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The Transformation Issue | Idealog.co.nz

4

T

H

E

LEADERSHIP

STYLES REQUIRED

TO SUCCEED AS A

TRANSFORMATION

LEADER

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2)7+((03/2<((75$16)250$7,21(;3(5,(1&( Here, he shares a multi-dimensional leadership model that

provides a practical guide for you and your company on how to

complement existing transformation plans with a contextual

leadership approach, designed to increase the odds of success.

Transformation leaders are often challenged to re-invent the

customer experience and to re-design the organisation to deliver it.

Unfortunately, only one out of eight will succeed. Even perfect-on-

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SUCCESSFUL

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TRANSFORMATIONS ARE

PRACTICALLY UNICORNS.

1.

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'16£3@''9WTransformations are simultaneously positive and negative.

For example, an employee might be motivated by new responsibilities

or by the nature of the work, while at the same time feel challenged by

administrative processes and being asked to do more for the same salary.

Social psychology research in approach-avoidance conflict tells us that

positive aspects are more salient at the start of a transformation and

negative aspects become more prominent as transformations progress.

If this rising negative stress is left unaddressed by CX leaders, employees

become more indecisive and the transformation derails.

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'?6'8-'2$'WOnly 16 percent of transformation leaders are mapping the

employee experience as they would for customer experiences. With all its

complexity, it is surprising that so few leaders consider transformation

to include managing the employee experience, with many failing to put

it on par with other employee experiences such as the hiring process,

onboarding and benefits. Having a consistent transformation story and

being clear about the implications of transformation to employees’ day-

to-day work is important. Transformations are four times more likely to

succeed if CX leaders manage the employee transformation experience.

ŠW39;£'!&'89,!='!9;@£'!2&9ধ$0;3-;;,83<+,;,'

;8!29(381!ধ32WWhile they clearly do not have all the details, leaders

intuitively know that they play a big role in managing the transformation

experience for employees. For example, one leadership model has

identified five behaviours that leaders of successful transformations

display, such as ‘walking the talk’, recognising customer obsession when it

happens and making resources available for customer obsession. However,

models like these suggest a one-size-fits-all approach regardless of how

strong the positive and negative aspects of transformation are in the

minds of employees. Research on leadership styles show that only a small

proportion of leaders adjust their styles to suit the situation. Fifty-four

percent of leaders tend to use only one style; 10 percent tend to use three

styles and only one percent use four styles.

We believe that to be successful in your transformation, every leader

will have to switch between these four styles, depending on where the

company is in the transformation journey. They cannot be skipped, and

all employees move through the same four stages in sequence, regardless

of the delivery method or the context of transformation.