Turning transformation into reality: getting it done

Practical insights to help CEO and CFOs make change happen in their organisations

The previous post in this series looked at what needs to happen so there’s no ‘wheelspin’ on day one. For transformation to move forward on Monday, it’s important to ensure that plans are ready and real, everyone is aligned, and the resources you need are in place.

So the key here is a strong and effective CTO. But what difference can they make to your transformation, what do they bring to the C-suite?

In my experience, the answer is: muscle. Not physical muscle. The kind I have in mind is metaphorical and can be used to both ‘push’ and ‘lift’. A strong CTO can help you drive and push to get the very best outcome, they’ll also be able to dive in and support your teams when they need help.

It’s important their muscle power is applied actively in 1) a context of clear, agreed plans, targets and milestones; and 2) with a hands-on attitude. The key word here is active. This is where the Transformation Management Office (TMO) comes into play. Led by the CTO, effective TMOs are activist and managerial, not passive manipulators of Gantt charts and creators of PowerPoint wallpaper.

Let's have a look at these two important traits:

1. Create accountability through clear, agreed plans, targets and milestones

Measurable plans - Each item on each plan needs to include actions with straightforward yes/no answers and nothing in between. Has this action been completed, or not? And if not, what’s being done to get it on track? This way, in a good transformation plan it’s easy to understand and measure whether or not an action has been completed.

Focus on outcomes - It’s much easier to confirm that an action item has taken place if you ask, ‘Has the desired outcome been achieved?’ But I’ve lost count of the number of programme meetings in which all of the discussion has been just about process actions and not results.

Milestones that are actually achieved - Is that milestone a genuine achievement? It’s crucial to look at the big-picture. Headcount savings could be cancelled out by higher outsourcing spend or increased employee costs elsewhere in the organisation. Managers can end up playing ‘whack-a-mole’ with new costs that have arisen alongside savings elsewhere. It’s important that impact tracking is watertight.

Clear rules and communication - Simple, one-page dashboards that use a ‘traffic light’ system help everyone to see whether plans are on track. However, beware of amber, which is often ambiguous – and welcome the clarity of red as a spur for discussion and immediate action. It’s important here to be supportive: too much pushing and shouting, and people will be fearful of raising problems.

2. Hands-on attitude

Fix as you find - There will always be red lights in any plan. They are there for a reason and it’s important to deal with them, rather than pretending they are in fact amber. At one industrial organisation I worked with, there was a culture of declaring something as an ‘amber’ risk, only for the risk to actually happen the following week. The declaration was just a way of avoiding the actions needed to stop the risk from crystallising, and softening the blow when it did.

Do it now - This type of procrastination, AKA ‘hoping the problem will go away’, is a killer. Effective TMOs will spot red lights and deal with them straight away rather than moving actions back.

Be directive – and ensure consequences are real - During transformations it’s essential to identify and deal with individuals and teams who are not on board with the plan. Senior leaders and TMOs should be directive around projects that are slipping behind: questioning delays, taking quick action and holding people to account. These can be tough conversations, especially in organisations with cultures that aren’t accustomed to accountability and challenge. You need to be prepared to take action.

But be supportive, too - An effective TMO should welcome problems and work out how to deal with them, rather than looking for people to blame. And it should provide leaders with any extra resource they need to stay on plan and escalate problems. Senior leaders involved in the transformation can offer support by acting as role models for the change they seek.

Clear plans and targets and a hands-on attitude are the top two proven attributes for successful execution. Activist TMOs also put in place solid program governance, with the meetings, reporting and dependency management needed to keep everything on track. And they take care of change management with communication programs that support a smooth transition to any new organisational state.

Is your organisation in a position to keep a transformation program on track? ?These questions can help make sure you succeed:

1. Are you ready to put in place transformation leaders with an activist mindset? And are you prepared to be hands-on to help them drive results?
2. Is your organisational culture such that it empowers people to raise problems as they find them and to have tough conversations when necessary?
3. Do your team’s plans and KPIs enable water-tight impact tracking AND hold individuals accountable?

For the next post, I’ll be asking: ‘show me the money!’ – how to make sure the benefits of transformation flow through to the bottom line.