when do we measure them? Is there a culture of trust or victimization? 

Once we have done the Diagnosis, we move to the next step of Design. The Design would include answers to questions like, What will be the duration of the transformation program? Who will lead it within the organization and supported by whom? Which will be the forums to report the measures of success and how will we manage performance? How and where will we address and leverage the power and political landscape of the company? Which functional and behavioral competencies will we develop and how will we measure the return on investment?

The last step of Deliver starts once the design has been signed-off. A good design should run for at least 12-18 months, with clear milestones and measurables. It should have clear accountabilities at each level apart from the HR department and the CEO’s office. The most critical part at this stage to achieve behavior change would be to ensure that the measures identified at the design stage are reviewed at regular intervals. These measures should go down to the level of the first-line manager to link it to what people actually do. This is important because people get clarity and confidence once people see a connection between what they do and organizational success. The loop closes once again with Diagnosis! The program team along-with OD/HR should design quarterly success measures into the review. These should be adhered to rigorously and looped back into the design for course correction. The reviews should also be used as an opportunity to celebrate success and also communicate this success back to the employees. A golden mantra during this phase should be to communicate, communicate, communicate! 

Technology will impact every aspect of work and transformations are something every organization, business and function will have to deal with. Work process will change and so will structures and business delivery models. In all of this, it will become even more important for a business to develop hard and soft skills that support transformations.