Getting the Change right - Leadership and Innovation

Change is constant. Change is ephemeral. Change is permanent. Change is never-ending.

Regardless of the sector in which you operate. No matter how big your company. Notwithstanding how large or complex your organizational structure. Change can be subtle, it can be violent. Change can be beautiful and embraced, it can be ugly and feared.

Globalization, social media, exponential technological development, morphing markets, emerging new markets, offshoring, and low-cost competitors. These are just a small selection of enablers and accelerators of change.

Many leaders consider their organizations, even themselves, as failing to implement change effectively. Transformational change is one of the biggest challenges facing most businesses whose products, markets and customers are themselves rapidly changing and demanding new and different goods and services.

But some leaders excel at delivering and benefiting from meaningful change. These leaders learn to manage change effectively, so that they get ahead of, and even become the driver of change. One thing they have in common is a view that change is a catalyst of Innovation.

Long gone are day-to-day operations that fall into a static or predictable patterns that are interrupted infrequently by only short spells of minor adjustments. Many employees lament these good old days of predictability and fear larger and ongoing change, but these days the opposite should be the case: periods without change often mean an organization is about to be overtaken by another business that has already recognized and adapted to the changing marketplace.

So, where is your organization heading to in the next few years? Hopefully, you're already trying to balance the mix of a need for quick wins with longer term culture changes and business outcomes. You should be trying to lead your competition in growth and revenue, rather than reacting to their initiatives, developing yourself the next generation of highly new innovative products and services. Or will you simply be manning the tiller and keeping the ship afloat?

Corporations of the future must become well-equipped to adapt and respond to an ever-increasing pace, variety and ubiquity of change. And as leaders, you must embrace change, become expert at understanding and involving change in your business, and constantly encourage innovation across your organizational culture, in the products you deliver and the services you offer.

Break free from your moorings - Leading Change

As a leader, how often do you ask yourself the question: do I steer, or simply man the tiller?

Are you making a difference to your organization, empowering your employees and effecting change, navigating your way through choppy waters towards a sun rising over a broad horizon? Or are you simply sailing the ship, keeping it upright and moving forward, avoiding the rocks and any risk of running aground?

When taking over leadership responsibility of a company or organization, the latter course is likely to be your immediate priority.

But before you nail your colours to the mast, what if your new ship desperately needs you to pump the bilge? Do you throw all hands to the pumps and try to weather the storm, or do you change tack on a bearing for change?

Before making any rash decisions you need to take soundings and get the feel of the tiller, but if the organization is suffering in the doldrums, then undertaking some immediate sail-trimming and realigning your ballast is likely in the long-run to be one of the most effective ways of keeping the ship afloat and it's course true.

Breaking free of your moorings and effecting change sends a positive message to your co-workers, energizing them to stop swinging the lead and empowering them to raise the boom.

Remember your Munter Hitch - the Leadership safety net

The Munter hitch creates friction by having the rope rub on itself and on the object it has been wrapped around. There is no static friction on any part of the rope as it is a continuously moving knot. A key facet of the Munter is its reversibility; it can be pulled from either side of the rope and it still works just as effectively.

During such times of flux, employees, boards of directors and shareholders alike, all want to know: where's my safety net?

Does our leader know how to tie a Munter Hitch?

Is our leader able to belay us safely and gently, to a position where we can reassess our priorities, regroup our resources, and reascend the peak?

The key for leaders needing to implement the equivalent of the Munter Hitch in the workplace is the establishment of strong employee capabilities. Having an effective, enthusiastic and empowered workforce will enable organizations to glissade gracefully, identify opportunities for change and create competitive advantage in a slowing economy. An elite talent pool should have the determination, enthusiasm and ability to drive the business into increased revenue growth and market share.

The following key leaderships principles are central to creating such a Munter Hitch workforce during a downbeat economy.

Engagement

An organization with an evolved culture of communication is well positioned to overcome skepticism and lack of self-confidence. It is crucial that leaders keep their managers engaged and positively-reinforced, especially at a time when many may have a tendency to "disconnect" due to business uncertainty, high workloads and stress.

Meaning

Storyboard the organization's strategy and vision to make it more accessible to employees. Many will find a concrete example crucial in creating a mental picture of the organization's goals. This in turn engenders buy-in, commitment and ‘ownership’ within the workplace.

Adaptability

In uncertain times it is critical to manage change effectively and remain flexible in your attitude and approach. Challenge long-held business assumptions and practices. Taking a fresh perspective will enable you to focus on the daily execution of strategic priorities and help to maximize employee efforts and decision making in the midst of overwhelming demands.

Best foot forward 

Leaders must lead. They must provide purpose, direction and compelling values so that employees may envision a positive future. Direction must come from the top, but reach all the way down to front line staff who will ultimately pass on your positive vision to your customers.

But a strong vision is not enough.  it must be functional and memorable so that every employee will embrace it, living and breathing the vision through every task and action on a day to day basis.

Transformational Change - the foundation of business evolution

A good friend of mine, let's call him Steve, frequently asks me the question: what is transformational change?

It's a good question. There's change and there's transformation, and these two terms are invariably synonymous. So what's the benefit of the duplicitous adjective? Why not changing change, or transformational transformation? Or indeed a changing transformation? And why is transformational change such a key activity and concept for the modern business?

Let's consider the definition of the terms change and transformation:

change - n.

1. The act, process, or result of altering or modifying: a change in facial expression.

2. The replacing of one thing for another; substitution: a change of atmosphere; a change of ownership.

3. A transformation or transition from one state, condition, or phase to another: the change of seasons.

transformation - n.

1. a. The act or an instance of transforming. b. The state of being transformed.

2. A marked change, as in appearance or character, usually for the better.

So what's the difference?, asks Steve

Well, consider this definition of the evolved term:

transformational change

A change that is not merely an extension or improvement over the past, but a state change. 

This state change can be personal and organizational. The change is no ordinary change, it is far more bold and compelling - not simply a more or better version of busines-as-usual. When used in a business environment, this concept is an audacious vision of a new organizational structure and methodology.

Before being actioned, transformational change calls for a new level of fearlessness, of innovation and collaboration, and excites the people of the organization, unleashing their passion and creativity. After being actioned, co-workers will say that they have more than a large improvement, rather they have a different organization, a state-change, a transformation.

Achieving this state change requires altering and expanding the limiting mindset in which the individual employees and the organization operates. It is a mindset that includes the attitudes, perspectives, rationales and logic of individuals and the business, and alters how each perceives their problems and opportunities. Transformational change radically amplifies the bandwidth of solutions that individuals and organizations consider to deal with their strategy and vision.

Ultimately, then, transformational change is an important concept and activity in the development and growth of the modern business. Call it jargon if you will, as it is an idea not generally applied to the non-business world.

So, a useful summary or definition of the term might be:

transformational change

A shift in the business culture of an organization resulting from a change in the underlying strategy and processes that the organization has used in the past. A transformational change is designed to be organization-wide and is enacted over a period of time.

In a nutshell, there you have it, Steve.