A Guide to Transforming Your Organization

For a while now, I have been deeply involved in the process of transforming organizations, and I believe, as transformation leader, it's time to share my testimony regarding a successful transformation experience. Here, I will be recounting the most recent successful initiative that began two years ago within my organization.

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Unlike following academic lectures or relying on methodologies from large consulting companies such as McKinsey's 7S, CMMI, Kotter's change model, or SAFE, we have chosen a different path. Instead, we've been drawing upon common-sense principles derived from various frameworks and our own practical experiences.

1- THE TEAM(S), A CRITICAL STARTING POINT FOR SUCCESS

When embarking on a transformation journey, the first step is to plan who will lead the transformation team and who will be part of the core transformation team (a very small team responsible for guiding the entire process):

• A sponsor: This individual will play a crucial role in challenging your decisions, which is indeed a valuable contribution. He/she must also commit to resolving situations that may arise at the C-Level. I have had the privilege of working with highly supportive and committed sponsor, no doubt a game changer to success.
• A senior coach/advisor: It's essential to enlist a senior consultant experienced in driving transformations to provide both expertise and ability to challenge your decisions. Throughout our journey, I had the opportunity to work closely with an experienced transformation program manager who brought an entrepreneurial mindset to the change process, along with a toolkit of effective tools and methodologies.
• The core team: These are the individuals who will nurture and ultimately drive success within their respective teams. Selecting leaders capable of guiding their teams on this journey towards a new organizational target operating model is of utmost importance. I was delighted to collaborate with a team that was truly passionate.
• You as the transformation leader: ?your role extends beyond traditional leadership. Your primary aim is to empower and uplift your teammates, fostering a sense of unity and cohesion within the group, so that they collectively form a ONE TEAM. This is especially crucial when leading a team that includes C-level executives who bring remarkable intelligence and expertise. To accomplish this, you actively promote the generation of structuring ideas, the adoption of best practices, and the execution of all the fundamental activities expected from a team leader. This involves creating an environment where team members, including C-level executives, are encouraged to contribute their thoughts, share their insights, and engage in practices that drive the team's success. I am pleased to have fostered a sense of unity, instilling a "ONE team" mindset that has proven to be a powerful motivator.

As the transformation leader, your role is to guide the process, offer support in developing solutions, craft the transformation plan, alert management to potential risks and scheduling issues, validate decision-making processes, and unify the teams.

2- PREPARING THE JOURNEY FOR YOUR STAKEHOLDERS

The first step is to develop a deployment methodology, which will be enriched through brainstorming workshops. It's imperative to adopt a holistic approach to your program, presenting both the working axes and a step-by-step methodology.

Here are some key streams that I have navigated and which should be applicable to various situations, organized around an initial planning estimate:

• Project team organization (PMO)
• Target Operating Model
• Local deployment of the organization
• Team transformation (including Technical roadmap, data visualization, ..)
• Management of Change
• Tech Care
• Sustainability

It is your duty to spot where some activities require more detailed explanation and to unsure there is no misunderstanding during this journey.

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A phased approach example for a complex stream:

Then, you must share the reason for your transformation with your community. Convincing them is a must to succeed in next steps:

• The WHY: the business stakes are the need to change

In my business, the primary driver for change was the significant growth, with more than doubling every year. This growth was placing tremendous stress on IT capacities and capabilities, putting at risk the service quality and the time to market.

• The guiding runway: your CIO voice is the strategic rules’ owner; this is your compass to never deviate from your route: The transformation encompassed three significant shifts:

-- A COMEX decision to review our usual business operating Zones split: we shifted from vertical organizations per zones (Americas, Europe, Asia) to a more transversal split between zones and business segments (B2B, B2C, Finance, HR).

-- A target operating model shift: this involved empowering end points within a global framework, encouraging a “think globally, act locally” approach.

-- A technological/user experience paradigm shift: We moved from traditional coding to configuring, heading towards a potential low-code, no-code future.

3- THE JOURNEY STARTS

This is where the ‘magic’ begins to transform your organization. We adopted the below proposed methodology to drive the change:

We decided to use Visual workspaces which brings holistic visibility on your as-is situation and what would be a desired future. The approach is to lead the team toward solutions on a very bottom-up approach: your role is to guide and to listen, not to answer.

1. WS#1: What is the situation and what are the drivers for improvement :This workshop delves into our processes and activities, categorizing them per ITSM process category, identifying stakeholders, teams, and functions by circles of proximity, and exploring what improvements our core team members seek in their service offer.
2. WS#2: Technology and role mapping :This workshop encourages innovative thinking and sharing of opportunities. It’s a powerful tool to unearth new ideas and address any irritants that may hinder progress.
3. WS#3: Bridging the target organization with the technology evolution :In this workshop, we map the organization and activities to ensure alignment with the technology evolution, resulting in a draft of the new organization model.
4. WS#4: Target Operating Model presentation and challenging, key messages
5. WS#5: Preparing the organization needs for all entities :This step involves mapping the RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) for each organization.
6. WS#6: Resources estimates validation :This helps in the initial budget planning
7. WS#7: Target Operating Model finalization: By this stage, all team members are fully aware of the process, leading to increased efficiency as a global sense of the situation is shared and built.
8. From the previous iterative workshops we can now create job descriptions for recruiting new resources
9. Now you have everything at hand to start a formal program management.

4- MINDSET AND KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Throughout the process, it’s vital to ensure the plan is improving. Here are seven golden rules (7GR) to guide you:

• You are a servant leader are dedicated to cultivating a unified ONE TEAM. In essence, you lead by serving, nurturing a culture of collaboration, innovation, and effective teamwork, ensuring that your team operates as a cohesive and high-performing unit.
• Onboard a sharp transformation program manager & PMO to support you on this journey: Having experts to manage and oversee the transformation is key to its success.
• Alternate your transformation meetings with business-as-usual meetings: This balance breaks monotony and reinforces a ONE team spirit, emphasizing that the organization can evolve without disrupting daily operations.

• Keep measuring your transformation maturity: Continuously assess how well the transformation is progressing to identify areas that need improvement.

• Identify the key moments where you must refuel energy & trust in your ONE team: Recognize pivotal moments in the transformation process when extra support or motivation is needed to keep the team engaged.

• Onboard Enterprise Architecture architects into your program: This step ensures that IT decisions gain legitimacy and align with the overall enterprise architecture.
• Keep practicing sport or other activities to refuel yourself as this activity is energy-consuming: Personal well-being is important. Regular physical activity and enjoyable activities help recharge your energy for the demanding transformation journey.

5- HERE ARE SOME OF OUR KEY STATISTICS

• A transformation journey spanning 2 years
• Expanding worldwide from 4 to 8 entities
• A core team comprising about 12 individuals
• A consistent group of 30 individuals actively participating in project leadership roles
• The transformation program ultimately influenced approximately 300 individuals over the 8 entities