Dear Madeleine,
I am CEO of a medium-sized company. I was COO for many years and stepped into the role of CEO six months ago. The good news is that the company is in good shape; there is a high demand for our products. The bad news is that things could be so much better.
Our former CEO was a bit technophobic and completely risk averse, so he resisted my attempts to upgrade things when I was COO. He knew he was going to resign, so he thought I could just do whatever I wanted when I took over as CEO. But he kind of let me down. All our systems are so outdated that some versions of some software are no longer supported by the developers. Literally every process and system we use needs to be overhauled. Some can be consolidated with new software and some can be eliminated.
I receive an endless stream of reports, many of which are incomplete or simply irrelevant. I worry about the amount of time wasted by the people making them. My current leadership team is mixed: some are as frustrated as I am and expect me to fix things quickly, and others see no need for change and are concerned about my urgency.
I have a great vision of what is possible and feel a great responsibility to bring us into the 21st century, no matter how late. As I said, the company is in good shape, but that will not last if we do not develop further.
My question is: how much is too much? How fast is too fast? How can I make changes without breaking things beyond repair?
Where to start?
__________________________________________________________________
Dear Where to start?
I feel your dedication and your frustration. If I understand you correctly, the question is really: how do I prepare the company to be competitive in the future and ensure its longevity without disrupting its current success?
It would almost be easier if the company was already showing signs of distress due to the lack of modernization. But in most cases (as you well know) by the time that happens it is already too late. The problem is that people are generally only willing to change when the costs of not changing become unbearable.
I’m sure you wish you could wave a magic wand, but I’m not sure that will get you what you really want. Because the due diligence, research, coalition building, and other work you do to gain support for your vision will help you refine that vision and ensure you get the right vision in the long run.
The first order of business is to formulate your big vision, create a high-level strategy for how to achieve it, and get unequivocal support from the top. You don’t mention any board or owners, but presumably there are people who care as much about the long-term success of the organization as you do. You need their support to do even a fraction of what you envision.
Then you need a long-term plan. In this case, start with three years. Get input on the plan from your board, your leadership team, external consultants who specialize in business transformation, and other smart people willing to take the time. You probably have some smart individual contributors in the organization who see what you see. Get them involved.
Once you have a plan, share it with the entire organization. Again, seek input. This is almost impossible in large organizations, but there are ways to do this in smaller organizations. There will be a lot of resistance, some of it short-sighted, but also some that may point to flaws in the plan. Really listendon’t just pretend to listen.
Then go. Respond to concerns slowly and gently, talking to people, encouraging them and reminding them what the point is.
You may very well need to replace some members of your leadership team. You cannot undertake complete transformation without unified leadership. This is difficult, because you don’t want to surround yourself with yes-men. People who mindlessly agree with you are not the answer. You will want to encourage dissent and opposing views and consider all points of view. Your leaders don’t have to agree with every change, but they should agree to support it once the team has decided the best course of action. Without leaders who can inspire, model new behavior and patiently explain Why For every new change, empathetically talking people off the edge when they’re panicking, and holding people accountable, nothing good will happen.
You will also need to look for leaders who feel coerced and angry, who say one thing to you and another to their team. In the interest of keeping their jobs, they say Yes to your face and then discredit you to others. They evade responsibility and blame those in power – in this case, you. They build their own coalitions of people who are loyal to them, but not to the organization, creating a hopelessly isolated organization with departments that work at cross purposes. These pockets of dissatisfaction in your organization will slowly weaken it in ways that are difficult to pinpoint. But if we agree that everything that happens in a unit is about the leader, then that’s your clue.
The more work you put into planning, inviting input, redesigning the plan, and mapping the steps for execution into a timeline, the better off you will be. Spend time talking to people and listening to them. Use a phased approach. It will take more time than you’d like, but if you try to act too quickly, you won’t get the results you want. Be prepared for roadblocks and setbacks, and use them to learn and improve.
CEOs who manage turnarounds are not known for their patience or empathy. And most of them are spectacularly wrong.
Get support. Invite input. Win hearts and minds. Storytelling. Use examples. Communicate more than you think you should. Take it slow and steady, one foot in front of the other, one step at a time. Respond to new information as it comes in. Track and praise progress, overcome obstacles. Reward perseverance and perseverance.
Oh, and keep your sense of humor.
Love, Madeleine
About Madeleine
Madeleine Homan Blanchard is a master certified coach, author, speaker and co-founder of Blanchard Coaching Services. Madeleine’s advice for the well-meaning manager is a regular Saturday program for a very select group: well-meaning managers. Leadership is hard – and the more you care about it, the harder it becomes. Join us here every week for insight, resources and conversations.
Do you have a question for Madeleine? Email Madeleine and expect your response shortly. Please note that although Madeleine will do her best, she cannot respond to every letter personally. Letters are edited for clarity and length.
