Become unstoppable; 7 Secrets to a trailblazing people transformation journey

No one designs a vision and related strategy to let it collect dust in a drawer, yet this happens quite regularly. So let’s take a closer look at how you can make a difference.

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The visionary quest

A group of 8 leaders sits in a circle in a vibrant space of a luxury hotel. Beautiful seating arrangements, decorated with colourful flowers and plants which offer a magnificent view. After a brief introduction, I ask the group to take a leap forward and envision their company in five years from now.

Imagine how cool it would be if you could actually do that.

?Unfortunately we cannot see into the future, but we can imagine what that future organisation should look like. Imagine things like what kind of people and leaders would be working there, how do they would collaborate, what kind of technologies and tools are being used, and so on.

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Reality check

After an extensive exploration of that future, the group creates a beautiful piece of artwork — a tangible visualisation of their desired organisation, followed by an engaging, profound discussion . Slowly, the questions arise: Is this what we want? And if so, how do we make this happen? What is required for that? What does this mean for us and for the people in our organisation??

The moment arrives when the team steps back into the capsule. Back to the reality of today. But what is that reality?

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Unveiling organisational gaps

Research shows that 97% of C-suite members believe they role model Agile behaviours, but only a staggering 2% (!!!) of delivery team members actually agree to that.

That same research mentions that only 41% of the respondents felt clear about the direction of their organisation and team. Other research shows that 98% of CEO’s think the purpose of their organisation is well understood. But already at one level lower this percentage has dropped to 50%. Imagine what this means for the people in the teams at the front of the organisation.

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Now that the leadership team has a vision of their ideal future, you want to make sure this vision becomes reality. You want to prevent someone, let’s say in five years from now, from opening a drawer, picking up the vision documentation and saying, 'If we only had put this vision into action, we might not be closing our doors today.'

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Crafting a clear journey

However, just like in a house, you can't go from the basement to the attic in one go. That attic becomes accessible because there are stairs and perhaps several floors in between. A connection (path) that is accessible and understandable for everyone in that house. That's what you want in your organisation as well — a path towards a clear, shared future that everyone understands, that's manageable, that can be adjusted if necessary, and where everyone wants to contribute to.

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The leadership team with whom I journeyed to the future also realized that they had such gaps in their organisation. However, their vision and strategy would bring forward a significant transformation and was so crucial to its success, that they put in their utmost effort. They committed themselves to a different approach — a methodology which I developed over the years, one that garners support and alignment from everyone within the organisation.

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The People Journey Circle – A paradigm shift

This unique, people centred approach revolves around connecting people and purpose, and helps you to create a differentiating and inclusive journey towards the future of work. Differentiating because it closes the gap between thinking and doing. Inclusive because it brings people from all organisational levels together and makes them part of the aspired transformation.

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As every organisation, department, team, or individual is unique, so is every transformation towards Business Agility. What works for one company, doesn’t necessarily have to work for yours as well. ?So you want to be flexible and vary your approach, because moving to Business Agility, only really works when you actively shape and take these steps together with all employees across the organisation.?

The 7 secrets – paving the path to transformation

Each of the 7 secrets or pillars of the People Journey Circle touches upon a different area of creating company-wide Business Agility. Together they form a powerful and people centric path towards succesfully transforming your company into a Business Agile powerhouse.

1. ?People & Purpose is all about the heart and foundation of your organisation. Go back to the roots your organisation and create a compelling purpose, define a strategy to execute on it, and build, skills and capabilities necessary to accelerate and lead a people led transformation, based on that purpose.
2. Communication & Awareness; use the power of storytelling and create an interactive communication approach to raise companywide awareness and desire to change. To achieve this it’s crucial to map your unique transformation journey based on people’s needs.?
3. Building a Governance of Trust is vital to the success of any transformation to Business Agility. Identifying Constraints deals with the so-called Agility Paradox, and adjust them to the new situation. With the help of big room planning like the Obeya, steady work rhythms and business reviews you create transparency and stay focused to execute on your purpose.
4. ?In Business Agile organisations, leadership gets a different meaning and is no longer manifested via the hierarchical line.Hence Role Modelling becomes key to understanding the changing role of leadership and distribution of leadership to facilitate self-organisation.
5. ?We all understand that the group knows more than the smartest individual. Community Building is therefore key to unleashing the power of the Collective Intelligence in your organisation. You will be surprise what you can learn from nature to create smart communities and greater Agility.
6. ?Learning is not a spectator sport if you want to become a continuous Learning organisation. Pay close attention to the intangible parts of change and understand what is necessary to develop a Growth-Mindset. Continuous learning occurs when there is room for experimentation, failure, learning and improvement.
7. ?Eco-systems thinking is a pre requisite for achieving business agility because it acknowledges the interconnectedness and interdependence of various elements within and outside an organisation. It helps you, your business move away from a linear, isolated approach to a more holistic, adaptive, and sustainable way of operating.

By using this people-centric and purpose driven approach, you can thrive in a constantly evolving business landscape while contributing positively to the larger ecosystem of which we are a part of.

Together, these pillars form the foundation for the Twinxter Transformation Journey. In next blog I will tell you all about that.

How the leadership team continued?

The leadership team in the above story started with the 1st ?and 2nd pillar and realised quickly that they also had some work to do themselves as a team and on personal level as well. As this method involves an iterative approach with regular moments of reflection, you will discover in a timely manner what has to be done by your team and organisation, enabling swift responses and adaptability.

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Now it’s your turn to shine – unleash unstoppable potential

Among these 7 pillars, which one resonates most with your organisation’s journey towards unstoppable growth?

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I believe in the principle of 'giving first.' And to reinforce this intention, I have a gift for everyone who shares their thoughts in the comment. You will receive from me personally my ebook Leading with Agility with 50 tips so you can get started right away with a people-centred and purpose driven approach.

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There is never 1 more reason to let your vision and associated strategy gather dust in a drawer

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Thanks for reading this blog and looking forward to your response!

If you think this is of value to others, then please share it with your network. I would highly appreciate that.

I hope to meet you soon, AND feel free to add me to your network ;-)

Every day is a great day to transform the way you change. Together we achieve more.

Have a great day!

Alize Hofmeester

About Alize Hofmeester

It's my purpose to spark the human X-factor and create purpose driven spaces, where everybody is able to grow.

Passionated about living by purpose. Founder of?Twinxter?/?TwinxterAcademy. Author of?Purpose Driven People, creating business agility & sustainable growth. Co-author of?Agile People Principles, Transformational Leadership in the fitness and physical activity sector, Emergence.?Creator of the People Journey Circle. Keynote Speaker, ICAgile facilitator, Obeya Coach.