Faced with the opportunities and challenges posed by digital transformation, globalisation and high-paced innovation, many organisations reach out to external management consultants to help them with their strategy. The consultants come and apply their well-healed approach of:
- analysis by ‘benchmark’
- recommendation by ‘analogy’
- implementation by ‘fiat’
Of limited success in the past, this classical consulting approach falls far short of what is required now, because:
- it tends to be undertaken by ‘experts’ who are themselves entrenched in a ‘business-as-usual’ mindset
- it results in simply ‘re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic’, at best
- most importantly, it totally fails to tap into the talent existing throughout the organisation
After all, which management consultants rolled their sleeves up and made online retailing actually happen for Amazon? Or iPod/iTunes actually happen for Apple? Or reusable rockets actually happen for SpaceX?
Producing a nice 100 page strategy report is all well and good… but it doesn’t make anything actually happen. Talented people within an organisation are the ones who make things actually happen.
So, how can you transform your organisation into one where people have a sense of collegiality, mutual trust and a respect for performance? Well, it starts at the top, with the executive team. But the executives I’ve worked with over the years tend to be strong individuals who can sometimes work at cross-purposes. Left unchecked, this can breed competing agendas and turf politics, inhibiting the focus and coordinated effort required during the transformation. What they need is a facilitator to guide them – someone who can help them work together and contribute their individual intuition, creativity and passion fully to the task at hand.
Utilising my background in physics and management consulting, and my deep interest in psychology, I’ve helped design and deliver a number of successful transformation programmes for my clients. At a macro level, the process is:
- working with the executive team to:
– articulate a compelling story of the ‘why’ and ‘what’ of the transformation
– ensure complete alignment between executives by clarifying transformation roles and responsibilities
– help executives project confidence, enthusiasm and conviction when communicating the transformation story - working with the management team to:
– ensure understanding and buy-in of the transformation story
– build the necessary resilience for what lies ahead
– identify enthusiastic ‘change agents’ to cascade the transformation story throughout the organisation - working with people ‘at the coal face’ to:
– help them through the uncertainty of change
– actively contribute to the ‘how’ of the transformation story
– make the transformation story their own
Each transformation programme is supported by a number of one-to-one coaching sessions with key executives and managers. For UK/European based clients, my preference is to hold the sessions at the Reform Club in central London, where we have the option of including a superb working lunch:
I’m a seasoned facilitator, trainer and coach, having worked with many clients across the globe:
To learn more about how I can help you with your transformation programme, just scroll below.
– Mani Sandher