At the beginning of a corporate transformation, leaders often speak with empowering language: digitize, accelerate, disrupt, reinvent, innovate, reinvigorate, grow, and so on… This is partially because these leaders are involved in making the decision to transform.
At the beginning of a corporate transformation, leaders often speak with empowering language: digitize, accelerate, disrupt, reinvent, innovate, reinvigorate, grow, and so on… This is partially because these leaders are involved in making the decision to transform.
But for many other – perhaps most – people impacted by this sweeping change, their experience can be one of fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and apprehension. „What will my job look like? Will I be able to keep pace?” they might wonder, or even, “Will I still have a job? Will I have a future?”
It’s not that one side is wrong and the other right; it’s that their roles, perspectives, and interests can be very different.
Compassion can bridge these gaps.
Compassion can help nervous employees recognize that their leaders are not devoid of emotion, but rather very human individuals who may have been confronted with a limited number of options… all of which led to sweeping change.
Compassion can also help executives understand that one way or another, they will need to deal with the ‘humanness’ of their decisions. Doing so earlier will be both more humane as well as more efficient; fearful people take a costly toll on the business activities around them.
Here are some factors executives may wish to keep in mind:
Employ many solutions, not just one: You can’t solve this challenge with a mechanistic, one-sided approach. A quick email or speech from the CEO won’t do the trick. Day after day, in ways both substantive and stylistic, you will need to embrace the qualities that make us human. For example, the “fight or flight” reaction to danger is buried deep within us. No memo can turn off this switch.
Individual transformation is the prerequisite for business transformation.
Change thinking before things: “Things” alone (i.e. vision, mission, strategy, processes, structures, IT systems…) will never solve a problem or capture an opportunity; the best software in the world is useless unless people know how to use it.
The first step in any transformation is to change your thinking, starting with the executives. This is the step most companies skip, and this omission often kills the whole transformation effort. If you’ve been running the company for ten years and you try to lead a transformation with the same mindset you have always employed, then you will end up running the same company with an updated bunch of (largely under-utilized) machines.
Digital Transformation is about people first and technology second.
Put people first: It’s easy to draw a new organization on paper or even to sign an acquisition agreement, but guiding people through change is always hard. People are the most complicated element in any organization, and this includes you.
Offer compassion to all involved, yourself included.
Recognize that all change is stressful, even good change. Remember that what people say and how they feel is often quite differently interpreted. Members of your team are likely to tell you what you want to hear, but this doesn’t mean they are sleeping well at night.
Innovation and Transformation need space!
Don’t just “tell” people to change: The best transformation initiatives acknowledge that people need space for personal transformation. The more space and opportunities you provide for sense making and personal growth, the more likely your overall transformation will succeed.
This doesn’t mean to keep pushing and pushing until they accept the company line. It means bringing in practitioners who can help your employees examine the change around them in the context of their own ability to change. It means giving them space and the opportunity to change their perspectives, to understand their emotions and opinions, and time for them to find the ideal intersection of what the company needs versus what they need and want to contribute.
Being compassionate and humane takes a bit longer, but it ultimately builds the kind of sustainable open and agile culture that will ensure your company’s resilience and success for many years to come.
© Radius 1 Consulting GmbH
