Stragility by Ellen R. Auster

Author:Ellen R. Auster
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4426-6986-4
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Published: 2016-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

Now that feels inspirational and aspirational. We know what we’re working toward and have a sense of purpose. We also have some freedom to do what we think is best. As with Whole Foods, a good vision statement gives us a personal and organizational compass that guides our decisions, choices, actions, and behaviors and keeps us moving toward our common goals. Energy and passion are the fuel that keeps our organizations fired up. Usually, that passion stems from more than the bottom line. For us to feel intense dedication, our work in organizations needs to matter. We all want the organizations we work for to contribute something meaningful, inspiring, and useful to the world.

One of the first things that helps to inspire and engage is to create a meaningful vision and accompany it with the business case, or the “why” of the strategic initiative, in a way that people at all levels can relate to and understand. You might be thinking, “I need to roll this change out now. I don’t have the time to mess around with visions and the case for change.” We’ve actually had executives tell us, “The troops don’t need to know any more than their marching orders.” We’d like to suggest that kind of command-focused leadership has some serious drawbacks. If the troops don’t understand why they’re moving, how what they’re doing figures into the strategy, what they’re headed toward, or what to do if things fall apart, the change is going to fail. It doesn’t work for guerilla warfare. And it doesn’t work in business, especially for those companies facing fast-paced contexts where speed and customer responsiveness can’t be slowed down with slow, hierarchical decision-making.

Traditionally, companies that do share their case for change may also have handled this by focusing solely on strategic objectives, the business case, and financial impact. Other firms use the “burning platform” – that “we better change fast or we’ll all die” idea – to motivate people to change. As John Kotter (Harvard change guru) and Dan Cohen (Deloitte Consulting principal) aptly note, while burning platforms may “produce movement,” they also create panic, which shifts people toward focusing on self-preservation rather than organizational transformation.10

So what can we do? As the Global Port story illustrates, when we begin with a strong vision such as “smooth sailing,” it is much easier for people to understand and engage. Global Port also did a great job of mapping and working with the political landscape (discussed in the last chapter). They consulted teams and departments in a cascading, two-way approach on what smooth sailing would mean for them and its benefits and drawbacks. Sponsors and promoters helped generate positive buzz about the changes they were launching. Positive and negative skeptics kept them alert for watch-outs (potential flaws or problem areas) and fine-tuned the “pitch” and action plan.

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