What exactly is a leader's role in pushing change forward?
The pandemic changed almost everything about how, where and why we work – with organizations being forced to pivot into overnight digitization and remote models. For employers, and specifically HR practitioners, it was one of the most stressful periods of their careers.
However, COVID also acted as a catalyst for positive change, pushing forward new, innovative ways of working that elsewise could have taken a long time to implement. In many ways, employers’ eyes were opened to the value of organizational transformation – and many haven’t looked back.
“The pandemic really showed organizations how quickly they can adapt transformations to services - something that might previously have taken years,” says Carol Kotacka, organizational change expert and facilitator on the Queen’s University IRC Organizational Transformation program.
The rapid transition of businesses to digital platforms, the need for quick decision-making, and the urgency to reevaluate organizational models, all demonstrate the heightened pace of transformation that the pandemic brought about. As well as proving just how far a company can evolve when it fully commits to authentic transformation.
And there’s never been a more important time to consider the benefits of transformation. As Kotacka tells HRD, we’re living through a time of change – from societal to economic to political – all of which is having an indirect impact on both individuals and their organizations.
“We’re living in the time of the four C’s,” says Kotacka. “COVID, climate change, conflict and cost of living. Since the pandemic, there’s been consistent and consecutive interest rate hikes, affordable housing challenges - these are all things that are top of mind just in the last three years. And so all of those pieces are going to have huge impacts on markets, sectors and employees in their day to day lives.”
It's clear that transformation is coming, whether employers want it or not. From that perspective, what exactly is a leader’s role in pushing change forward? For Kotacka, it’s absolutely critical.
“Data from Harvard Business Review found that 70% of change initiatives fail,” she tells HRD. “That’s either down to a lack of leadership or bias from the frontline staff. With organizational transformation, a leader’s role can be highly effective when they create a platform with employees and stakeholders. From there, you need to be measuring success, looking at metrics, resourcing and finally championing the whole process from start to finish.”
For employers, it’s essential not to forget the human side of transformation. After all, change is only successful if you have the participation and backing of your people. If employees aren’t onboard, then transformation is almost always doomed to fail.
“That’s where transformation is made or broken,” says Kotacka. “The role your people play. If you’re looking at a digital or performance-based transformation, maybe you want to change culture or DEI practices – they’re all behaviour-based. They require attitudinal change from the hearts and minds of your people – without that you won’t be successful.”
And the data’s there to back this up. According to research from McKinsey, organizational change is 12.4 times more likely to be successful when senior managers communicate continually – and when frontline workers take the initiative to drive that change, it elevates the chances of success by 71%.
“We're in a period of rapid transformation that isn’t slowing down,” adds Kotacka. “In essence, a precedent has been set which is just going to continue. If we look at the evolutions that’re attached to technology, artificial intelligence and societal changes, this is a dialogue and a shift that we hadn't seen in decades.
“Perfecting organizational transformation, having the ability to adapt to a set of environments, to new offerings, will allow organizations to shift with market changes and ensure they themselves remain relevant. And that, by extension, will help attract, retain and engage your people.”
Queen’s IRC’s Organizational Transformation program runs from Nov 14-17, 2023, via Zoom. To learn more or to register, please visit our website at: https://irc.queensu.ca
