In Chaos theory- a branch of mathematics- when a system experiences significant transformation, even the small changes in the initial conditions would have massive repercussions in the later stages of the system’s evolution.
This is quite true with organization changes as well.
And this makes managing the transformation not something to think about after the transformation is put in motion, but something you should start doing right from the beginning, perhaps even before the events of change are in motion.
Here are the key aspects a leader should focus on for efficient transformation management.
Provide a clear roadmap to change
A roadmap helps you scale greater heights
To instil confidence about the change about to come, you would need to provide your team members two things:A clear picture of the end state that would be achieved as a result of the transformation and the detailed roadmap towards that end change.
The first point is essentially about vision. Unless the leader has a vision towards which s/he is leading the team, it would be hard to define the outcome of the transformation.
A vision-inspired leader would have a clear mental picture of the state to which he should guide the organization. Equally important is the fact that a strong vision has the power to be consistently motivating. This helps the leader double down on the transformation project with even more zest.
The Temenos Vision Lab or TVL is a unique session which helps change agents discover their True Personal Vision. If the transformation agenda for a team is aligned with your personal vision, you would perform better as a leader than otherwise. For the drive to pursue the vision would be an extra motivation.
For example, if your vision is to help create a greener world, and you are brought in to lead an automobile manufacturing unit to transform it from a maker of vehicles that use fossil fuels to one which rides on electricity, your innate vision makes you all the more passionate to see the transformation through.
However, the catch is that such a true vision is often hard to discern within yourself.
Mind that it’s not a desire we are talking about here but a vision. While the former is transitory, the latter isn’t. And it’s only true vision that could help you lead better.
TVL brings you both psychological insights and 25 years of business consultancy experience, so you could discover your True Personal Vision.
Leverage the power of stories in transformation
As mentioned before, it’s important to have a narrative of transformation to instill confidence in your team members, and also to act as a guideline.
But the aspect of storytelling is significant in one other respect too.
This is in regard to the roles each team member plays in the larger picture of the organization’s transformation. A change agent who is aware of the journey of transformation his or her self has undertaken in the past would have a better idea of taking that narrative forward.
The Personal Mythology is a key step in TVL which leverages the power of storytelling.
Incorporating the three steps of introspection, visualization and articulation, it’s a session that helps the change agents frame a narrative of their progress so far, and also their aspirations.
This helps them become more aware of their own inner selves, and gain a better idea on how to align their values and skills to the impending organization transformation.
Enable holistic awareness of individuals and the team
For a smooth transformation, it helps if the team members and their leader are clear on three fronts:
1)Their own personal vision and its significance in the container(the team or organization)
2)Understanding the unique skills and aspirations that each team member brings to the container, leading to the team being in better sync as a unit.
3)A shared goal towards which the team could progress.
On the first point, we have already discussed how TVL could be instrumental in helping you discover your True Personal Vision.
On the second, the team members are encouraged to share their values and aspirations and personal narratives with each other, fostering stronger bonding.
On the third, TVL also helps a team realize their Compelling Shared Vision.
To enable all these, the proprietary tool called Influence Maps is used in TVL.
Tackle inhibitions to change in your own self
The self in question could be a leader or a team member. The inhibitions mean mental aspects like misapprehensions about people or processes which may be making you weary of changes.
And no matter however much we back a transformation, sometimes these inhibitions are too deep rooted to allow us to be comfortable about the impending change.
This makes it important that before embarking on the team or organization level transformation, you need to make sure that all the team members and the leader are mentally open to it, that no mental inhibition stands in the way of the desired outcome.
The Clean Slate session included in the TVL is designed specifically to address this issue. Not only does it help you identity the ‘dark spots’ in your mental makeup that pull you back as a change agent, it also helps you weed them out.
Clearing these inhibitions would be akin to clearing unwanted rubble to help something fresh grow its place.
Temenos Effect Gathering 2018- Bengaluru, India(Dec 29, 2018)
An event dedicated to the idea of personal mastery, for nurturing your beautiful self, for change agents and leaders to become their true selves.
For more details, visit our website: https://www.visiontemenos.com/events
