Implement high-performance organizational changes with a focus on horizontal leadership.
Moving Mountains
By Howard M. Guttman
Leadership ExcellenceApril 2013
Major change is no cakewalk.
“One cannot manage change,” Peter Drucker wrote. “One can only be ahead of it. In a period of upheavals, change is the norm. But unless it’s seen as the task of the organization to lead change, the organization won’t survive.”
Since at least the 1980s, many senior executives have tried to get ahead of the change curve and transform their organizations to meet a complex and demanding future. The results have not been encouraging. Upward of 70 percent of change efforts fail to achieve goals.
To understand why the approach to change taken by hierarchical organizations doesn’t succeed, consider the polar-opposite approach to change in High Performing Organizations (HPOs):
Characteristics of HPOs
The vision is a high-performance, horizontal one.Rather than trying to bolt change initiatives onto a slow, risk-averse hierarchical structure, with its top-down decision-making, silos, and limited accountability, HPOs eliminate silos, distribute decision-making, and create a sense of WE accountability and collective ownership at all levels. Leaders in HPOs transform the senior team into like-minded, high-performing leader-players.
The goal is squarely on business results.Change per se is not a key objective of HPOs. The fuel for the effort is a significant business challenge that must be met. What matters is accelerating performance to achieve better results.
The focus is on tight targeting.HP leaders shy away from big-bang initiatives aimed at transforming the entire organization relatively fast. They set their sights on the performance and interaction of teams and their members. Since teams are the basic work unit of the modern enterprise, the transformation process must start with them. Transform teams, starting with senior management, and business results follow.
The emphasis is on building momentum.The HP approach to change begins with the senior team. Once they are aligned, transformation becomes apparent in the behavior of team members—in how they view themselves and engage one another. As you align teams—tier to tier and team to team—you create how do we get into the club momentum. The entire organization becomes an HPO entity.
Assessing the Need for Change
To assess how much change is required to move toward the HPO model, examine three areas. How close are you to achieving these characteristics?
Area 1: Leadership
The old leader/follower paradigm is replaced by the idea that everyone is a leader.
Leadership behaviors—directing, coaching, collaborating, delegating—are adjusted to meet team members’ needs.
Leaders have put aside the story that they alone get paid to make decisions.
Leaders insist that team members hold them accountable for results.
Area 2: Teams
Teams are guided by measurable goals.
Team goals and priorities are aligned with the business strategy.
Roles and responsibilities are clear.
Wins for the team and organization supersede personal or functional wins.
There is an agreed-upon process for making decisions and resolving conflict.
Team members hold one another—and the leader—accountable for results.
Area 3: Organizational Effectiveness
Structure, systems, and processes—especially those relating to information flow—support interdependent decision-making.
Rewards go beyond individual achievement to reflect team accomplishment.
There is a meritocratic, results-based culture that values transparency, collaboration, discussion, and debate.
There is an omnipresent urgency to resolve issues fast and effectively.
The learning environment values skill acquisition, risk-taking, and innovation.
The Challenges of Major Change
Major change is no cakewalk. It flies in the face of fear, resistance, comfort zones, and the entrenched conservatism of hierarchies. The magnitude of the task depends on your assessment of the three critical areas.
HPO leaders know that the only way to move organizational mountains is to:
Create a compelling horizontal vision.
Tie change squarely to business results.
Target and pace it.
Build momentum so that change sticks.
It’s the best way to lead change and survive going forward.
About the Author
Howard M. Guttman is principal of Guttman Development Strategies (www.guttmandev.com), specializing in creating high-performance organizations and teams through senior team alignments, executive coaching, and leadership development.
ACTION: Assess yourself in these three areas.