Transformation - A Voice Within
By Shyamli Mohamed
It’s time to consider the long view. Reimagine work in holistic and integrated way, push the boundaries like never before. We have played “defense” well long enough, now it is time to take control of the game.
- Build capacity to energize the vision and mission - Doing more with Less - Create an agile and engaged workforce - Reimagine delivery across the enterprise
Long gone are the days when we did things in a way believed work must be done in certain ways, and by whom. These traditional ways no longer hold water. There is full culture shift in every organization, “do it or just fade away”, the world is shifting at breakneck speed and we better start running.
Transformation is not about “technology”, it is rethinking, and reinvention of people, processes, technology tools, structures, to be completely new. I often hear, everyone everywhere is in transformation, but the question it begs to ask are you truly and really transforming or just mistaken with upgrading of technology, or systems or new process implementations as transformation.
To be truly “Transformed”, it is critical to comprehend and recognize the term in its full capacity and successfully change beyond Physical limits.
According to McKinsey experts an estimated 70% of transformations fail to achieve it mission. I have completed three transformations in my career span to date, 1st a business transformation which entailed 80 countries around the world and two more business and technology transformations. Transformation is difficult and long journey, it has kept me up many, many nights, but the benefits of three successful transformations is nothing short of magnificent
In my experience most organizations struggle with transformations attributable to inadequacies in:
- Maintaining disciplined timelines & milestones; - Overdesign of scope; - Leadership, - Inadequate attention to change management, - Training and - Communication
A key factor above all things is to keep it Simple. Make “Simplicity your Mantra. I am diligent follower of simplicity in every phase of my life, be it personal, professional. Transformation challenges are efficaciously overcome by keeping focus close to strategy, understanding and staying true to what you need to transform and not give in to peer pressures or competition.
“The voice within” should always be your true north and guide you, to emerge successful and lead. Three that led to my triumph in transformation were:
Transformation is no longer an option
As I mentioned earlier, we have played “defense” long enough, time to go “offense” and take control of the game now. Create a solid foundation to have far reaching impact in the long run. Push the boundaries of how and why we do the things we do. Transform people, processes, leverage technologies to create value, innovate, adopt and adapt to the changing and demanding world. There are no one size fits all in transformation, be mindful to understand your needs, stay true to the mission and lead with full team cognizance.
Adopt 3 simple steps:
1. Deep dive to understand what the transformation should look like in 15 – 18 months, this should be “business as usual”
2. What are the tools, people and partner needed to achieve the goals?
3. Disciplined budget borders are critical. What can I afford now and what can be build? as controls over budget can be lost very quickly and, in most cases, a very expensive price to pay.
Move Fast: “Speed, my name is Speed” Lighting McQueen in the Movie “Cars”
Transformation is not just about doing something new, or disruptions, it is about people, processes, optimization and rapid adaptation. Long drawn transformation sets fatigue in everyone and everything, this not only profoundly leads to loss of drive, loss of objective, drain on funds and ultimately demise of transformation. During a networking event, I met a person who mentioned that her company was always in “transformation” since last three years, the teams were exhausted and were looking to find rationality, stability for a long time.
This is a typical challenge most transformations encounter, the key is to move “fast” and with speed once the strategy is agreed and the design phase is complete. Any modifications to the design has to weighed by the leader, “is it a show stopper” if not, we move on and If it is truly the deal breaker issue, then invest the right time and right people to ensure the changes are designed, built, tested, validated and transformation is on track. The “nice to have” must under all and any circumstance be discouraged. Things like, “we did this way in the past and it has severed us well” is a phase you will hear all the time, counter it with “what is it that you cannot get with the new way”, and wow! It is truly remarkable to note most of the time you win this debate easily.
Maintain steam, speed at all time, and stay on the critical path. A 80-20 rules works wonderfully. So I say again, “Speed, my name is Speed”.
Your Attitude is Your Altitude
Transformation is a journey with multiple connected intermediary goals, achieving break though results requires courage, discipline, audacity and most important of all “attitude”. If the leader and the team has the attitude, you will reach the highest altitude of transformation.
- Attitude in Thought - Attitude to Actions - Attitude of People (Self & Team)
The journey of transformation is not about becoming the best but about contributing and building a better future with value and impact.
Shyamli Mohamed
Shyamli Mohamed is a Senior Vice President at Consolidated Communications, a telecom and energy industry executive with global | international career, leading high-performance teams in global fortune 500 companies.