A company
transformation awakes on us different emotions (yes, it is an emotional process…),
ranging from fear to excitement. We can face the transformation as a rational step
by step process, but still, we are not going to have success if we (the
transformation team) don´t have the right mind setting. In my experience, there
are at least 5 mind settings you need to have during the process, in addition
to having the right leadership in place:
1) The Pioneer. Imagine Neil Amstrong
and Buzz Aldrin on July 20, 1969. I´m pretty sure they were scared to death,
but they had something we traditionally lack of: a pioneer mentality. Being the
first men landing on the Moon implied to be prepared to face the unknown with
success. The transformation teams have to exercise this mind setting: we are
going to confront new and unexpected problems for the first time ever, and we
have to solve them successfully.
2) The Treasure Hunter. The
transformation is a quest for value, and value can be found in several forms
(money, time, quality, service, etc.) Looking for this value in the
transformation is one of the main tasks of the transformation team. They have
to communicate that the transformation is worthy due to the big amount of
effort that it implies and the stress it produces to the organization.
3) The Prophet. Like Moses, you need to
have a clear vision of the “Promise Land”, in order to lead the team (of
course, not in 40 years…) to the new state. The leader of the transformation
needs to have this clear and compelling vision and he/she needs to be like a
prophet in the enthusiastic communication of such a vision.
4) The Perseverant. Despite several
previous attempts and dangerous weather conditions, Sir Edmund Hillary achieved
the top of the Mount Everest in 1953. The transformation team will confront
adverse business situations and it may be tempted to abandon the trip. The team
has to be perseverant and look for ways to overcome the situations in order to
get to the desired state.
5) The Winning Team player. A
transformation is an extremely collective effort. Like in a sports team, we
have to support our team mates and to have confidence in their abilities,
everyone in his/her role. As Bill Shankly (former Scottish footballer and
Liverpool manager) said: “I want to build a team that’s invincible, so
that they have to send
a team from bloody Mars to beat us.”
