Split loyalties: how to serve both your mindset and transforming org

There are few things more challenging for children than divorce. And many commentators identify split loyalty as one of the worst factors in poor psychological outcomes. Effects include: confusion, mistrust, loss of security, being the go-between.

The affected child is placed in the irreconcilable position of being simultaneously on one side and the other. But is is worse than this. They are: the battleground, the troops, the hostage, the collateral damage, the spoils, the communications medium, the judge and the jury. All at the same time played out in their heads and their hearts and their stomach. No wonder it's so damaging.

Organisational change is similarly traumatic, particularly for those affected by redundancies, their families and loved ones. It is something many of us are or have been affected by, including myself.

But here's the truth: trauma is necessary for growth. And with the VUCA-induced rise of the gig economy shattering norms around job security, together with the upheaval and disruption in many industries, this trauma trend is only going to get worse.

So what does this mean for the individual? Do I have to prostitute my values for job security. Are my split loyalties doomed to compromise my ability to think and act in a transforming organisation? Is there a simple formula for avoiding the worst ravages of a split loyalty mindset?

In this article I'll share observations I've made as a fledgeling change-maker in the midst of a transforming org. We will cover the myriad conflicts and split loyalties and chart a passage through the rocky coastline to get us all to safe harbour. All wrapped up in seven tips:

Tip 1: be true to your ideals

We all have a moral compass though it may be larger or smaller, point in different directions or no direction at all. We also have a sense-making compass that allows us to fathom the correct course within the limits of our abilities, experience and situational awareness. Again these compasses spread through the members of an org may be larger or smaller, point in different directions or no direction at all.

Wherever we sit we should aim to be loyal to our ideals be they popular or not. But is it safe to be up front about it? What happens if our views are out of line with established orthodoxy? Robert Greene on this:

Law 38: think as you like but behave like others.

Problem for the Machiavellis amongst us is that this tactic works much less well in an era of Agile transformation and Teal organisations where authenticity is key.

And even the best career psychopaths will struggle to fool people in the group agility setting. Indeed for genuine transformation authentic leadership is required. Of course power tactics still come into play as covered in my previous article referencing the work of Microsoft's Satya Nadella.

Being true to our ideals can reduce confusion, provides clarity around mistrust because sometimes it is warranted, provides security of continuity and allows us to be the go-between between our ideals and the changing org.

Warning: do not confuse ideals with biases.

Tip 2: put the outcome above yourself

One of the hardest split loyalties to reconcile is the one between the transformation and ourselves. This is because of the following unwritten third Law of Mediocre Organisational Transformation:

1. Transform only as much as necessary
2. Let externals do the dirty work
3. Retain or enhance one's own position

This pernicious 3rd law is human nature and bred into us over millions of years, nothing to be ashamed of. We wouldn't have gotten very far as a species if we kept voting for our own demise. Problem is there comes a time where we may need to consider that the org needs to move on without us in our current role. To recognise this is brave and admirable, to act on it heroic.

Confusion is likely due to cognitive dissonance between what we may know in our hearts is for the best and the Laws of Mediocre Organisational Transformation listed above--actually a rulebook for transformational avoidance. And we can all fall into its embrace. Understand that sometimes things have to move on. Once we understand this we can trust people, even if we can trust them to not act in our own or the org's interest.

Tip 3: accept that collateral damage will occur

Organisational transformation is not yet a precise profession. We do not have our equivalent of keyhole surgery where we can take out the bare minimum of toxic employees with precision camera-guided tools and a few small punctures. Often bold structural moves must be made. And in this process some collateral damage will be done to surrounding healthy flesh. It reminds me of the advice from Stephen King: sometimes to let the writing shine you have to kill your darlings. As with writing so with organisational transformation.

From a loyalty point of view this presents a very real dilemma. What if the collateral damage is my friend? What if we have moved up in the org together as it has grown. What if they have leverage over us, reducing our ability to act?

My advice may seen ruthless but is sadly necessary: try your best to promote the right decisions as you see them, but be prepared to let collateral damage occur.

Tip 4: have fun with it

Some people think that treating life like a game is inauthentic and corrupt. I beg to disagree. In moments of disruption be humanistic, sympathetic, empathic and the rest but try to have fun. Levity will raise others' morale as well as your own as well as dispelling stress and tension. Turn cynicism into irony, be philosophical. Your market is changing but there are new frontiers out there to discover. Laugh at your mistakes.

Tip 5: take a risk and try something new

The world is changing and not paying attention to this is not an ideology. If your mindset is limited by lack of up-to-date knowledge then open a Web browser and get some. Or ask a colleague you trust. If you lack experience then try something new. It's OK to struggle at first and we all go through it. I had a great experience recently where a colleague I hadn't seen for a while was beaming like a new convert having got over their suspicion of a new technology and found success with it. Often mindset change is like starting a new habit, give it time to bed in.

Don't feel bad if you have fallen behind. It is human to stop learning when our needs are met, but in a transforming org you must start learning again to protect current or future needs. Maslow said a lot about this.

Tip 6: explore the interface between your mindset and the org

Transforming orgs need Agile leadership. And as Simon Hayward, CEO of transformation consultancy Cirrus, says, Agile leaders must be both Disruptors and Enablers:

The fact you have conflict is because you care about your org and see the value in new thinking. Use this to your org's advantage. But being a reformer or disruptor is not for the feint at heart: not everyone will thank you as it rubs against established orthodoxy. Develop a thick skin and focus on why you are doing it since if you begin to be successful you will make enemies. If you think Agile leadership is the latest baloney career-enhancing move then you may be disappointed.

Critical point: work with allies in your org to build mindshare. This way it is your group mindset interfacing with the org rather than you as an individual. Build and grow your own transformational organisation within an organisation.

Tip 7: form a duality of alliances

I have had many surprising moments over the last five years where I have reflected that I am closer in mindset to outside parties including orgs further along on the transformation journey than my own. Is this disloyalty? I argue not.

See, the modern ways of working espoused by companies like Microsoft and Amazon and Netflix and others resonate with me. And so does reading the accomplishments of leaders like Jos de Blok, founder of Buurtzorg and poster child of the Teal movement. That doesn't mean I like or understand all of what they do, but the way they think and particularly the way they organise themselves around a set of principles and behaviours just makes sense.

And for those who say (and they do) "it can't work here", I reply "building trust through empathy to boost group performance can work anywhere". Many orgs needs these new ideas combined with the local knowledge needed to make them successful in context. Embrace the duality.

For the battle is simply this: adaptive authentic modernity vs. optimising accumulative orthodoxy. And we all know who will win. In the transforming organisation, game players and power brokers do not cut it any more. Without authenticity, the correct strategies and tactics are too impenetrable to them. And this is good news: our increasingly VUCA world gifts conviction professionals an advantage. So go and infect your org with these modernising ideals wrapped in an empathic understanding of the limitations holding their adoption back.

In the marital disharmony of transformation embrace the split loyalties and see yourself as a marriage guidance councillor rather than an affected child. This creates the environment for positive organisational change.

"When a flower does not bloom you fix the environment in Which it grows, not the flower."

ALEXANDER DEN HEIJER

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