5 ways to lead in an era of constant change
-
0:01 - 0:03Have you ever noticed
when you ask someone to talk -
0:03 - 0:07about a change they're making
for the better in their personal lives, -
0:07 - 0:09they're often really energetic?
-
0:09 - 0:11Whether it's training for a marathon,
-
0:12 - 0:13picking up an old hobby,
-
0:13 - 0:15or learning a new skill,
-
0:15 - 0:16for most people,
-
0:16 - 0:21self-transformation projects
occupy a very positive emotional space. -
0:22 - 0:24Self-transformation is empowering,
-
0:24 - 0:27energizing, even exhilarating.
-
0:27 - 0:30I mean just take a look
at some of the titles of self-help books: -
0:30 - 0:33"Awaken the Giant Within,"
-
0:33 - 0:36"Practicing the Power of Now,"
-
0:36 - 0:38or here's a great one
we can all relate to, -
0:38 - 0:40"You are a Badass:
-
0:40 - 0:45How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness
and Start Living an Awesome Life." -
0:45 - 0:47(Laughter)
-
0:48 - 0:51When it comes to self-transformation,
-
0:51 - 0:55you can't help but get
a sense of the excitement. -
0:57 - 1:00But there's another type of transformation
-
1:00 - 1:03that occupies a very different
emotional space. -
1:04 - 1:07The transformation of organizations.
-
1:08 - 1:09If you're like most people,
-
1:09 - 1:14when you hear the words "Our organization
is going to start a transformation," -
1:14 - 1:15you're thinking, "Uh-oh."
-
1:15 - 1:17(Laughter)
-
1:17 - 1:18"Layoffs."
-
1:19 - 1:21The blood drains from your face,
-
1:21 - 1:24your mind goes into overdrive,
-
1:24 - 1:27frantically searching
for some place to run and hide. -
1:28 - 1:30Well, you can run,
-
1:30 - 1:31but you really can't hide.
-
1:32 - 1:35Most of us spend
the majority of our waking hours -
1:35 - 1:37involved in organizations.
-
1:37 - 1:40And due to changes in globalization,
-
1:40 - 1:43changes due to advances in technology
-
1:43 - 1:45and other factors,
-
1:45 - 1:49the reality is our organizations
are constantly having to adapt. -
1:50 - 1:52In fact,
-
1:52 - 1:55I call this the era
of "always-on" transformation. -
1:57 - 2:00When I shared this idea
with my wife Nicola, -
2:00 - 2:03she said, "Always-on transformation?
-
2:03 - 2:05That sounds exhausting."
-
2:06 - 2:08And that may be
exactly what you're thinking -- -
2:08 - 2:10and you would be right.
-
2:10 - 2:15Particularly if we continue to approach
the transformation of organizations -
2:15 - 2:16the way we always have been.
-
2:17 - 2:19But because we can't hide,
-
2:19 - 2:21we need to sort out two things.
-
2:21 - 2:22First,
-
2:22 - 2:25why is transformation so exhausting?
-
2:25 - 2:27And second, how do we fix it?
-
2:29 - 2:30First of all,
-
2:30 - 2:34let's acknowledge that change is hard.
-
2:34 - 2:36People naturally resist change,
-
2:36 - 2:38especially when it's imposed on them.
-
2:39 - 2:44But there are things that organizations do
that make change even harder -
2:44 - 2:47and more exhausting
for people than it needs to be. -
2:48 - 2:49First of all,
-
2:49 - 2:52leaders often wait too long to act.
-
2:53 - 2:54As a result,
-
2:54 - 2:57everything is happening in crisis mode.
-
2:58 - 3:00Which, of course, tends to be exhausting.
-
3:01 - 3:04Or, given the urgency,
-
3:04 - 3:08what they'll do is they'll just focus
on the short-term results, -
3:09 - 3:11but that doesn't give
any hope for the future. -
3:13 - 3:16Or they'll just take
a superficial, one-off approach, -
3:17 - 3:21hoping that they can return
back to business as usual -
3:21 - 3:24as soon as the crisis is over.
-
3:26 - 3:27This kind of approach
-
3:27 - 3:33is kind of the way some students
approach preparing for standardized tests. -
3:34 - 3:38In order to get test scores to go up,
-
3:38 - 3:40teachers will end up teaching to the test.
-
3:41 - 3:43Now, that approach can work;
-
3:43 - 3:44test results often do go up.
-
3:45 - 3:48But it fails the fundamental
goal of education: -
3:48 - 3:52to prepare students
to succeed over the long term. -
3:55 - 3:57So given these obstacles,
-
3:58 - 4:00what can we do
-
4:00 - 4:03to transform the way
we transform organizations -
4:03 - 4:05so rather than being exhausting,
-
4:06 - 4:09it's actually empowering and energizing?
-
4:10 - 4:15To do that, we need to focus
on five strategic imperatives, -
4:15 - 4:18all of which have one thing in common:
-
4:18 - 4:20putting people first.
-
4:21 - 4:24The first imperative
for putting people first -
4:24 - 4:26is to inspire through purpose.
-
4:26 - 4:30Most transformations have
financial and operational goals. -
4:30 - 4:34These are important
and they can be energizing to leaders, -
4:34 - 4:38but they tend not to be very motivating
to most people in the organization. -
4:38 - 4:40To motivate more broadly,
-
4:40 - 4:45the transformation needs to connect
with a deeper sense of purpose. -
4:46 - 4:47Take LEGO.
-
4:48 - 4:52The LEGO Group has become
an extraordinary global company. -
4:53 - 4:54Under their very capable leadership,
-
4:54 - 4:57they've actually undergone
a series of transformations. -
4:58 - 5:01While each of these
has had a very specific focus, -
5:01 - 5:02the North Star,
-
5:02 - 5:04linking and guiding all of them,
-
5:04 - 5:07has been Lego's powerful purpose:
-
5:07 - 5:11inspire and develop
the builders of tomorrow. -
5:12 - 5:14Expanding globally?
-
5:14 - 5:17It's not about increasing sales,
-
5:17 - 5:21but about giving millions of additional
children access to LEGO building bricks. -
5:22 - 5:23Investment and innovation?
-
5:24 - 5:26It's not about developing new products,
-
5:26 - 5:29but about enabling more children
-
5:29 - 5:32to experience the joy
of learning through play. -
5:33 - 5:35Not surprisingly,
-
5:35 - 5:40that deep sense of purpose tends
to be highly motivating to LEGO's people. -
5:42 - 5:45The second imperative
for putting people first -
5:45 - 5:47is to go all in.
-
5:48 - 5:50Too many transformations
-
5:50 - 5:54are nothing more than
head-count cutting exercises; -
5:54 - 5:57layoffs under the guise of transformation.
-
5:58 - 6:00In the face of relentless competition,
-
6:00 - 6:04it may well be that you will
have to take the painful decision -
6:04 - 6:07to downsize the organization,
-
6:07 - 6:11just as you may have to lose some weight
in order to run a marathon. -
6:12 - 6:13But losing weight alone
-
6:13 - 6:16will not get you across
the finish line with a winning time. -
6:17 - 6:18To win
-
6:18 - 6:20you need to go all in.
-
6:21 - 6:24You need to go all in.
-
6:25 - 6:27Rather than just cutting costs,
-
6:28 - 6:30you need to think about initiatives
-
6:30 - 6:33that will enable you
to win in the medium term, -
6:33 - 6:35initiatives to drive growth,
-
6:35 - 6:39actions that will fundamentally
change the way the company operates, -
6:39 - 6:41and very importantly,
-
6:41 - 6:44investments to develop
the leadership and the talent. -
6:47 - 6:50The third imperative
for putting people first -
6:50 - 6:53is to enable people with the capabilities
-
6:53 - 6:58that they need to succeed
during the transformation and beyond. -
7:00 - 7:04Over the years I've competed
in a number of triathlons. -
7:04 - 7:06You know, frankly, I'm not that good,
-
7:06 - 7:10but I do have one distinct capability;
-
7:11 - 7:14I am remarkably fast at finding my bike.
-
7:15 - 7:17(Laughter)
-
7:17 - 7:18By the time I finish the swim,
-
7:18 - 7:20almost all the bikes are already gone.
-
7:20 - 7:23(Laughter)
-
7:24 - 7:28Real triathletes know that each leg --
-
7:28 - 7:30the swim, the bike, the run --
-
7:30 - 7:32really requires different capabilities,
-
7:33 - 7:34different tools,
-
7:34 - 7:36different skills, different techniques.
-
7:36 - 7:39Likewise when we transform organizations,
-
7:39 - 7:42we need to be sure
that we're giving our people -
7:42 - 7:45the skills and the tools
they need along the way. -
7:46 - 7:47Chronos,
-
7:47 - 7:49a global software company,
-
7:49 - 7:54recognized the need
to transfer from building products -- -
7:54 - 7:56software products --
-
7:56 - 7:59to building software as a service.
-
8:00 - 8:03To enable its people
to take that transformation, -
8:03 - 8:06first of all they invested in new tools
-
8:06 - 8:11that would enable their employees
to monitor the usage of the features -
8:11 - 8:14as well as customer satisfaction
with the new service. -
8:14 - 8:18They also invested in skill development,
-
8:18 - 8:20so that their employees would be able
-
8:20 - 8:22to resolve customer service
problems on the spot. -
8:23 - 8:24And very importantly,
-
8:24 - 8:28they also reinforced the collaborative
behaviors that would be required -
8:28 - 8:32to deliver an end-to-end
seamless customer experience. -
8:33 - 8:34Because of these investments,
-
8:34 - 8:38rather than feeling overwhelmed
by the transformation, -
8:38 - 8:41Chronos employees actually felt energized
-
8:41 - 8:43and empowered in their new roles.
-
8:44 - 8:46In the era of "always-on" transformation,
-
8:46 - 8:48change is a constant.
-
8:48 - 8:50My fourth imperative therefore
-
8:50 - 8:54is to instill a culture
of continuous learning. -
8:55 - 8:58When Satya Nadella
became the CEO of Microsoft -
8:58 - 9:00in February 2014,
-
9:00 - 9:03he embarked on an ambitious
transformation journey -
9:03 - 9:07to prepare the company to compete
in a mobile-first, cloud-first world. -
9:08 - 9:10This included changes to strategy,
-
9:10 - 9:11the organization
-
9:11 - 9:13and very importantly, the culture.
-
9:14 - 9:19Microsoft's culture at the time was one
of silos and internal competition -- -
9:19 - 9:22not exactly conducive to learning.
-
9:22 - 9:24Nadella took this head-on.
-
9:26 - 9:29He rallied his leadership
around his vision -
9:29 - 9:32for a living, learning culture,
-
9:32 - 9:35shifting from a fixed mindset,
-
9:35 - 9:38where your role was to show up
as the smartest person in the room, -
9:38 - 9:40to a growth mindset,
-
9:40 - 9:45where your role was to listen, to learn
and to bring out the best in people. -
9:47 - 9:48Well, early days,
-
9:48 - 9:51Microsoft employees already
noticed this shift in the culture -- -
9:52 - 9:55clear evidence of Microsoft
putting people first. -
9:57 - 10:00My fifth and final imperative
is specifically for leaders. -
10:01 - 10:03In a transformation,
-
10:03 - 10:04a leader needs to have a vision,
-
10:05 - 10:08a clear road map with milestones,
-
10:09 - 10:13and then you need to hold people
accountable for results. -
10:13 - 10:15In other words, you need to be directive.
-
10:16 - 10:19But in order to capture
the hearts and minds of people, -
10:19 - 10:22you also need to be inclusive.
-
10:23 - 10:26Inclusive leadership
is critical to putting people first. -
10:28 - 10:30I live in the San Francisco Bay area.
-
10:31 - 10:32And right now,
-
10:32 - 10:34our basketball team
is the best in the league. -
10:35 - 10:38We won the 2015 championship,
-
10:38 - 10:40and we're favored to win again this year.
-
10:41 - 10:43There are many explanations for this.
-
10:43 - 10:44They have some fabulous players,
-
10:45 - 10:47but one of the key reasons
-
10:47 - 10:52is their head coach, Steve Kerr,
is an inclusive leader. -
10:53 - 10:56When Kerr came to the Warriors in 2014,
-
10:56 - 10:59the Warriors were looking
for a major transformation. -
10:59 - 11:04They hadn't won a national
championship since 1975. -
11:06 - 11:09Kerr came in, and he had a clear vision,
-
11:09 - 11:11and he immediately got to work.
-
11:12 - 11:14From the outset,
-
11:14 - 11:18he reached out and engaged
the players and the staff. -
11:18 - 11:22He created an environment of open debate
and solicited suggestions. -
11:23 - 11:25During games he would often ask,
-
11:25 - 11:27"What are you seeing that I'm missing?"
-
11:28 - 11:34One the best examples of this
came in game four of the 2015 finals. -
11:35 - 11:37The Warriors were down two games to one
-
11:38 - 11:42when Kerr made the decision
to change the starting lineup; -
11:43 - 11:46a bold move by any measure.
-
11:47 - 11:50The Warriors won the game
and went on to win the championship. -
11:51 - 11:52And it is widely viewed
-
11:52 - 11:56that that move was
the pivotal move in their victory. -
11:57 - 12:01Interestingly, it wasn't
actually Kerr's idea. -
12:03 - 12:06It was the idea of his 28-year-old
assistant, Nick U'Ren. -
12:07 - 12:09Because of Kerr's leadership style,
-
12:09 - 12:12U'Ren felt comfortable
bringing the idea forward. -
12:13 - 12:15And Kerr not only listened,
-
12:15 - 12:17but he implemented the idea
-
12:18 - 12:19and then afterwards,
-
12:19 - 12:21gave U'Ren all the credit --
-
12:23 - 12:28actions all consistent with Kerr's
highly inclusive approach to leadership. -
12:29 - 12:32In the era of "always-on" transformation,
-
12:32 - 12:36organizations are always
going to be transforming. -
12:37 - 12:40But doing so does not
have to be exhausting. -
12:42 - 12:44We owe it to ourselves,
-
12:44 - 12:46to our organizations
-
12:46 - 12:48and to society more broadly
-
12:49 - 12:53to boldly transform
our approach to transformation. -
12:54 - 12:56To do that,
-
12:56 - 12:59we need to start putting people first.
-
13:00 - 13:01Thank you.
-
13:01 - 13:08(Applause)
- Title:
- 5 ways to lead in an era of constant change
- Speaker:
- Jim Hemerling
- Description:
-
Who says change needs to be hard? Organizational change expert Jim Hemerling thinks adapting your business in today's constantly-evolving world can be invigorating instead of exhausting. He outlines five imperatives, centered around putting people first, for turning company reorganization into an empowering, energizing task for all.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 13:21
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for 5 ways to lead in an era of constant change | ||
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for 5 ways to lead in an era of constant change | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for 5 ways to lead in an era of constant change | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz accepted English subtitles for 5 ways to lead in an era of constant change | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for 5 ways to lead in an era of constant change | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for 5 ways to lead in an era of constant change | ||
Leslie Gauthier edited English subtitles for 5 ways to lead in an era of constant change | ||
Leslie Gauthier edited English subtitles for 5 ways to lead in an era of constant change |