Transformation

Anushka: Transformation is ambitious and when done right, it promises great benefits for anyone's organisation. However, it's also often complex, challenging, and it can be quite daunting. If you really want to achieve the right outcomes. There are a few key things that need to be considered: ambition and objectives, leadership and commitment, skills and experience and the delivery approach. Successful transformation doesn't need just one, but all of these ingredients to come together. That's building the will and the means, as well as creating the clarity and capability. 
 
Mike: The most successful transformation leaders are the ones that have that rounded understanding and the experience to back it up. When programmes start to fall short of expectation, you often see people hone in on just one of these four ingredients. People are naturally drawn to their own specialism, which is normal, and it's understandable for them to focus on problems in their area. However, in our experience, transformation challenges are often caused because of issues across all four areas. For example, developing a great strategy requires putting people at the heart of what you're trying to achieve. It's not just an academic process. Successful governance of large programmes requires leaders to be bought in, feel accountable, and be prepared to sponsor at all levels. 
 
Anushka: Leaders also need to recognise what their organisation is capable of in terms of people and the skills that they possess. We often see really common challenges, such as a mismatch between the central vision and local implementation, or conflicting goals between transformation measures and individual performance and incentives. But without looking at all four areas together, it can be really hard to understand the root cause of the issue and what actually needs to be done to resolve it. It doesn't matter where you are on your journey, whether you're just getting started or you're well underway. These four ingredients will be key in bridging that gap between ambition and outcomes. 

Priya: Making large-scale transformation happen is difficult, and that's okay. Often it feels hard because one or more of the ingredients is missing. That might be something that's missing right from the start, or something you've lost sight of as you've been on your journey, and that can manifest in different ways. We're going to talk about how it feels when one of those ingredients is missing.  

Tom: You want to set the transformation ambition from the outset, and communicate that in a clear and concise way. However, if you haven't done enough work on your ambition and objectives, people will be confused about what it is you're trying to change and why. You need a central vision that acts as a North Star to anchor your transformation and the team or else they won't understand what success is or when you've got there. This will lead to wasted effort, people pulling in the wrong direction or multiple initiatives that overlap.  

Priya: This is not only taxing for the transformation team but can be exhausting for leaders too. And this will trickle down to wider stakeholders. If you can't articulate the value of this transformation to your shareholders, your customers and your employees, it's difficult to make fundamental decisions around what the transformation needs to be and to whom. 

Tom: This is often the hardest nut to crack in delivering successful transformation and it needs hard work at the start, the middle and the end of your journey. And if you haven't invested enough time in this, it means there's no pull from the organisation; you're having to push transformation onto everyone. That breeds resistance and, in some cases, resentment. 
 
Priya: Executive teams have busy agendas to deliver on, so getting them on board with the transformation can be difficult. Sometimes you may have superficial agreement, followed by people going off and continuing their own agendas. In more extreme cases, you can have real subversion with people openly undermining the transformation. You need to recognise leaders' motivations, both as individuals and as a collective, and use that to build leadership and commitment. Everyone can and should be an influencer of change. 

Tom: Too many organisations embark on a transformation with an over-optimistic view of what it takes. They don't correctly assess if they have those skills and experiences within their organisation. And you may end up with staff trying to deliver complex change who've never done it before. Or team members may take it on as a side project alongside their day job, but they don't have the right time, motivation or performance incentives. That means slow progress and that breeds frustration. 
 
Priya: People then question the validity of the transformation, and they think that the goal was wrong, when actually the real issue is lack of skills and capacity. A way to address this could be to invest in external skills and experience, but this can make you over-dependent on third parties, which can have far-reaching consequences long after the programme is over. So it's worth being mindful that you still need an internal team with the right experience to manage external suppliers well. 

Tom: If you're embarking on a big transformation programme, you have choices to make about your delivery approach. It's best to be thinking about these choices before you start building a large team. The best transformation programmes bend and adapt with the fact that things change as you go. As time passes and pressure grows, some transformations lose sight of the right delivery approach. Some grow beyond control and the worst examples descend into chaos. 
 
Priya: What this can feel like is a lack of clarity over roles and responsibilities, disorganised governance, constantly changing plans or frequent surprises. How often have you seen a situation where everything is on track for 10 weeks and then suddenly the status is red? Now, normally this isn't because a big external factor has appeared out of the blue. It's more likely to be because the delivery approach has been mismanaged all along. 
 
Tom: At some point you may lose focus on one or more of the areas we've talked about, and you may face some real challenges or even failures. But don't worry, it's common, and that's part of the journey. The key thing is to recognise where you may have gone wrong as early as possible and take steps to get back on track. I know that's easier said than done, but consider creating a culture that isn't afraid of failure. This will foster an environment of continuous learning and improvement, which will be beneficial to your organisation long beyond the transformation programme.

Harry: Businesses often find it challenging to articulate what good transformation looks like for them. You've got to start with a clear understanding and expression of the outcomes you want to deliver, and that will vary depending on the stakeholder. What's the value for customers, shareholders, leaders or employees, for example? Each group will have their own view on whether the transformation has been successful, even if the change programme was delivered on time, to spec and on budget.  

Dave: The business case you're delivering might be hard to quantify, but good transformation is dependent on your ability to track and measure how and when anticipated benefits are realised, including those that are less tangible. We live in a rapidly changing world, so any transformation programme will have to adapt along the way. It's important to remember that it's okay to change course, as long as you clear on why you're changing and continue to have the right mechanisms to track, measure and control the benefits that you're realising as you go. 

Harry: No transformation is perfect. It’s hard, but it is possible to experience good transformation if you bring all the required ingredients together. It should feel like a positive journey, whether you're in the team delivering the change or a recipient of it. Transformation should never feel like it's been done to you, but that you’re part of the change and that you're in control. 

Dave: At the outset, there's always work to do to communicate the vision and what the journey will look like to the rest of the organisation. It's inevitable that people will experience different emotions at each stage of the change. In a good transformation programme, there ends up being a pull from the business, a desire for the change to have real positive impact. 

Harry: First and foremost, you'll have delivered value in line with your ambitions. Whether that's making the most of digital, growing market share, increasing efficiency or improving your employee experience. The list could go on, but a legacy should be much more than that. It could be people at the core of the business becoming transformation specialists and requiring less support from external consultants. Or it could be embedding a culture of continuous improvement, reducing the size of the peaks and valleys of change required to stay competitive.  
 
Dave: Or it could be shaping the next generation of leaders, establishing a culture that embraces transformation and creating a sense of positive energy across all stakeholders throughout the organisation. Whatever it may be, successful transformation will always leave you and your organisation better positioned for the future.