Great Change

CHAPTER 3The mindset for great change

Inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, ancient Greece, are the words ‘Know Thyself’.

Leading transformation is different from leading BAU operations. Not better or worse, just different. It's therefore important that you consider the mindset you adopt when launching a transformation program so that you have the best possible chance of being sensitive to disruption, develop the right strategy and most critically that you can implement sustainable change. Your mindset will be critical to dealing with the myriad and competing interests of different stakeholders, and to how you're perceived as a transformation leader.

When you undertake a transformation role, it's good to take some time and reflect on how you think, as well as what you think.

It's likely — given you've been entrusted with leading a transformation — that you're already successful in your own right, you have solid experience in either your industry or your company (or both) and that you have a record of delivering business success. ‘Let's entrust our most important transformation initiative to [insert name], because she has a record of failure in everything we've given her so far,’ said no boss ever.

If we acknowledge that large-scale change is hard, and focus in on the human elements of why it's hard, we remember that transformation is made more difficult because of the different people involved — and you now know who they are, from the insights I offered ...