Transformation 101

(Short read! Not my usual, but hey...trying to get you guys to keep on reading)

In my first 3 months as CTOO, here are my first 5 learnings with reference to the 'T' in my title.

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Upon entering the new role as CTO, you think…

Assumption #1:

You have ample time to think, strategise, plan, implement according to a phased approach...

Reality #1:

Wrong. Or at least partially wrong. Some things cannot wait. You see the gaps and you know you need to get them fixed immediately - what I call 'basic housekeeping'. It's like the basis of a pyramid. For the upper parts to be stable you need to get the foundations in place. And although in theory it would be good to wait until the transformation strategy is planned holistically and presented to the company for allegiance and alignment, some things just can't wait and need to be attended to ASAP. And that's ok. There's fixing and then there's transforming.

I think it's more to do with the realisation that as a Transformation Officer you expect that you will have ample time to asses, plan and implement gradually and in phases. But you walk into what is actually a living organism and some organs within that living organism need to be attended to without delay in order for the whole system to function and work more coherently.

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Assumption #2:

You say something, introduce a new concept, present a new process and you think it's CLEAR, that everyone understood

Reality #2:

No. It's not clear. Although yes...some (or even most) people were nodding their heads in agreement as you presented your new concept/process...whatever. Don't let that fool you. Everyone has their own filters, so although we 'listen', we translate the meaning of what we hear in our own way according to our own personal filters. And we all have filters. So what we say and assume was clear, has passed so many personal filters from all the audience, that clarity gets diluted.

What to do?

(1) CHECK FOR BLIND SPOTS. Or in even simpler terms, check that you have zero 'gaps'. What I mean by this is you might assume that by saying A,B,C you made things clear, but actually there are many #blindspots -> the stuff that you didn't mention because you thought 'it goes without saying'. But in fact you need to call these points out as well. Identify these blind spots in your proposal/concept BEFORE you present. Test the presentation on a few people to test their understanding and see what questions might arise. By ensuring there are no gaps, no blind spots you maximise clarity.

(2) KEEP IT SIMPLE. Simplicity helps clarity. And with clarity comes credibility and trust in the 'system'. Present simply, speak simply, give simple & clear examples. Make what you are presenting understandable & digestible.

One of the simplest yet most important ingredients for a successful transformation is CLARITY.

It is only now that I understand why out of all the leadership principles Microsoft could have selected, 1 of the 3 it concluded on was 'CLARITY'. It sounds simple, but it proves not to be.

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Assumption #3:

You present a new concept/idea, introduce a new process that needs to be adopted and you've ticked your box. Done ??

Reality #3:

REPETITION REPETITION REPETITION. Let me repeat…REPETITION!!!!!!!! You may send an email to announce a new process. You may present to the entire company, talk to departments separately, you may even do 1:1s. In all likelihood, most of your audience will walk away and do exactly what they have been doing up until that point. It’s called HABIT. And old habits die hard. That's true for any habit, be it professional or personal.

Don't expect people to suddenly break their habits just because you as CTO walked in all smiley one sunny morning and announced a new way of working. You need to constantly intervene in order to help break these hard-wired habits. And intervention needs time because it requires repetition. Repetition is not just verbal. To change habits and old ways of working, as CTO you need to first lead by example, offer hands-on support, recurring mentoring and coaching and frequent follow up. To break the habit, you need constructive and creative perseverance.

CLARITY & REPETITION come hand in hand. These elements sound so basic, sort of like....doh! No shit sherlock! And yet, because they are simple and basic concepts we tend to overlook them and/or underestimate their importance and value.

Assumption #4:

Adopting a culture of feedback is easy. Pffff...everyone can give feedback. Just introduce a culture of feedback.

Reality #4:

Coming from a environment were feedback is in the DNA of the company, you realise that in smaller companies feedback is NOT a given, it's NOT in the DNA, and in some cases, it may not exist at all. The ability to give meaningful feedback is not a skill that everyone has by design. It's an acquired skill. By simply announcing that 'As of today, we will adopt the practice of feedback giving in our company' does not mean that it's going to be done correctly.

Some people have never received proper and/or valuable feedback, some people have never given proper and/or valuable feedback. And many of those who say they have given feedback, have mistaken the meaning of proper and valuable feedback.

Managers sometimes assume that the conversations they have during the year with their subordinates were feedback talks, and yet appear surprised when their employees come back at the end of the year during the performance review discussions saying 'but I was never given feedback. No one ever told me this'.

So not only do you have to invest in building this skill across the company, you have to make people believe in it, practice it and hopefully finally to perfect it. This journey is not an easy one and it's definitely a loooong one.

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Now....here's where...

Assumption #5 meets Reality #5:

Everything is doable. Nothing is rocket science. If there is a will, there's a way. But you need to find that way …that 1 unique way that applies & works best for your company. There is no one set path to success.

Clarity & repetition are the 2 words that form my guiding principle to make the implementation of our transformation plans successful.

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And finally, in my humble opinion, Transformation (with a capital 'T') requires a hands-on approach from the CTO him/herself. It's no use dictating and delegating. The CTO needs to be the first to get his/her hands dirty.

It's you Mr/Mrs CTO and only you that can get the ball rolling.

Be that change agent.

Pull up those sleeves and let's get those hands dirty.