World Monitor Magazine, #5, Industry World Monitor Magazine, Industrial Overview | Page 48

EXPERT OPINION

all eyes will turn to the CEO and the
leadership team for strength, support, and
direction. The leaders themselves must
embrace the new approaches first, both
to challenge and to motivate the rest of
the institution. They must speak with one
voice and model the desired behaviors.
The executive team also needs to
understand that, although its public face
may be one of unity, it, too, is composed
of individuals who are going through
stressful times and need to be supported.
Executive teams that work well
together are best positioned for
success. They are aligned and
committed to the direction of change,
understand the culture and behaviors
the changes intend to introduce, and
can model those changes themselves.
At one large transportation company,
the senior team rolled out an
initiative to improve the efficiency and
performance of its corporate and field
staff before addressing change issues
at the officer level. The initiative
realized initial cost savings but stalled
as employees began to question
the leadership team’s vision and
commitment. Only after the leadership
team went through the process of
aligning and committing to the change
initiative was the workforce able to
deliver downstream results.

3. Involve every layer.

As transformation programs progress
from defining strategy and setting
targets to design and implementation,
they affect different levels of the
organization. Change efforts must
include plans for identifying leaders
throughout the company and
pushing responsibility for design and
implementation down, so that change
'cascades' through the organization.
At each layer of the organization, the
leaders who are identified and trained
must be aligned to the company’s
vision, equipped to execute their
specific mission, and motivated to
make change happen.
A major multiline insurer with
consistently flat earnings decided to
change performance and behavior
in preparation for going public. The
company followed this 'cascading
leadership' methodology, training
and supporting teams at each stage.
First, 10 officers set the strategy,
vision, and targets. Next, more than
60 senior executives and managers
designed the core of the change
initiative. Then 500 leaders from
the field drove implementation. The
structure remained in place throughout
the change program, which doubled
the company’s earnings far ahead

of schedule. This approach is also a
superb way for a company to identify
its next generation of leadership.

4.

Make the formal
case. Individuals are inherently

rational and will question to what
extent change is needed, whether
the company is headed in the right
direction, and whether they want
to commit personally to making
change happen. They will look to
the leadership for answers. The
articulation of a formal case for
change and the creation of a written
vision statement are invaluable
opportunities to create or compel
leadership-team alignment.
Three steps should be followed in
developing the case: First, confront
reality and articulate a convincing
need for change. Second, demonstrate
faith that the company has a viable
future and the leadership to get there.
Finally, provide a road map to guide
behavior and decision making. Leaders
must then customize this message for
various internal audiences, describing
the pending change in terms that
matter to the individuals.
A consumer packaged-goods company
experiencing years of steadily
declining earnings determined that
supported by EUROBAK

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