9 out of 10 transformation programmes are leadership problems.
That’s what I was told by someone who has run many transformation programmes as a managing consultant. I won’t do so, but if I shared the consultancy name, you’d feel comfortable with the comment too. However, if the ‘9 out of 10’ really is accurate, which my experience supports, then ‘transformation’ programmes are facing a unique conundrum, a uniquely human conundrum at that.
“Assume no one wants to change, until they actually do”
I’ve long harboured writing a post with that title, provocative but sufficiently realistic to justify, and anyone involved in the counselling and psychotherapy industry will likely resonate with the sentiment. ‘I really want to change, but (insert reasons why it’s not possible here)’ is an apt description of many weekly counselling sessions nationwide. I never did write that post, but the ‘9 out of 10’ comment brought it to mind.
I’m not judging the sincerity of the client or the extent to which they are suffering; see it as a comment on the terribly difficult nature of human change and transformation. Yet, amongst the tears and heartache, the potential for change is always present, waiting for a revelation, a spark of divine intervention, or some other mysterious happening. Change really is like that, often unexplained or unexplainable.
Nothing showed me this more than late nights volunteering on the Samaritans (suicide) helpline. Such a variety of people called in varying states of distress, but surprisingly, I rarely worried about the most distressed callers in the same way I did for those in only mild distress. You see, many of the most desperate calls ended on a relatively good note, simply because hitting rock bottom reveals hidden reserves you didn’t even know you had. It gave me something to work with as a call handler. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said when you are only part-distressed, contemplating change but without your life depending on it.
What’s the relevance of personal change to transformation programmes?
Firstly, consider adopting a standing assumption that people don’t want to change, until they do. ‘Thank you for accepting the job, welcome to the transformation programme’ might actually mean ‘we talk a lot about change, you will too I’m sure, but we haven’t managed it yet, and there is a chance we might not either’.
Secondly, almost every transformation programme I’ve seen has been founded on some basis of ‘cost savings’ rather than an urgent need to save the company’s life. Does this result in a lacklustre commitment similar to someone experiencing only mild distress? Yes, I believe so.
Thirdly, the heat and fire of transformation programmes burn brightest in the middle and lower bowels of the organisation. I’ve seen plenty of corporate programmes furiously working away, whilst the very individuals in the programme express confusion and doubt about the direction of travel.
What if the trauma of trying to bring change from middle and lower levels, is better explained by the very human difficulty that executives have in first changing and transforming themselves? It’s not a stupid idea if you consider how much money people like Tony Robbins have made from helping people do just that.
9 out of 10 transformation programmes are leadership problems. Makes you think, particularly if you are working in one right now.
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