Transformations and volleyball

I was born in Bulgaria - the land where we walk on living coals (seriously,?check it out). My grandfather was the coach of the national volleyball team - for most of you, this won't mean much, but he won the silver medal at the world championship in 1970, set the team up for success at the Olympics that followed, and was awarded coach of the century. He continued coaching for another 30 years, and I was tossed around (in a playful manner) at the court by his teammates as a toddler.

?I wouldn't say I like volleyball that much. I played at school but decided I was a total disgrace given my grandfathers' lifelong devotion to the game and shifted my focus to soccer (this will be covered later).

?But recently, I read something that made me think that Business Transformations have much to do with volleyball. Let me explain:

?The Setter - in volleyball, the Setter is the most critical position. They manage the whole court and orchestrate the team (rarely get praise). The Setter is the undefeated defence line. The Setter is almost invisible on the court, but the spiker won't be able to do much if it's not for the Setter.?The Setter has to have a delicate touch to set the ball perfectly for the other players. The Setter communicates with everyone - they get the rest of the players on the same page so they can win. Guess what?!? That is what the Transformation architect does too! We set the transformation up, align all the moving parts and all the different streams, identify all the dependencies and risks ahead of the game and ensure the subject matter experts shine bright and get the perfect ball every time.

?Passing - is one of the essential volleyball skills. You can only progress or win if you pass that ball. You need to know when to pass the ball and make it in a controlled manner. The defender passes to the Setter, and the Setter then set's the attacker and passes - you get the point. In transformations, we pass the ball from one stream of work to another - we design a future state target operating model - these rules get passed onto the tech teams in the form of requirements so they can build the solution. If we do not pass these at the right time and in a controlled manner, we run into issues down the line that usually results in overages and change requests (no one likes these)

?Swinging (thanks, Jess Jordana) - I have heard people say not to swing when passing the ball. If you get under the ball and swing hard, even if it is in the right direction, the force of the ball plus the overcorrection of your swing will kill the whole attempt. Instead, you should plant your feet, keep your arms still, and be slightly angled toward where you want the ball to go. When I talk to Clients about their transformations, I often hear them talk about the big swings - "we will fundamentally change the organization!', 'we will take a huge pivot!', 'we will focus 10x more on a new service delivery model'. All this sounds great, but these big swings will only lead to hell without the proper plan and infrastructure. What we should do instead if we are to transform successfully is to plant a strong foundation first and angle ever-so-slightly to where we want to go.

?Flexibility - being flexible in volleyball is a must. It will win the game and save your life (literally). You don't need much convincing on this one. Allowing for flexibility in business transformations is equally critical. This includes being flexible and switching between styles and approaches as you navigate through the chaos (yes, it will be chaotic) and complexity, allowing for flexible framework and delivery, making decisions without having all the data (or all the faith), even to an extend going with the flow. Flexibility can be difficult if you have not been doing transformations for a living, so save yourself the grief and rely on the pro players to bring home the win.

?I hope this read was entertaining for you. These are my own thoughts and views regarding transformations - I am always excited to discuss, be challenged and learn from what you do, so do not hesitate to reach out. If you want to talk about coal walking - I am always game too!