Make your managers the key to the success in organizational transformation!

Liberty: leaving managers to establish their own roadmap

Management teams have a key role to play in the success of any transformation. They are the primary ambassadors of a project, the necessary communication link with teams and wider engagement: what they say, and their actions, are crucial to delivering the change.

Successfully delivering transformation means understanding aspirations

To drive transformation, managers must start by understanding the aspirations for the proposed transformation. There are different types of aspirations. General aspirations held (of course) by the senior management. The aspirations for the organization (i.e. the structural principles of the target organization). Aspirations for governance (what are the different levels of decision-making in the new organization and how do they fit together?). And, not least, the aspirations for the process (developing a shared vocabulary, harmonization of workflows, the desire for customer satisfaction, etc.). There are also aspirations about tools (to limit the duplication of tools, a preference for technological solutions on the market, etc.) the economic model (how to contract for, and invoice, services to customers?), and, finally, aspirations about the transformation program and its management (what does the program look like in terms of macro-planning and what are the key milestones to be met? How is the change program to be managed?).

There needs to be an ownership phase

Following this phase of understanding there needs to be a phase of ownership. Managers need to identify changes and impacts by comparing the scope of existing and target activities. This step then leads to the transfer of activities among the teams, steered by the managers.

With an understanding of the things that will not change, and an awareness of local room for maneuver, managers should be free to define a transformation plan for their new department, fleshing out the strategic objectives set by management into operational projects for their teams (the putting in place of new structures/activities, refinement of existing activities, etc.). This roadmap should describe the change path that they envisage for their department: what will the department’s identity be? What new processes to put in place? Which projects to prioritize? What approaches to put forward? What are the reinforcing measures needed (recruitment, training, etc.)?

Fraternity: transformation involves collaboration

Before launching into the implementation of the action plans previously developed, some collective recapping is imperative. This ensures overall consistency with the priorities of each department and confirms the commitment of each of the managers to the transformation, paying particular attention to the coordination of cross-functional projects: Which will be the lead department for each of these? Which departments will contribute? Do they have common deadlines?

Egality: ensure all managers are equally well informed

Line managers are occasionally accused of hindering the pace of transformation! Their general problem is a lack of time: they must be given adequate resources to drive transformation within their teams.

There is a need to systematically provide information to managers in order that they can anticipate milestones. Ensuring that managers are equally well informed will avoid imbalances between teams and foster commitment to change from all employees.

And the role of senior management in all of this ?

For their part, leaders must put in place clear feedback channels that ensure they remain abreast of all relevant “whispers,” concerns, roadblocks, and hearsay.

They must ensure that the teams remain focused on strategic priorities by rapidly resolving areas of dispute not dealt with by their line managers (through clarifying roles and responsibilities, etc.).

Having set the direction, by providing the ambition for the transformation, leaders must build confidence in its success, ensuring regular communication on teams’ main achievements (through plenary sessions, employee testimonials, customer feedback, etc.).

All of this represents an essential investment in time and resources to strengthen the commitment to change and ensure successful implementation of new ways of working.