Managing the emotional marathon of business transformation

Most customer experience (CX) innovation will require business transformation. To help leaders drive transformation success, Firstsource commissioned research with 120 senior executives who’ve led change initiatives.

Here, a former FTSE-100 CEO reflects on the five leadership challenges of business transformation and shares insights for managing each one.   

1. Managing the paradox of business case optimism

I have served as a chief executive and chairman and numerous companies. Yet, I cannot remember one business case that delivered exactly what was on the nameplate, even if it had gone through all the processes right up to the board.

Some business cases have been very good, but most have not and some cases have been a disaster. So, how do you spot the business cases that are going to be successful?

I think it comes down to the following features:

• The credibility of the people putting forward the case. Have they got a mix of analytical mindset and knowledge of the essential detail?
• The scale of benefits. If the business case is 30-40 per cent wrong, will the company end up with a huge advantage?
• Consequences of failure. If the business case ends up being 30-40 per cent wrong, is there a possibility it could crash part of the business or the total enterprise?
• Future gains. Can this transformation be a platform for future advancements? It might lose out on one point, but could it still deliver on the second, third and fourth points? If you did this nationally, could you roll it out internationally?

2. Judging organizational readiness and impact

Firstly ask, how new is the top leadership that wants to bring in the change? Do they come from the business or are they brought in from outside? If they come from outside, I would welcome their ideas but remain vigilant about their knowledge of processes inside the business. 

Secondly, consider the people who will deliver the project, not just the people presenting it. Often, these are not the same. I remember working with a CEO who was an excellent salesman and manager. He proposed a major change program - to digitize and simplify a set of very complex processes across global locations. The initiative eventually failed because organizational culture just did not respond quickly enough. The board had misgivings on this issue from the get-go, but the CEO’s persuasiveness carried the day. 

Thirdly, remember culture is very complex. Sometimes, top management does not take culture seriously enough. If the change is important – to expenditure, scale, or impact on the business – management must fully understand how it will reverberate through current organizational culture. They need to set aside time to deep dive into every aspect of cultural change.  

3. Ensuring dissenting opinions are heard

Board cultures vary from being extremely open to very closed. In an open culture there will be a good discussion, but in a closed culture, there will not. Unfortunately, there is little you can do to change this. But as decisions are made you need to be aware of what kind of conversation and consideration they underwent at the very top. 

On the implementation side, it is all about project management. You have got to have a structure and governance procedure, and a clear project leader. Also ensure there is a free thinker in the group. They may be a pain in the neck for the operators, but they will speak up if they think it is necessary. 

4. Creating a genuine partnership with key suppliers

The best partnerships see top supplier and client leaders as peers, with both willing to have an open dialogue. 

Structured meetings allow partnerships to focus finer details, but in many occasions big issues dominate the floor and absorb all the attention. It is most productive to resolve big issues outside of routine meetings, in a less formal setting where people are encouraged to speak frankly. 

5. Managing the emotional marathon

A transformation project is a marathon where it is important to pay attention to social considerations. Employees who pitch frequently tend to over-promise, and this sets the rest of the team up for under-delivery. Over-promising can impact the interaction with top management as the team struggles to deliver. I am not the first to say that it is always better to under-promise and over-deliver. 

Emotions are inherently linked to the project’s financial performance and this can vary across time. Getting year one right is great, but it is much more important to get year three and four right, and ultimately the entire project spot on.

Leading transformation insights

While most of life’s lessons come from experience, you do not always need to go through the challenges yourself. This is where peer insights come in helpful. Our research into five leadership lessons of leading transformation is based on personal experiences of 120 senior executives with significant experience of leading change. Download the research to start making your transformation more successful today.