5 Mind Settings that you must exercise in a Transformation

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.”