Why wicked problems require wicked approaches
Imagine this: Mike’s boss realizes that to stay ahead of the game, the organization must adapt to a rapidly changing industry and therefore, he sets out his new vision for success. To Mike, the reasons for why the company must undergo a transformation are unclear. He’s rationally understood all communications, but is not really engaged and does not relate to the how and what of the planned transformation program. He feels frustrated and left out, as the effects of the change program to his day-to-day work also remain uncertain. As a result, Mike muddles along, but has already mentally quit his job. After all, this is the fourth so-called transformation he has to bear.
The example above highlights an important factor within change programs: Getting the entire company on board can make or break a strategy. However, all too often employee buy-in and human aspects of transformation projects are forgotten. In fact, roughly 75% of change programs do not meet their intended objectives, often due to employee resistance or lack of management support.[1] PwC’s collaborative change methodology “The Difference”, on the other hand, offers a holistic approach to organizational transformation and focuses heavily on getting everyone around the table involved at once, creating deep alignment, engagement and acceleration of change.
Can you spot the difference?
The underlying idea of The Difference is simple, yet effective: Removing the barriers of hierarchy and functional silos, we at PwC and Strategy& invite a cross-functional team from within a client’s organization to our creative intervention formats called “Design Shops”. Within these interventions, we act as a neutral facilitator, designing bespoke sessions and bringing together the right experts and resources required for each situation. This allows us to challenge and inspire the way people work, think, act and connect. In essence, we provide the proven methodology and space to foster fast-paced change, driven by the client.
With dozens to hundreds selected people from a client’s organization – ranging from CEO to intern – in one room for two to three days, we achieve a shared understanding of a company’s goals, challenges and direction. Our carefully designed transformational sessions are creative, immersive and collaborative and unlock knowledge, skills as well as ideas. We draw upon the disciplines of psychology and neuroscience to build creative “Design Shops” that promote open communication and help employees bring their whole selves to work - not just their professional halves. Additionally, we design and manage work processes that accelerate months of work into a matter of days or weeks. In short: We foster alignment and ownership in accelerated time frames, which leads to higher engagement and better business results.
Wicked Problems
Why is there a need for The Difference? We found that most problems fall into three distinct categories: Rational, political and emotional. Traditionally, advisory methods have focused on rational aspects, analyzing how the moving parts of the puzzle fit together. The Difference, however, is effective as it also addresses the political (How do we make the right trade-offs that benefit our customers as well as the organization?) and emotional categories (How do we help people overcome personal challenges like fear of change?). When problems fall into all three categories, they become what we call “wicked problems”. And wicked problems require wicked approaches: Right from the start we help expose and work through all dimensions of complexity to avoid challenges later in the journey.
In a nutshell, The Difference’s methodology is based on the following four pillars of collaborative intervention:
- People: Our facilitators create an environment that allows the ideas of a client’s team to be understood and harnessed with input from inspirational specialists.
- Places: Our workspaces are carefully designed to be collaborative, creative and free from distractions and inviting the full person to get work done fast.
- Process: Our robust methodology helps us to create the right session for our client. We explore issues, build and test solutions, and commit to making them happen.
- Perspective: We make sure the client team has the right information in the room, presented in the right way so they can make informed decisions about their future.
First and foremost, The Difference changes people’s mindsets – even Mike’s – in order to accelerate transformation. This results in future-proof business solution, higher efficiency and flexibility as well as happier teams - after all, it is better to have fun while solving problems. ;-)
This is the first article of a new Pulse series. Over the coming months, we will share case studies of successful projects to showcase how The Difference is applied to a broad range of organizational challenges. Next month, we will take a closer look at Sarah, who struggled to align her team. For more information in the meantime, please visit https://pwc.to/2SQKdVH
[1] Source: https://pwc.to/37Ae75Y