Joanne's Story - Part 1 : Digital Transformation Vs. Leadership Conflict & Corporate Ambiguity

At a Glance

• Joanne has been hired into Mythical Deposits Incorporated (MDI) to recover a failing Digital Transformation programme.
• The organisational structure at MDI is complex with joint heads of the business and multiple different teams required to support the delivery.
• Joanne uncovers an environment where conflict at the top and corporate ambiguity are impeding delivery.
• Joanne is familiar with the Galapagos Framework? and uses this to construct both a short- and long-term action plan.
• Joanne gains Executive Committee (ExCo) approval to make the changes that are required to ensure that the Digital Transformation proceeds in a more efficient and effective way.?
• Executive support is maintained by providing regular updates to the ExCo using tangible metrics.

Introduction?

Joanne has been hired into Mythical Deposits Incorporated (MDI), to recover a failing Digital Transformation programme.?MDI has, so far, spent millions of dollars to deliver its products via. new digital channels.

However, nine months into the programme there has been very little in the way of delivery and what has been produced falls significantly below the expectations of the joint business heads.?Defect rates are high and the functionality that has been presented often meets with the phrase “This is not what we asked for…”.

Dave and John are the co-heads of the business, they have risen through the ranks of various organisations, where fast-paced and dynamic environments have valued their confidence and strength as ideal leadership characteristics.?Both are highly driven and have very clear, and often, very strong opinions of what deliveries will drive the business forward, and therefore take priority.?

Joanne has identified the key factors that are leading to the lack of effective delivery, of the Digital Transformation programme.

In Part 1, of this 2-part case study, we will look at leadership conflict and corporate ambiguity.

In Part 2, we will examine MDI’s complex organisational structure and heavy-weight governance model.

Part 1 - Leadership Conflict & Corporate Ambiguity

Dave and John are both perceived to be very strong leaders with very clear views of what they believe is right for the business.?This inevitably leads to differences of opinion and a certain amount of conflict.?Tension at the top is to be expected and, in some cases, encouraged to avoid the leadership team from descending into group think.

However, the very reasons why Dave and John have reached senior leadership positions are the same reasons why they struggle in a joint-head position.?Joanne is discovering that the co-head conflict is inhibiting effective and efficient decision making and is resulting in time and cost overruns.

Differences of opinion between Dave and John are leading to the co-heads using subtle nuances in wording when each is communicating strategy and requirements to the delivery function.?

What items should be delivered, and the priority of these, changes frequently resulting in some teams working on items that are not the top priority.?This is causing tension further down the chain between different elements of the delivery function pursuing differing goals in the face of imprecise direction.

MDI is in danger of finding itself in a vicious cycle of conflict but now at the heart of delivery.

Joanne is clear that the conflict between Dave and John is acting as a drag on delivery timelines and leading to increasing costs.?There have been several instances where what was delivered was not what the business wanted, and as such, the various delivery teams are now in a position where they are continually seeking clarifications resulting in further delay and inefficiencies.

This level of corporate ambiguity suits Dave and John as it allows them to pivot on strategy and delivery items without taking much, if any, responsibility for the impact that this is having on delivery (both in terms of time and cost).

Action Plan: Leadership Conflict & Corporate Ambiguity

Joanne is in a delicate situation and must act sensitively.?She knows that having a co-head structure does not lend itself to conducting rapid and effective business change, however, changing the leadership team is not an option.

If left unchecked, it is easy to conceive of a situation where the tensions between Dave and John lead to the destructive behaviours that drive political game playing and manoeuvring which ultimately results in one of the co-heads moving on, but not before many months/years of reducing the effectiveness of the delivery function.

Given that the leadership structure will remain in place, Joanne must devise a plan to mitigate the negative effects of the conflict and corporate ambiguity.

Joanne must seek effective ways of defining what should be delivered and the priority of delivery items. She must also provide the co-heads with the flexibility to change tack without compromising the entire Digital Transformation programme.?Finally, Joanne must ensure that there is little/no ambiguity regarding what is to be worked on in the immediate and near term.

Short Term

1.????Clearly define what should be delivered.

• Implement a process of UX led requirements extraction.?These are short sessions where a UX designer sits with the co-heads to mockup a visual representation of what it is that they actually want.?
• The UX designer is partnered with a Business Analyst to confirm that the data items that Dave and John want to see on the screens actually exist or can be derived from the data that is currently available in the MDI data sources.

2.????Clearly define the order and priority of delivery items.

• Coupled with the principles of the Galapagos Framework? Joanne is also aware of other emerging best practices and uses 60-Minute Strategic Action Sessions (Steve Duesbury) to decide on the ideas that MDI will act on NOW.

3.????Provide flexibility.

• Joanne must ensure that there is sufficient contingency time built into the delivery plan to allow Dave and John to change direction without bringing the whole delivery to its knees.?
• Joanne must also produce clear metrics on the impact of any changes to allow the co-heads to make informed decisions as to whether or not to proceed.

4.????Remove ambiguity on immediate and near-term deliveries.

• The use of the 60-Minute Strategic Action Sessions will go some way to closing the ambiguity gap. ?However, to fully ensure that there are no further misunderstandings Joanne must install herself as a communication conduit between the co-heads of the business and the delivery functions.

Long Term

1.????Monitor the impact of the UX led requirements extraction and the 60-Minute Strategic Action Sessions.

2.????Monitor the process to understand if there is a decrease in re-work as a result of ambiguity.

3.????Continue to mitigate the results of conflict between the co-heads.

Conclusion

Joanne clearly has a difficult task on her hands.?Senior leadership challenges are never easy and should not be confronted head on, keeping the co-heads on side will be critical to successful delivery.

Joanne must tread carefully to circumvent the issues and mitigate, where possible, the negative impact of conflicts between Dave and John.

The action plan that Joanne is implementing will remove delivery ambiguity and will result in clear direction of what needs to be delivered, and in what order, whilst still providing the co-heads with the flexibility to change tack.

In Part 2 we will examine MDI’s complex organisational structure and heavy-weight governance model, the impacts this is having on the Digital Transformation and the approaches that Joanne will take to resolve these issues.

If you would like to join the discussion or provide feedback on the article above, you can visit the website www.galapagosframework.com or contact me directly at [email protected]

All names, companies/organisations, characters, and incidents portrayed in this case study are fictitious. No identification with organisations or actual persons (living or deceased) is intended or should be inferred.