From Here To There

In this three-part series we have suggested it’s What’s Next that matters. In week one we explored how to make sense of the future. In part Two we argued that before you step into the future you have to understand where you are right here, right now. In Part three we will look at how you navigate from here to there.

At the end of each blog you can find a link to a facilitation pack that helps you to work through the issues in your context. 

Allan Leighton is one the UK’s most successful leaders. He has been chairman of Asda, Selfridges, Royal Mail and now at the CO-OP. Allan has famously asked why the boards of FTSE100 do not have more focus on execution of strategy. So many of the top 100 hundred executives in top companies are focused on strategy. That is important of course but Allan argues that nothing changes until we actually “crack on” and do something.

Ask yourself what percentage of your top executives focus is on execution? Deployment can be as, if not more complex than the formation of the strategy itself and so it worthy of time and attention.

This week we will explore execution of strategy and how you get from here to there.

McKinsey research suggests that less than a third of strategies and transformation programmes deliver to their original business case and secondly there is the famous military maxim from General Michael Jackson that no plan survives it’s first brush with reality. So, for all the fantastic analysis, planning and engagement why might this be the case?  The evidence is that this is not necessarily a failure of methodology, although this is a sufficient condition, but one of Leadership and Execution. How can Leaders work towards winning deployment?

1.     Do people understand the need to change?

A senior leader in a company we work with had tried a number of times to implement change but had found that they couldn’t make it stick, they also faced the fact that many changes had been launched before hadn’t worked and were often considered to be flavour of the month.

In discussing this issue what became apparent is that the company had employed a number of CEOs each with their own view of what needed to change and that the workforce and trades unions had “learned” that if they delayed long enough there would be a change of CEO and the cycle would start again.  The current CEO tenure is now around 3.5 years in Fortune and FTSE100 companies so waiting out the change is a pretty good tactic.

Our take is that Purpose remains as The North Star but that as Kotter suggests you also need to find the burning platform for change. To share the vision is a crucial step. To set that vision in the Big Picture context is a winning move. Doing this in a way that allow people to explore the big picture and vision for themselves to come to the “Ah ha” moment you need will contribute to the momentum you need for success. 

2.     Who is stopping you from changing?

Research points to the fact that it is often your own organisation, after all this is the one thing you can control.  One powerful question is to ask where is the treacle in your company?  Through the pandemic there was a clear and obvious requirement to do things differently and many of the barriers were removed, Leaders responded more swiftly than previously and often at an urgent pace, as lockdown eases it is important understand whether you want to keep up this pace and if so not allow fresh treacle to be poured into your company.

Our experience is that there is often a conflict between BAU and change with people or departments wanting to hold onto their existing power - this brings in the idea that you need to seed in diversity with people who have different experiences, can see beyond “this is how we do things” and are more abundant in their thinking – “how about trying….?”.

Different people will have different views of your change. It is good to work with the willing but often not enough. Understanding your audience and segmenting them is something good change leaders do. Dave Ward, leader of the Communications Workers Union once asked me “how can you help me take a step towards you?” It was a powerful question and one that has stuck with me beyond that particular change. Has your vision and strategy got broad enough tram lines to allow people to get on board?

3.     Do people know what they should be doing?

Going back to the military there is the approach that the person two layers below you should understand what it is you are trying to achieve, so can your direct reports direct reports concisely explain the change and their role in it, if not why not?  This goes back to Purpose and Culture as Pfizer CEO, Albert Bourla says:

“If you stay true to your purpose and it is very clear to every person that is working in this company, then there is a very clear direction, there is a compass, there is a star that is telling you this is where we all go, that unites the organization, creates cohesiveness, and brings results.”

Are people clear on this, where their “sandbox” is and when to escalate  - do you as a Leader have an in box full of “Urgent, Important!” messages, are you manging the change at the right level, are people asking you to do their “work” and are you creating your own treacle?

4.     Shall we dance?

Change, strategy, transformation are big words and often accompanied with large beautifully illustrated slides decks or weighty management reports but of course these are just bits of paper, our learning is that at some point you need to start with a small step for the change to begin.  Experience shows that people often ask for that extra piece of analysis, lets triangulate the numbers, or have x% confidence but you need to take that first step.

Ofttimes it is important to create a symbol of change or break at ritual to show that in fact the change has started and is going to happen, by this we don’t necessarily mean a rebranding or different letter heads but something that talks to the deeper culture - change brings loss so as you make this symbolic change our experience is that you need to acknowledge this loss, recognise the history that has got the organisation to where it is, there are never ever any “clean sheets” when it comes to making change happen.

5.     I have two left feet

Everything points to the fact that change will not always go smoothly, you will stumble and trip up, this is the moment of danger as everyone’s’ head swivel towards you and demand to know what has gone wrong – we are sure you have all experienced this.

Change and Leadership is not for the fainthearted and now is the moment to hold steady, our learning is that setbacks are gifts if taken in the right way – have you understood why it hasn’t worked, is this something you have seen before and know how to fix or is it novel and the chance to learn?

This is where Purpose comes back. We are reminded of a client who in these circumstances before understanding what had happened started the conversation by asking her executives if the change was still “the right thing to do?” thereby reiterating the need for change and the collective responsibility for it.

6.     There is no big red button, learn to be a Jazz Drummer

So we have talked through some of the challenges and if this was about method you would select the right approach or blended approach, authorise the change and then press the big red button and it would happen……but in two out of three times that is not the case. Why?  Well, the world changes, context shifts and people don’t always act in a “rational” way – to name jus a few.

Our final take is that creating the need for change, getting rid of the blockages and making sure that people know what they should be doing is a great base BUT you also need to be responsive to what is happening around you, are you on the balcony looking out for new patterns, are you scanning the horizon, are you absorbing different views which could challenge your world view?

Rather than being a conductor in change following the rehearsed score and directing the orchestra you need to be a Jazz Drummer – you know what the tune is, you let people improvise for a bit and you bring them back or help them explore further, you hear new sounds and adjust to the tempo and pace but ultimately you set the tone… executing change is difficult and no matter how experienced you are every change is different.

This blog was written by: Murray Cook and Anne McCarthy. If you would like to get in touch with either of them about this article please use the “Contact Us” button below.

Murray Cook is experienced at delivering change in complex situations and developing creative solutions to strategic challenges.

Anne McCarthy is an experienced leader of change and transformation, supporting business with their people strategy and developing leaders.