Leading transformation

The premise of the book Leading Transformation is that the job of all leaders is to transform their organizations to keep pace with technology and an ever-changing business environment. It was published in 2018 before we thought about pandemics as a catalyst for change, but it’s very relevant for today’s re-set as well. It shows that leaders shouldn’t focus on the technological side of transformation, but on helping people to overcome their very human responses to change. It’s those responses - such as fear, ingrained habits, politics, incrementalism, and lack of imagination - that cause many leaders to fail in their transformation efforts.

In the book Kyle Nel (an executive who has done it), Thomas Zoëga (a neuroscientist) and Nathan Furr (an academic) together describe how they created breakthrough change at companies such as Lowe’s, Walmart, IKEA, Google and others. They start their process with envisioning the future, using science fiction, strategic narratives and cartoons to create a compelling story. They also explain how they did this, for example by giving suggestions on how to identify the right writers and work with them. Their second step is to break down resistance, using tools such as decision maps and archetypes. Lastly, they focus on prototyping the future, prioritizing small experiments with results that can be shared.

Do you recognize these three steps in your own transformation process?
Are you using creative tools to visualize the future and break down resistance?