5 ways to lead in an era of constant change | Jim Hemerling

Summary

The speaker explores the dichotomy between personal self-transformation, which is often energizing, and organizational change, which is typically perceived as exhausting. They argue that the 'always-on' era of organizational transformation can be made empowering by prioritizing people through five strategic imperatives: inspiring through purpose, going all in, enabling with capabilities, fostering a culture of continuous learning, and practicing inclusive leadership. The speaker emphasizes the necessity of a human-centric approach to make organizational change less draining and more invigorating.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Self-transformation is often seen as empowering and energizing, with a positive emotional space, as opposed to organizational transformation which is often met with fear and anxiety.
• 🏁 The era of 'always-on' transformation requires organizations to constantly adapt due to globalization, technological advances, and other factors.
• 🤔 Two critical questions are posed: why is transformation exhausting, and how can we make it empowering and energizing instead?
• 🛑 Organizations often make change harder by acting too late, focusing on short-term results, or taking superficial, one-off approaches.
• 🌈 Five strategic imperatives are suggested to transform the approach to organizational change, all centered around putting people first.
• 🎯 The first imperative is to inspire through purpose, connecting the transformation to a deeper sense of purpose that can motivate a broader audience.
• 🔄 The second imperative is to 'go all in', meaning to focus not just on cost-cutting but also on growth initiatives, operational changes, and talent development.
• 🛠️ The third imperative is enabling people with the necessary capabilities for success during and after the transformation, much like athletes need different skills for different stages of a race.
• 📚 The fourth imperative is instilling a culture of continuous learning, shifting from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, as exemplified by Microsoft's transformation under Satya Nadella.
• 👥 The fifth imperative is for leaders to be both directive, with a clear vision and accountability, and inclusive, capturing the hearts and minds of people through open debate and engagement.
• 🏆 Inclusive leadership is highlighted as critical, with the example of the Golden State Warriors' coach Steve Kerr, who created an environment of open debate and credited his assistant for a pivotal strategic decision.

Q & A

What is the general emotional response to personal self-transformation projects?

Personal self-transformation projects often occupy a very positive emotional space, making people feel empowered, energized, and even exhilarated.

How do people typically react to organizational transformations?

Organizational transformations are often met with fear and anxiety, with people associating them with potential layoffs and feeling the need to run and hide.

What is the term used to describe the constant need for organizational adaptation due to globalization and technological advances?

The term used is 'always-on' transformation, which signifies that organizations are in a state of continuous change and adaptation.

Why is organizational transformation often perceived as exhausting?

Organizational transformation is seen as exhausting because it is often approached in a crisis mode, focuses on short-term results without hope for the future, or takes a superficial, one-off approach.

What are the five strategic imperatives suggested to transform the way organizations approach change?

The five strategic imperatives are: 1) Inspire through purpose, 2) Go all in, 3) Enable people with the capabilities they need, 4) Instill a culture of continuous learning, and 5) Practice inclusive leadership.

How does LEGO's transformation strategy connect with a deeper sense of purpose?

LEGO's transformation strategy is guided by its powerful purpose to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow, which is reflected in their global expansion and investment in innovation.

What does 'going all in' mean in the context of organizational transformation?

'Going all in' means not just focusing on cost-cutting measures like layoffs, but also investing in initiatives that drive growth, change company operations, and develop leadership and talent.

Why is it important for organizations to provide their employees with the necessary skills and tools during a transformation?

Providing employees with the necessary skills and tools ensures they can succeed during the transformation and beyond, making them feel energized and empowered in their new roles.

How did Chronos, a global software company, enable its employees to succeed during its transformation?

Chronos invested in new tools for monitoring and customer satisfaction, skill development for resolving service problems, and reinforced collaborative behaviors for a seamless customer experience.

What was the cultural shift that Satya Nadella aimed to achieve when he became CEO of Microsoft?

Satya Nadella aimed to shift Microsoft's culture from one of silos and internal competition to a living, learning culture with a growth mindset, where employees are encouraged to listen, learn, and bring out the best in others.

What is the importance of inclusive leadership during an organizational transformation?

Inclusive leadership is critical for capturing the hearts and minds of people, creating an environment of open debate, and encouraging suggestions that can lead to successful transformation.

Can you provide an example of inclusive leadership from the script?

An example of inclusive leadership is Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, who created an environment of open debate, solicited suggestions, and implemented ideas from his staff, such as changing the starting lineup during the 2015 finals.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Empowering Self-Transformation vs. Organizational Exhaustion

The paragraph discusses the contrast between personal self-transformation projects, which are often seen as positive and energizing, and the daunting prospect of organizational transformation, which is typically associated with negative emotions like fear of layoffs. The speaker introduces the concept of the 'always-on' transformation era, where organizations must continually adapt due to globalization and technological advances. The speaker's wife, Nicola, highlights the exhausting nature of this constant change. The paragraph concludes with a call to understand why organizational transformation is so draining and to explore solutions to make it more empowering and energizing. It acknowledges the difficulty of change and suggests that organizational practices often exacerbate this difficulty, such as leaders waiting too long to act, focusing on short-term results, or taking superficial, one-off approaches.

05:05

🛠️ Strategic Imperatives for People-Centric Organizational Transformation

This paragraph outlines five strategic imperatives to transform the way organizations approach change, with a focus on putting people first. The first imperative is to inspire through purpose, using LEGO's example of a guiding 'North Star' purpose that motivates their global expansion and innovation efforts. The second imperative is to 'go all in,' suggesting that while layoffs may be necessary, they should not be the sole focus of transformation; instead, organizations should also invest in growth initiatives, operational changes, and leadership development. The third imperative emphasizes the importance of equipping people with the necessary capabilities for success, illustrated with the story of Chronos, a software company that provided its employees with new tools and skill development to facilitate their transition to a software-as-a-service model. The fourth imperative is to instill a culture of continuous learning, exemplified by Microsoft's shift under CEO Satya Nadella to a growth mindset and a living, learning culture. The final imperative for leaders is to balance being directive with being inclusive, ensuring a clear vision and accountability while also capturing the hearts and minds of people.

10:09

🏆 Inclusive Leadership as a Catalyst for Transformational Success

The final paragraph emphasizes the role of inclusive leadership in successful organizational transformation. It uses the example of the Golden State Warriors' head coach, Steve Kerr, who led the team to a championship through an inclusive approach that encouraged open debate and valued suggestions from all levels, including a game-changing idea from his assistant. This style of leadership is critical for capturing the commitment and creativity of the entire team. The paragraph concludes with a call to action to transform our approach to transformation by prioritizing people, making a broader appeal to ourselves, our organizations, and society to embrace a more human-centric and empowering change process.

Keywords

💡Self-transformation

Self-transformation refers to the process of personal change and improvement. It's a theme central to the video, as it contrasts the positive energy associated with personal growth against the often negative connotations of organizational change. The script mentions activities like training for a marathon or learning a new skill as examples of self-transformation, which are typically seen as empowering and energizing.

💡Organizational transformation

Organizational transformation is the process of change within a company or institution. Unlike personal change, which is often viewed positively, the script suggests that organizational change is frequently met with apprehension and stress, as it can be associated with layoffs and instability. The video discusses the need to shift the approach to organizational change to make it less exhausting and more positive.

💡Emotional space

Emotional space is the psychological and emotional environment in which individuals operate. The video script uses this term to describe the different feelings associated with personal versus organizational change. Personal change occupies a positive emotional space, while organizational change is often seen as negative and anxiety-inducing.

💡Always-on transformation

Always-on transformation is a term coined in the script to describe the continuous need for organizations to adapt due to factors like globalization and technological advances. It implies that change is a constant and ongoing process, rather than a one-time event, which can be exhausting if not managed properly.

💡Resistance to change

Resistance to change is the natural human tendency to oppose new or different conditions. The script acknowledges this phenomenon, noting that people often resist change, especially when it is imposed upon them. This resistance can make organizational transformation more difficult and draining.

💡Crisis mode

Crisis mode refers to a state of urgency and high stress, often characterized by reactive decision-making. In the context of the video, leaders sometimes wait too long to initiate change, leading to a crisis mode where everything is rushed and exhausting, rather than being planned and energizing.

💡Short-term results

Short-term results are outcomes that are focused on immediate gains rather than long-term sustainability. The script criticizes an approach that only focuses on short-term results during transformation, as it fails to provide hope or a vision for the future, contributing to the exhaustion associated with change.

💡Putting people first

Putting people first is a central theme of the video, advocating for a transformation approach that prioritizes the needs and well-being of individuals within an organization. The script outlines five strategic imperatives for achieving this, emphasizing that transformation should be empowering and energizing for people, not just for financial or operational goals.

💡Inspire through purpose

Inspire through purpose is one of the five strategic imperatives mentioned in the script. It suggests that transformations should be connected to a deeper sense of purpose that can motivate individuals beyond just financial or operational goals. The example of LEGO Group is given, where their purpose of inspiring and developing the builders of tomorrow guides their transformation efforts.

💡Go all in

Go all in is another strategic imperative discussed in the script, which means fully committing to transformation beyond just cost-cutting measures. It implies taking comprehensive actions that drive growth, change operations, and develop leadership and talent, as illustrated by the analogy of preparing for a marathon, which requires more than just losing weight.

💡Enable capabilities

Enable capabilities refers to providing individuals with the necessary skills and tools to succeed during and after a transformation. The script uses the example of Chronos, a global software company, which invested in new tools, skill development, and collaborative behaviors to empower its employees through their transformation journey.

💡Continuous learning

Continuous learning is the fourth imperative mentioned in the script, emphasizing the importance of fostering a culture where learning is ongoing and valued. The transformation of Microsoft under CEO Satya Nadella is highlighted, where he shifted the company culture from one of internal competition to one of growth and learning, contributing to the company's success.

💡Inclusive leadership

Inclusive leadership is the final imperative and a critical aspect of transformation leadership. It involves being both directive, with a clear vision and accountability, and inclusive, capturing the hearts and minds of people. The script provides the example of Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, who created an environment of open debate and collaboration, leading to the team's success.

Highlights

People often feel energized when discussing personal self-transformation projects.

Self-help books often convey a sense of excitement and empowerment.

Organizational transformations are typically met with fear and anxiety.

The era of 'always-on' transformation due to globalization and technological advances.

Transformations are exhausting due to the way they are traditionally approached.

Leaders often wait too long to initiate change, leading to crisis mode.

Short-term focus and superficial approaches to change can be detrimental.

Transformation should be empowering and energizing, not exhausting.

Five strategic imperatives are proposed to transform organizational change.

Inspiring through purpose is crucial for broad motivation in transformations.

LEGO's transformation is guided by their purpose to inspire children.

Transformations should not just be about cost-cutting but also about growth and development.

Enabling people with the necessary capabilities is key for successful transformation.

Chronos invested in tools and skill development to facilitate their transformation.

A culture of continuous learning is essential in the era of constant change.

Microsoft's transformation under Satya Nadella emphasized a growth mindset.

Inclusive leadership is critical for capturing the hearts and minds of people.

Steve Kerr's inclusive leadership style at the Golden State Warriors led to success.

Transformations should be approached by putting people first.

Transcripts

Have you ever noticed when you ask someone to talk

about a change they're making for the better in their personal lives,

they're often really energetic?

Whether it's training for a marathon,

picking up an old hobby,

or learning a new skill,

for most people,

self-transformation projects occupy a very positive emotional space.

Self-transformation is empowering,

energizing, even exhilarating.

I mean just take a look at some of the titles of self-help books:

"Awaken the Giant Within,"

"Practicing the Power of Now,"

or here's a great one we can all relate to,

"You are a Badass:

How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life."

(Laughter)

When it comes to self-transformation,

you can't help but get a sense of the excitement.

But there's another type of transformation

that occupies a very different emotional space.

The transformation of organizations.

If you're like most people,

when you hear the words "Our organization is going to start a transformation,"

you're thinking, "Uh-oh."

(Laughter)

"Layoffs."

The blood drains from your face,

your mind goes into overdrive,

frantically searching for some place to run and hide.

Well, you can run,

but you really can't hide.

Most of us spend the majority of our waking hours

involved in organizations.

And due to changes in globalization,

changes due to advances in technology

and other factors,

the reality is our organizations are constantly having to adapt.

In fact,

I call this the era of "always-on" transformation.

When I shared this idea with my wife Nicola,

she said, "Always-on transformation?

That sounds exhausting."

And that may be exactly what you're thinking --

and you would be right.

Particularly if we continue to approach the transformation of organizations

the way we always have been.

But because we can't hide,

we need to sort out two things.

First,

why is transformation so exhausting?

And second, how do we fix it?

First of all,

let's acknowledge that change is hard.

People naturally resist change,

especially when it's imposed on them.

But there are things that organizations do that make change even harder

and more exhausting for people than it needs to be.

First of all,

leaders often wait too long to act.

As a result,

everything is happening in crisis mode.

Which, of course, tends to be exhausting.

Or, given the urgency,

what they'll do is they'll just focus on the short-term results,

but that doesn't give any hope for the future.

Or they'll just take a superficial, one-off approach,

hoping that they can return back to business as usual

as soon as the crisis is over.

This kind of approach

is kind of the way some students approach preparing for standardized tests.

In order to get test scores to go up,

teachers will end up teaching to the test.

Now, that approach can work;

test results often do go up.

But it fails the fundamental goal of education:

to prepare students to succeed over the long term.

So given these obstacles,

what can we do

to transform the way we transform organizations

so rather than being exhausting,

it's actually empowering and energizing?

To do that, we need to focus on five strategic imperatives,

all of which have one thing in common:

putting people first.

The first imperative for putting people first

is to inspire through purpose.

Most transformations have financial and operational goals.

These are important and they can be energizing to leaders,

but they tend not to be very motivating to most people in the organization.

To motivate more broadly,

the transformation needs to connect with a deeper sense of purpose.

Take LEGO.

The LEGO Group has become an extraordinary global company.

Under their very capable leadership,

they've actually undergone a series of transformations.

While each of these has had a very specific focus,

the North Star,

linking and guiding all of them,

has been Lego's powerful purpose:

inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow.

Expanding globally?

It's not about increasing sales,

but about giving millions of additional children access to LEGO building bricks.

Investment and innovation?

It's not about developing new products,

but about enabling more children

to experience the joy of learning through play.

Not surprisingly,

that deep sense of purpose tends to be highly motivating to LEGO's people.

The second imperative for putting people first

is to go all in.

Too many transformations

are nothing more than head-count cutting exercises;

layoffs under the guise of transformation.

In the face of relentless competition,

it may well be that you will have to take the painful decision

to downsize the organization,

just as you may have to lose some weight in order to run a marathon.

But losing weight alone

will not get you across the finish line with a winning time.

To win

you need to go all in.

You need to go all in.

Rather than just cutting costs,

you need to think about initiatives

that will enable you to win in the medium term,

initiatives to drive growth,

actions that will fundamentally change the way the company operates,

and very importantly,

investments to develop the leadership and the talent.

The third imperative for putting people first

is to enable people with the capabilities

that they need to succeed during the transformation and beyond.

Over the years I've competed in a number of triathlons.

You know, frankly, I'm not that good,

but I do have one distinct capability;

I am remarkably fast at finding my bike.

(Laughter)

By the time I finish the swim,

almost all the bikes are already gone.

(Laughter)

Real triathletes know that each leg --

the swim, the bike, the run --

really requires different capabilities,

different tools,

different skills, different techniques.

Likewise when we transform organizations,

we need to be sure that we're giving our people

the skills and the tools they need along the way.

Chronos,

a global software company,

recognized the need to transfer from building products --

software products --

to building software as a service.

To enable its people to take that transformation,

first of all they invested in new tools

that would enable their employees to monitor the usage of the features

as well as customer satisfaction with the new service.

They also invested in skill development,

so that their employees would be able

to resolve customer service problems on the spot.

And very importantly,

they also reinforced the collaborative behaviors that would be required

to deliver an end-to-end seamless customer experience.

Because of these investments,

rather than feeling overwhelmed by the transformation,

Chronos employees actually felt energized

and empowered in their new roles.

In the era of "always-on" transformation,

change is a constant.

My fourth imperative therefore

is to instill a culture of continuous learning.

When Satya Nadella became the CEO of Microsoft

in February 2014,

he embarked on an ambitious transformation journey

to prepare the company to compete in a mobile-first, cloud-first world.

This included changes to strategy,

the organization

and very importantly, the culture.

Microsoft's culture at the time was one of silos and internal competition --

not exactly conducive to learning.

Nadella took this head-on.

He rallied his leadership around his vision

for a living, learning culture,

shifting from a fixed mindset,

where your role was to show up as the smartest person in the room,

to a growth mindset,

where your role was to listen, to learn and to bring out the best in people.

Well, early days,

Microsoft employees already noticed this shift in the culture --

clear evidence of Microsoft putting people first.

My fifth and final imperative is specifically for leaders.

In a transformation,

a leader needs to have a vision,

a clear road map with milestones,

and then you need to hold people accountable for results.

In other words, you need to be directive.

But in order to capture the hearts and minds of people,

you also need to be inclusive.

Inclusive leadership is critical to putting people first.

I live in the San Francisco Bay area.

And right now,

our basketball team is the best in the league.

We won the 2015 championship,

and we're favored to win again this year.

There are many explanations for this.

They have some fabulous players,

but one of the key reasons

is their head coach, Steve Kerr, is an inclusive leader.

When Kerr came to the Warriors in 2014,

the Warriors were looking for a major transformation.

They hadn't won a national championship since 1975.

Kerr came in, and he had a clear vision,

and he immediately got to work.

From the outset,

he reached out and engaged the players and the staff.

He created an environment of open debate and solicited suggestions.

During games he would often ask,

"What are you seeing that I'm missing?"

One the best examples of this came in game four of the 2015 finals.

The Warriors were down two games to one

when Kerr made the decision to change the starting lineup;

a bold move by any measure.

The Warriors won the game and went on to win the championship.

And it is widely viewed

that that move was the pivotal move in their victory.

Interestingly, it wasn't actually Kerr's idea.

It was the idea of his 28-year-old assistant, Nick U'Ren.

Because of Kerr's leadership style,

U'Ren felt comfortable bringing the idea forward.

And Kerr not only listened,

but he implemented the idea

and then afterwards,

gave U'Ren all the credit --

actions all consistent with Kerr's highly inclusive approach to leadership.

In the era of "always-on" transformation,

organizations are always going to be transforming.

But doing so does not have to be exhausting.

We owe it to ourselves,

to our organizations

and to society more broadly

to boldly transform our approach to transformation.

To do that,

we need to start putting people first.

Thank you.

(Applause)