Leadership Evolution: 7 Key Strategies for Business Transformation in the First 90 days

Reflecting on my last three executive leadership and commercial strategy roles has provided an excellent opportunity for introspection. A chance to distill and articulate thoughts and key learning outcomes from experiences centered firmly upon paced change and business transformation. Also, it offers an opportunity to share logical steps, actionable ideas, and concepts to help others overcome similar challenges and drive self-development during those crucial initial 90 days.

Therefore, I began thinking about the beginning of my recent roles, constructively critiquing what I did well and, perhaps, areas where improvement was needed. Extracting valuable lessons and formulating advice for those stepping into a transformative role.

As part of this thinking process, I wrote an article about six essential focus areas to help upcoming CxOs or Senior Executives prepare for their new roles - Proactive Leadership: Navigating Business Transformation with 6 Key Preparation Strategies. This led me to develop this approach to this article - what a new Executive Leader should consider in the early days, especially in a 'business transformation' role. For reference, if you are 'fully accountable for leading significant P&L or corporate development change through people, operational model adaptation and technology innovation,' this might be a better way to describe the 'business transformation' scenario.

Why do I think this might be useful?

Well, personally, I have not found any 'on-the-ground, first 90 days' handbooks for any Senior Executives leading transformation, especially in the telecoms and technology space. No cheat sheets. Success, therefore, centers on whether you can adapt and act fast in a range of circumstances, often unusual, crucial, and with a variety and diversity that never fails to surprise.

The Challenge of Being in the New Executive Leader Bear Pit...

Living the role, especially in the early days, can make it difficult to objectively extract yourself to think clearly and do some real 360 thinking on the issues, options, and direction. This is a symptom of what naturally happens when you are there, at the chalk face, and you need to lead, act, and deliver. Especially when daily you face a myriad of opportunities, management, and decision-making challenges. For example, how are you going to deal with a crisis, build on success, invigorate change, or solve what has seemed insolvable for previous leadership? And do this from day one — as there is often no Executive Leader incubation period; it is 'on' from day one. And you need to land some wins. Accountability is your new middle name. Get used to it. Fast.

Looking Back to Move Forward...

So where do the conclusions come from? Well, hindsight is, of course, a great lens, especially when bringing key learnings from previous roles where I was tasked with a range of 'business transformation' needs and roles.

Reviewing how I began affecting the transformation through my behavior and contact with the team is one aspect. The other is to consider the resultant effect that this had on the financial performance, culture, and the strategic transformation initiative. A two-step approach to measure where I was and where I am today concerning personal and business acumen development.

Such a self-review, in my opinion, is fundamental to self-actualization — understanding who you are and how you affect other people.

So what did I conclude?

Well, as per the title of this article, I have seven themes or tips to share with any new CxO, MD, GM, or Senior Executive leading the beginning of a transformation program at work.

1. Be Honest. Be Clear. Explain Why. And From the Start.

If you are leading a company turnaround initiative, you must be honest with the team from the first day. That change is needed to commercially succeed and protect the longevity or future of the company and if relevant, people’s jobs. Explain why the turnaround is a common goal for all and connect the need to the team’s pride in their company and work. Hoping the team will ‘come along’ with you in a pacesetting environment will not work unless the team identifies with the change. High-energy, hands-on pacesetting leadership will backfire on you if you do not make it clear and contextualize the need. Get it clear from day one, as tough as it is to deliver the truth.

If the business needs operational and commercial restructuring and you have not detailed the ‘why’ behind the need to change, pushing significant process or behavioral change and digital or technology transformation can end with areas of employee recoil and dissatisfaction. Employees can be working hard, with dedication and in an environment that has always felt like a success so new significant change initiatives can feel very unsettling. Be clear with the team on ‘the why’ and what the risks are of not coming together to achieve change and new growth. Assuming people understand the shift in focus, pace, and what the business needs may mean you have some cultural and trust challenges ahead. Delaying the truth behind the need, with a diluted message to work and integrate with the sensitivities of culture will take significant managerial effort to overcome later down the line. Don’t shy from sharing why you are there, why you have been brought in, the real business need, why it needs to happen and what needs to be achieved to achieve success.

It might be a shock to the system for the employees if after being part of something successful, a turnaround or significant change in approach is needed, but I will always be and have been buoyed by the adaptability and capability of individuals and teams to respond to challenges if they feel part of making it happen and know why.

2. Deliver and Reiterate the Vision. Break Down the Pieces.

Assume that the team cannot see the vision or why a particular direction or course is being taken. Reiterate the vision. Do it again. And again. Embed this into the employee culture and express why the transformation concept is vital to the company and them.

Be clear where the company needs to be and what it needs to do regarding milestones or results to demonstrate progress to the vision. These can be commercial targets or technological goals and achievements. Break the need and deliveries down by team to show how the range of changes collectively forms part of the change cycle to achieve the vision. Share some numbers and statistics, explain the competitive landscape and detail the key objectives and required deliveries over the next 3 to 6 months to frame what success looks like.

3. Celebrate Successes. Big and Small. Encourage Pride.

Consistently run team and company meetings and business progress and success updates, trying to get as many of the team in the office or participating through conferencing mediums as possible. Run these sessions yourself, presenting and leading from the front. Bring in experts or showcase great work from the team, but be instrumental in showing leadership, rather than taking a passive role here. And in the review of progress and changes, recognize, identify, and celebrate successful delivery along the way. The big and the small. Highlight the contribution from individual employees and teams working together. Provide some written recognition such as awards, gifts, team events, or even make a video about the delivery of a significant task or change. Feature the employees in the video (those that want to be on screen) as part of showcasing what has been achieved. Try and encourage the teams to reflect on the changes and take new pride in the transformation they have been part of delivering. The video also becomes a 'point in time' moment of delivery and success to then reflect back on with the team at a later date.

4. Be Strong. Offer Trust. Find the Engine and the Stars.

Be open to trusting your team, but be objective as the new CxO or Senior Leader and acknowledge that trust is yet to be built. It needs a step-by-step approach. Be well aware that team engagement with you will range from the honest and helpful to potentially, the contrived or misleading agenda. Ask questions and question the answers. Find the truth and the key individuals your team to begin building trust and relationships. Seek out the 'pass-through managers' and their effect on others. Discover who really supports the activities underneath — who gets things done under delegation from those who take the credit. Push away the daily transactional noise to discover the real operational function of your business and where the engine and backbone of the company are. Every business has its stars — find them and nurture them. Remember also that there are employees who are not shining but have never had the chance to or the recognition. Find these people, too. Give them the opportunity to deliver a task or an initiative. Then make your judgment on what may need to change or not.

5. Restructure the Team. Demonstrate Authority to Achieve the Need.

Fire, hire, or reshape team structures, where relevant. Perhaps you might do all three. I would be astonished if after 90 days your perspective would be to leave the team as it is. After all, the team shape and performance you inherited are areas that require the ‘transformation' you are accountable for.

Not only does this cement change, but often it fundamentally confirms not just your authority but that you have considered, evaluated, and judged the environment, team skills, and the needs to help achieve the commercial or development goals. Timing is critical here. You must allow enough time for individuals and the team to show their capability without allowing the direction of required business travel and progress to be impeded. By not exacting change, this could affect growth, budgetary, or transformation targets?—?your accountability. You need to demonstrate progress. Don’t wait too long. But be measured and balanced in what you change. Or who you bring in.

6. Culture. Understand it. Respect it. Work with it.

Don’t try and fully inherit the culture as is. Try and be part of evolving the existing culture as part of a revised transformation objective. Take positive core components of that culture and support and propagate them. But also try and be open with yourself as to where the culture may have led to negative behavior and business performance direction where there is now a need for, for example, new Senior Leadership (you) for a turnaround strategy. However, cultural management, collaboration, and cohesion of people remain pivotal to your work every day, especially in the first few months. Cultural development is a gentle and slow process with no simple formula. And no end point. Take the rough with the smooth and try and lay out a direction or message that appeals to the existing culture and where it could go, united in the vision.

7. Self-Adaptation.

Have a good look at yourself too. If you are a non-national, from a different part of the world, an alternative race or religion, you should spend some time considering how you might want to change or temper your working approaches, conduct, behaviors, and thinking to work with a diverse and new team. Your tone and style of management may need to be altered from your last role to support your insertion into the existing culture.

And of course, the sooner you develop connectivity to the existing culture, this gives you a chance of evolving the transformation culture. A combination of being respectful to build respect, enabling you to lead and develop your authority. I underestimated the importance of this in the past despite being well aware of the work of Geert Hofstede (cultural dimensions theory) and should have done a little more homework and preparation. In trying to affect change through your behaviors and leadership, you will have an effect on people and how they see you as a person and what you represent as the change agent. For example, I am a great fan of Daniel Goleman’s ‘Leadership That Gets Results’ and the 6 different leadership styles that can be employed, at different moments or in a range of business scenarios. However, due to the local climate, culture, and situational setting, you may not be able to employ all of the styles. Take some time to evaluate and consider.

The Wrap.

So as you open into your role, make sure you are as transparent with yourself as you are with the team. Build your platform to set your path. Your personal charter of honesty, integrity, strength, and infectious passion for creating success is vital in the first 90 days. Make the tough decisions and bring transformation to life through your behaviors and your approaches to make it relevant, ambitious, and important.

Closing Thoughts.

Please feel free to add your views, comments, or feedback below.

Warm regards,

Alex