Mindsets Culture and Behaviour

Digital business transformation isn't simply the implementation.

Of cutting edge technologies.

It's a new way of thinking about value, business models and the organization. It needs a culture that is shaped and solidified over time through mindsets and behaviors. Mindsets and behaviors that result in a new way of operating in the company and by encouraging transformation. And an aligned leadership team needs to be behind that. My name is Rob Llewellyn and as you know, companies need people with the right capabilities to manage and lead transformation. As you know, orchestrating successful transformation isn't that easy. And I mean innovative transformation which creates a new future without the constraints of the past. Which is why I hope that what I share in this episode will help you get better equipped to perform at your best as a manager, leader or consultant. If you want to learn more, go.

To studythrive.com before a company can hope to shape its culture, the leadership mindset must first make its own shift. But if leadership mindsets are not properly aligned, reshaping a company's culture is going to be very difficult. With that said, all leaders should start by considering is the company flexible enough to take advantage of the opportunities that are on offer, is the company prepared to take risks, and is transformation now business as usual in the organization or still being seen as a one off initiative which was a start and an end? It's important to remember that culture isn't simply created. It happens as a result of behaviors exhibited by teams and individuals in an organization. Beanbags, motivational posters, mission statements, and a fridge full of free drinks is nice, but that's far from creating a shifting culture. Culture is shaped and solidified over time through mindsets and behaviors. Most established companies have thrived on cost control and operational efficiency. After leaders have embedded a culture of reliability optimizing for operational excellence over variability, these leaders must now do an about turn and accept that transformation without innovation can't happen, and that innovation is accompanied by risk. Risk that can strike fear into the hearts of traditional managers and leaders who thrive upon safety and how things have always been done around here. Although digital business transformation calls for a cultural shift, this is not the first time leaders have been faced with cultural challenges. Company mergers have taken place for many decades, and culture has been one of the greatest challenges that leaders have had to contend with during a merger. While the goals of the cultural change required for transformation might be different to those during a merger, values, practices, attitudes, and beliefs remain at the core of both. In transformation, often an initial excitement surrounds a new initiative. But when the honeymoon period passes and the day to day life of execution becomes the norm, old cultural behaviors and attitudes begin to reappear, and the old organizational culture does its best to return to how it's always been around here. Companies with high digital transformation maturity have a very bold culture. They set out to be transformational by taking risks that many wouldn't. Their culture is one where the organization collaborates well and makes rapid progress. But this is not the norm among large organizations that have been established for many years. So how do you change something that is in effect, the heart and soul of an organization? Cultures that took years to shape and are certainly not going to change overnight or as a result of a rewritten mission statement and an hour long speech from the CEO. Cultural Evolution takes Time Digital business transformation goes against the grain of traditional ways of working that a company has become accustomed to, and it's a threat to management practices that have sometimes existed for decades. Transformation initiatives surrounded by the wrong organizational culture and DNA often result in an unsatisfied workforce chaos, confusion and political collusion. But strategic transformation can't happen without a shift in organizational culture. Changing a culture that has been shaped by decades of reliable, stable, consistent and repeatable ways of working isn't easy. As Gary Hamill said, the most profound business challenge we face today is how to build organizations that can change as fast as change itself. The best leaders know that traditional bureaucratic, command and control driven structures are not the environment for transformation to flourish. They know they need to foster a culture that exploits digital technologies in innovative ways to create new value and competitive advantage. They encourage people to unleash their passion for innovation and transformation. With digital transformation firmly on the agenda of the best organizations, how well prepared are they to address organizational change in a business environment that looks different to how it did a decade ago? While many executives feel more comfortable dealing with costs and synergies than culture, leaders need to clearly communicate a vision or story of the future and take a practical approach to understanding and tackling cultural issues that could serve to divide rail transformation efforts. Let's consider some of the cultural characteristics that can inhibit digital business transformation. Being content with operational business as usual is first. When a business is successful, it's easy for people to sit back, rest on their laurels, and proudly evangelize what their company has achieved. After all, their company might have been around for decades having satisfied stakeholders, customers, and paid regular salaries to its workforce. Why on earth should employees succumb to digital transformation hype that is attempted to change what made the company so great? These people genuinely believe they simply need to continue with business as usual and put a stop to notions of transformation. Unless educated by leaders, they will often not understand the need for transformation. This is where the CEO and their leadership team need to work hard to communicate a set of aligned messages about why the company needs to transform and and what's in it for people. They need to clearly communicate how companies that were once in similar comfortable situations became victims of complacency and disruption. You might refer to stories of Motorola, Kodak, Nokia, BlackBerry, Borders and others to help people understand the need to transform. Fear of change, failure and distrust of people are other reasons that trigger automatic resistance from people. All this needs to be addressed by leaders. And on the positive side, digital business transformation is an opportunity for leaders to step back, update and reshape current management practices and mindsets, and then educate and inspire the hearts and minds of employees. But how do you do this? While we're not entering the realms of psychology, I'm simply going to suggest you explore Mark Goldstein's approach. He's written books on the subject of persuasion and has even helped the FBI learn how to negotiate with hostage takers. His persuasion cycle involves taking people through five stages and shifting them from resisting, to listening, to considering, to willing, to doing, to glad they did and will continue to do. Of course, there's psychological details and techniques underneath these five stages, and a great deal of people skills are required to change mindsets. Every leader should be on a lifelong mission to improve these skills. Through the application of these five stages, you can begin to shift those mindsets in the interests of transformation and longevity of the business. A strong shared sense of purpose also removes many obstacles and this has to be communicated from the top. Let's face it, if an organization's leadership is unable to inspire its people, how can those leaders expect their workforce to bring initiative, imagination and passion to their work every day? Transformation, leadership in general, along with leadership pq all play a role in being able to reshape culture. All of this is relevant to the major undertaking of changing mindsets and behaviours. It's the ability to do this effectively that truly sets the best leaders apart from the rest. And nothing about that is technical. It's important to remember that cultures need to be purposefully evolved before they are forced to by digital disruption, by which time it might be too late to respond and survive, let alone thrive in a digital economy. Digital business transformation isn't just a set of technology that is bolted onto a company. It's a new way of thinking about value, business models and the organization it requires a mindset that adopts a new way of operating in the company by encouraging transformation. It requires leaders to think of new ways to reshape the overall business model and to focus on value drivers. Leaders then need to bring this perspective of what digital means for their company's workforce and customers into the entire organization and focus on the organization behind a common transformation vision.

If you want to take your transformation capabilities and credentials to the next level, go to studythrive.com.