The common metaphor for organisational transformation is likening the process to a journey. The implication is no undertaking of this kind is instantaneous. This is true, of course. There is no flip from ‘before’ to ‘after’ in the blink of an eye. Human organisations are rarely, if ever, fitted with a light switch to spontaneously and immediately change state. Nonetheless, there are dangers in allowing the transformation to seem like an unending journey. Perhaps it is time to find another metaphor?
Journeys seemingly without end are problematic. Just ask any parent who has had kids in the back of the car on a long trip. The repetitive wailing of ‘Are we there yet?’ is a strong indicator of boredom, journey fatigue and much worse behaviour on its way. And so it is with organisational transformation.
“Often there is a well-meaning misconception that continuous learning is somehow part of the transformation itself.”
In my experience, the longer an organisation is declaring itself to be in transformation, the more we loose engagement from the very people we need for that transformation. Far from helping to create teams of enthusiastic, motivated and collaborative people, our journey without end makes us unfocussed and listless. We march on and on but lose our connection with the vision and purpose of the transformation.
At the heart of this ‘transformation that never completes’ problem is often a well-meaning misconception. We think that continuous learning, the organisation’s ability to constantly improve and adapt, is somehow part of the transformation itself.
“I liken transformation to moving home.”
The process of constant adaptation and improvement is hugely important and arguably the most impactful feature of an adaptive organisation. However, this must emerge as a self-organising, ‘business as usual’ capability owned by the teams and communities rather than on-going, governed and coached transformation activity.
So a new metaphor for transformation may be useful here. One that avoids the trap of ‘instant fix’ but has some finality about the destination. That’s why I liken transformation to moving home.
When we move house, we know there is work ahead. It is not an instantaneous process but it does happen in a timeframe that is significantly shorter than ‘forever’.
We need to visualise how the new house will look after we unpack on arrival . There are planning activities upfront; services to think about and connect. We must pack and transport our valuables to the new location and throw out the stuff we no longer want or need.
On arrival, we deliver furniture and boxes to appropriate destinations. Perhaps we stick to our original plans but maybe we make some last minute changes that fit better with circumstances as we really find them. Finally, we finish unpacking in our new home and celebrate our success and all the hard work it took to get us here.
Then, and only then, do we turn our attention to renovation. We continue to improve our new home, a room at a time.
“The power behind this metaphor is knowing the transformation does end.”
Organisational transformation fits this metaphor easily.
There is plenty of upfront planning. We set out our goals and vision. We determine our value streams and team topologies. There may be new organisational constructs like a guiding coalition and communities of practice to connect.
We may want to bring some of our successful working practices with us on our transformation. After all, let’s not throw away those things we do well.
Then we execute the transformation itself. We train and encourage our people in new ways of thinking and doing. We implement new tools and practices. If we need to change a few things during the transformation to better optimise flow, we do that too.
Above all, we work to meet our goals of transformation as quickly as feasible. We celebrate everyone’s success in getting this far and allow the organisation to drive the continuous improvement.
The power behind this metaphor is knowing that the transformation does end. In our upfront planning we need to determine our objectives carefully. I’ll steal a well known concept and adapt it here – we need to really understand our Minimum Viable Transformation. The transformation should be about creating teams and operational bodies that are capable of self-organising, collaborating and above all driving their own continual improvement and adaptation. That’s the time to declare the end of formal transformation.
So go on, open that bottle of bubbly. You all deserve it
About the Author
Richard Williams is a fan of business adaptivity in all its many forms. He is a Visiting Fellow in the Industry Faculty at Kingston University Business School and an IC Agile authorised instructor in Leadership, People Development and Adaptive Organization Design. Richard has 25 years of experience working in delivery and product roles for a variety of FinTech and Financial Services companies. He is a transformation coach and SAFe Program Consultant.
