Leaders Navigate Uncertainty for Better Business Control – What It Takes

Key business challenges in 2022 include cybersecurity, employee retention, the ongoing pandemic variants, and planning for the return to work.  How will leaders navigate these and their other specific issues? How will they maintain and improve the control of their business? For leaders who quickly scan and assess their environment, they can pivot their direction and accelerate. Continually planning and adapting as needed creates a resilient culture—and that will guide a sustainable enterprise.

Whether a current challenge or an emerging one, it’s imperative for leaders to act effectively. As systems thinkers, leaders succeed when multiple interdependent characteristics work together and deliver better results. Leadership action, courage, and communication are the foundation of addressing the key business challenges.

Great leaders ensure that the following essential parts work together as the foundation to deliver the best results. Are you ready to navigate the uncertainty for better control of your business?  Assess your leadership and your teams.

1.     Purpose—where are you headed?

2.     Communication, two-way, frequent, ask/answer questions

3.     Optimizing Flow (information, communication, work)

4.     A culture of trust

5.     An identity defined by behaviors and actions

6.     Designed infrastructure: Where do you find stability and predictability? How do you make rapid decisions? What can you count on? How do you fit together? Where do you go for help? How do you measure process and results measures? What does the process need to deliver? Does everyone understand how they can contribute to make a difference? Does what we’re doing make sense?

7.     Connections—the pros and cons of interacting. Where are the weaknesses that could cause gaps?

8.     Inclusion: can people contribute without biases? Through diversity, can everyone support each other, break down barriers, and be intentional? Can tough topics be put on the table and worked through?

9.     Courage to act. It’s lonely at the top. Focus on learning past the actions (and the mistakes which surely will be there, too.) Make the tough decisions.

10.  Ability to pivot, disrupt, adapt—to survive and succeed

11.  Improvement and Innovation can only come from being open to learning and flexible

12.  Leading together. Leaders own the problems and the solutions.

In the face of adversity and chaos, leaders step up, get clarity, decide quickly, and move forward. Whether on the global stage or running a small business, leaders are both strategic and operational to achieve success.

Three Major Ways to Create the Workforce You Need!

Many organizations are struggling because they can not get enough applicants to interview and hire. Once they hire people, they often can’t engage them or retain them. Why not?

The Reality. It is true that baby boomers left the workforce in millions. That was no surprise; leaders could anticipate that, and the pandemic accelerated it. If possible, people choose not to work full-time or in unfriendly work environments; that’s also driven the unemployment rate.  But there are many organizations that are booming, and they are able to hire and retain their talent.

What’s the difference? Why do some enterprises have high turnover and others have virtually none?

There are three major reasons. Assess your organization (or better yet, hire someone who can assess it, and give you a rapid, objective perspective from the outside.) Understand what the root causes are to your employment challenges; then create a plan to address them. What is the status of your three variables: leadership, communication, and culture?

Leadership. Leaders create the workplace where all staff flourishes. It’s where they are self-motivated, appreciated, and are able to contribute to the compelling Aim or Purpose for the organization. Values are defined and taught, both verbally and behaviorally. Leaders invest in developing their employees. If you’re not continually communicating, educating, and coaching your employees, your organization is in decline. The leadership team creates the system that the staff works in. It must be work-able!

Communication. The leader’s significant role is to communicate, especially in a crisis or uncertain times. He/she communicates clearly and often! Again, leaders create and clearly and repeatedly communicate the aim and the values (in behavior.)  Use every method possible to share your messages, direction, and vision. Use Zoom, emails, newsletters, the Intranet, town hall meetings, social events, etc. to repeatedly tell your stories.

Watch for inconsistencies between your values and the vocabulary and actions people use. For example, most companies have a stated value such as teamwork or collaboration. But what practices counter that and are barriers to teamwork?  Do you have performance appraisal systems where you rank, rate, judge and criticize people? Then do you tie the appraisal to the compensation system? Nothing erodes teamwork faster than internal competition and team members who can’t trust each other!

Culture.  The leader creates the workplace culture. Does your work environment attract new employees? Is your company the place new graduates want to work after graduation, or get excited to go to work, or have an engagement score of over 80 or 90%? What creates a workplace you want to be proud of for the work you do, the peers you support, and the customers you serve? What kind of culture do you want? What do you want to be known for? Quality, fun, speed, dependability, safety? You select it and focus your priorities and activities, so they are consistent with that?  Can you imagine if Southwest Airlines hired some of its flight attendants who are shy, introverted, impatient and intolerant?  Instead, they are well known for providing a safe, fast, fun experience. They hire and train for the culture they want their customers to also experience. 

The foundation for hosting a healthy workforce are these three elements. There are inter-related, inter-dependent, and all connected.

One More Significant Tip for a Stable, Engaged Workplace:

People speak, advise, coach, consult, and train to address employment issues in the workplace.  Topics include: employee engagement; retaining your staff; recruiting and interviewing tips; onboarding; training; mentoring and coaching. There are numerous speeches and workshops!  Companies spend millions of dollars to lower their turnover rate. But often there is little impact.  Why don’t organizations achieve the results they want? 

The answer is easy! The implantation is a little more challenging, but easily do-able. The above topics are all parts of the system that must flow together. They are All interconnected. Each one relates to the other processes. If they all don’t flow, the system breaks down, and the result is sub-optimal: high turnover or disengaged employees.  For example, if you recruit and interview great candidates, but the hiring system is slow and tedious, you’ll lose the applicants and start over. Research shows that candidates in the current job market expect an offer with a week, at most two weeks (and you take a chance they’ve accepted another offer.) Or if you hire great candidates, but you don’t onboard, train, or mentor them, they’ll realize you don’t plan to invest or develop them, and they’ll move on.

If you want great results, leaders must create and lead an optimal system. The processes, all working together for one aim, make up your system. People work IN the system and continually work to improve the flow.

Are you getting the results you want? If not, look at the system. Look at all of the processes that must connect in your system.

SEVEN POWERFUL BENEFITS OF EXECUTIVE RETREATS

Leaders and their teams will emerge from remote work, re-enter the office setting, and need to address new and different issues. The commitment to plan and schedule an executive retreat or an offsite meeting in the next quarter, has catapulted 900% in the past month. Leaders anticipate a stronger need to meet, focus, plan, and strategize. This will be followed by more project team retreats to revive their creativity, collaboration, and communication.

Thousands of leadership meetings, board retreats, strategic planning sessions and management off-sites have been facilitated for decades. They are of value, beyond comparison, with one caveat: they must be facilitated well by an outside facilitator who has the knowledge to pose and share new thinking and questions never before anticipated.

Address the aim early: why are you having the meeting with the team? There are many situations where team meetings are held.  People feel good and experience a workshop-high, but there’s little progress or improvement back at work. Understand your purpose and articulate it.

If you want to learn, work, and strategize together to make a difference, that’s transformation! It’s hard work. That’s the work of leadership! It cannot be delegated.

In surveying executives and managers who have participated in off-sites and management retreats, the results are insightful. The key benefits of management offsite meetings or retreats are:

• More Insightful Questions Posed. Questions are considered that have never been asked; the team can have deep discussions that explore new possibilities, solutions, and opportunities;

• Interaction and Care. Participants are able to open up, share, contribute, collaborate, build relationships, listen deeply, and create more understanding and empathy;

• Deeper Exploration of Issues. The team can address not only problems but the root causes to long-term problems. They explore options, strategies, and plans to move forward;

• Focus. There’s a renewed focus on identifying priorities: What’s important and what will make a difference?

• A New Lens with New Knowledge. New learning (systems and statistical thinking; psychology; communication) and ideas are introduced (usually through experiential exercises and a variety of education techniques) and are processed with different perspectives; the team together is able to go to the next level of leadership learning; what's next?

• Data-Driven Decision-making. Current trends are studied to optimize your organization’s progress and results over time; and

• Future Focus. There’s room to test ideas, discuss future opportunities, and anticipate the bold impact you can have.

What new capacity does the team develop?

• More resiliency as they elevate to a new level of leadership for the future;

• An ability to address and focus on deeper issues;

• Accelerated decision-making for better, sustainable solutions;

• Deepen the focus for more effective and efficient systems and processes;

• Faster methods to reduce waste and complexity;

• Breaking down barriers between people and departments and creating a healthier workplace of trust and support; and

• Transforming old beliefs, plans, structures, and management styles into innovative leadership for bold results.

Management offsite meetings allow leaders to refresh their thinking and direction together. What leaders accomplish as a group is important. It may lead to the vitality of the company, its survival, and to thrive through uncertain and challenging times.

BIO:

Marcia Daszko works with Boards, C-suite leaders and teams to guide their leadership transformation to accelerate and achieve bold results never before imagined. She is a provocative keynote, breakout, and digital speaker for conferences and corporate events. She has been a strategic business advisor and management consultant based on Dr. Deming’s philosophy of leadership for 25+ years. An executive retreat facilitator and MBA professor, she is also the bestselling author of the book “Pivot Disrupt Transform.”  Contact Marcia Daszko for her help at md@mdaszko.com    www.mdaszko.com  

The 2022 Shift

Future forward! The disruption, good and bad, over the past two years has made us more aware and action oriented. We had choices, and some were challenging. 

While some people faced anxiety, depression, disillusionment, burnout, and fatigue (dealing with meetings, issues, and people), others acknowledged all of those feelings and moved forward.

2022 will invite us to rejuvenate, renew, and recharge. Our mental health has to manage the stresses we will face and the fear of the unknown. How can we be healthy, be excited, and be calm?

Here are a few tips (and add your own coping mechanisms—what works for you and what skills do you see working for others?)

1. PERSONAL ASSESSMENT. Assess your own wellness and adjust those things that need to improve. Check your time and quality of: your amount of good sleep; exercise; personal fulfillment and development; quiet time; supportive connections with others; seek professional coaching or counseling when needed; and your time management (focus and prioritize.). Make your plan to improve what needs to change. There are times in life when we can’t do it all, and it’s ok!

2. QUALITY. Consider the areas you want to contribute, make a difference, and what work feeds your soul. Make sure you have those outlets. Otherwise over time, you will feel drained and lose your energy. The more you are connected to what you want to do in life the more exhilarating you will feel. There are times we must adjust; find ways to adapt and pivot that will connect your with your same values and in different ways.

3. FUTURE THINKING. Problems don’t last forever. They are temporary whether they last for an hour or a year. The problems you had 10 years ago don’t exist today (unless you got stuck.) Think about the goal of being happy. Everyday, everything you do, ask: “Does this get me closer to happiness or further away? Keep learning, and keep moving forward. With your team (at home or work), keep learning and moving forward.

Influence and create the 2022 that you want to experience. 2022 has plenty of unknowns—every year does. But experience, adapt, learn and share, and move forward together. Let the year flow!

BIO:

Marcia Daszko works with Boards, C-suite leaders and teams to guide their leadership transformation to accelerate and achieve bold results never before imagined. She is a provocative keynote, breakout, and digital speaker for conferences and corporate events. She has been a strategic business advisor and management consultant based on Dr. Deming’s philosophy of leadership for 25+ years. An executive retreat facilitator and MBA professor, she is also the bestselling author of the book “Pivot Disrupt Transform.”  Contact Marcia Daszko for her help at md@mdaszko.com    www.mdaszko.com  

SURVIVAL IS OPTIONAL: Only Leaders With New Knowledge Can Pivot, Disrupt, & Lead a Transformation

by Marcia Daszko and Sheila Sheinberg, PhD 

Transformation has become a popular, overused and misunderstood word in organizations in the twenty-first century. Hundreds of organizations hear the mandate for transformation. The mandate comes from Congress, the Pentagon, government agencies, the senior military, corporate executives or school Superintendents. Leaders and their organizations are compelled to respond to the mandate. They attempt to “talk the language” and take action in pursuit of transformation. Often the response, however, is a reaction, actions and mere incremental changes that are neither sustainable nor systematic. Unfortunately, few individuals understand transformation or why there is an imperative for transformation, not merely incremental or transitional change. Often, people confuse transformation with any kind of change, technology breakthrough, innovation, process improvement or transition. However, few changes are truly transformational.

Management typically interchanges the words and thinking for changing and transforming an organization. But there are unique distinctions—and those distinctions, applied and realized, not only result in a competitive edge but in unparalleled leadership that is rare to find and that can make a difference for society. However, while all transformation is change, not all change is transformation.

To transform means to change in form, appearance or structure. Transformation in the context of the management of organizations and systems occurs first in individuals, and then, in the organization.

Transformation is the creation and change of a whole new form, function or structure. To transform is to create something new that has never existed before and could not be predicted from the past. Transformation is a “change” in mindset. It is based on learning a system of profound knowledge (see SoPK section) and taking actions based on leading with knowledge and courage. (1)

Personal Transformation. The first step is transformation of the individual. This transformation is discontinuous. It comes from understanding the system of profound knowledge. The individual, transformed, will perceive new meaning to his life, to events, to numbers, to interactions between people. Once the individual understands the system of profound knowledge, he will apply its principles in every kind of relationship with other people. He will have a basis for judgment of his own decisions and for transformation of the organizations that he belongs to (Deming, 1993). The Greek word “metanoia” captures the meaning of transformation well. It literally means “beyond the mind.” It’s an idea of stretching or pushing beyond the boundaries with which we normally think and feel. It means a profound change in mind, a radical revision, a transformation of our whole mental process, a paradigm shift. As one company leader commented, transformation is two words, a “mind transplant.”

Transforming an organization means having the courage to lead a journey into the unknown, with dedication and passion for learning and taking actions based on continual new learning. The end state of transformation cannot be described because it cannot be seen. How the organization will look in its next cycle of transformation is unknown and unknowable. People and organizations must continually be transforming. Transformation can occur in individuals, organizations, industries, societies, etc.

Transformation occurs when leaders create a vision for transformation and a system to continually question and challenge beliefs, assumptions, patterns, habits and paradigms with an aim of continually developing and applying management theory, through the lens of the system of profound knowledge. Transformation happens when people managing a system focus on creating a new future that has never existed before, and based on continual learning and a new mindset, take different actions than they would have taken in the past. (2)

Beliefs, assumptions, patterns, habits and paradigms. Challenging assumptions, etc., is at the heart of transformation; it is critical because assumptions and paradigms drive policies, procedures and most importantly, systems and structures, as Figure 1 illustrates. For example, if we assume that sales people are lazy, self-serving, and do not have the company’s best interests in mind, then we will implement policies and a pay structure that compensates them based on individual performance and management will hold them accountable, predictably yet unfortunately, for the outcomes of the system!

However, even challenging one’s habits, beliefs, assumptions, and paradigms doesn’t lead to transformation or more permanent change unless there is continual challenge. Too often, a company will experience a breakthrough as a result of this type of challenging that propels them to the top of a market whereby they languish and lose their momentum. What managers failed to realize was that it takes new knowledge and a system of challenging assumptions and thinking differently.

URGENCY TO CHANGE:

Transformation. Transformation is what happens when people see the world through a new lens of knowledge and are able to create an infrastructure, never before envisioned, to the future. Transformation is motivated by survival, by the realization that everything needs to change or the organization will die; that a significant breakthrough in mindset is needed in order to pursue new opportunities. Another motivator is a leader’s urgency and drive to envision and create the future. From either motivation, the entire mind-set and organization’s paradigms are forced to shift. The challenges to those who embark on and choose to lead a transformation journey are many; they lead in a direction where the “destination” is not known. The challenge to those who travel with such leaders will be to trust and support the vision and the system. There is a vision of transformation, but the specific systems and processes emerge and are created through continuous learning and taking new actions, actions never before taken.

Another View: Tradition, Transition, Transformation

So what does it take to transform? Simply stated, our thinking is mostly what it is today. And then we have a choice. If we want to hold on to our tradition, (see Figure 2.) we will make incremental process improvements and not “rock the boat.” In this mode we are content, complacent, arrogant, or unaware. If the world is changing in any significant way, it’s only a matter of time before we do not survive. The timing of irrelevance (death) depends upon our industry or competition, whether that be global terrorists or another company. But we will not know if we have three months, three years, or 30 years to survive. If we want to move to the next level of change, yet be safe, we make transitions and change from State A to State B. We know where we are going (we go from manually taking inventory to bar coding.) There is comfort in certainty. In transition, we can plan the change and work the plan. But if we want to create a better future, we have to let go and reach for the unknown. We need transformation. We adopt the most difficult and challenging strategy because we must.

A Theory of Transformation

Theories are often shunned in the real world of work. People are not interested in the conceptual when the day to day focus is on what you DO, what you measure, who is accountable and winning, and the bottom line results. People are so busy doing, they have no time or energy for thinking about what they are doing, why and for whom. Yet to have an organization that can sustain over time, theory must be understood. Theory is the foundation for the future. Often, we read about business schools dropping the theory classes and focusing on delivering one-year MBA programs. Students will learn best practices for the problems of today, but they will lack the theories to be able to solve the problems of tomorrow.

A theory of transformation means there will be a profound change in structure that creates something new. The system of profound knowledge provides the method for transformation. Transformation occurs through a system of continual questioning, challenging, exploration, discovery, evaluation, testing, and creation of an organization’s management theory and application; beginning with the realization or revelation that the organization’s current thinking (i.e., management theory) is incomplete, limiting, flawed, or even worse – destructive. In transformation, there is no known destination, and the journey has never been traveled before. It is uncertain and unpredictable. It embraces new learning and taking actions based on the new discoveries.

A Method for Transformation: A System of Profound Knowledge

For leading transformation, Dr. W. Edwards Deming offers the system of profound knowledge as our new lens. It includes appreciation for a system, knowledge about variation, theory of knowledge, and theory of psychology. (3)

These four bodies of knowledge are inter-related and together can produce system optimization. In addition, these four parts need a new foundation, a platform for a Communication system. The four parts don't work together unless they have leaders effectively diffusing communication: a clear aim, data-driven decisions, plans and actions to implement, and continually new and collaborative learning.

Also, courage is essential and comes from within. Natural leaders can be found throughout organizations. Also critical to the transformation is Deming’s point number eight of his fourteen points, “Drive out fear.” Fear must be identified, acknowledged, discussed and reduced so that people have the courage to transform themselves and their organizations.

TRANSFORMATION: A PROCESS STRATEGY

Awakening. Transformation begins with the awakening by individuals within the organization. It may come from the outside—and individuals take heed. The awakening begins with a challenge, a question, (or a 2x4 upside the head!). It brings questions – not answers. It is not a new way to do business; it is a new way to develop thinking about how to think, manage and lead. It is the realization on the part of the individual that, in spite of best efforts, they could do better – much, much better. Furthermore, there need not be shame or negative repercussion to the individual because they were not transforming or did not recognize the need to transform sooner.

Intention. Transformation occurs with intention. This intention provides constancy of purpose. Intention is the conscious choosing of a course of action. In “The Four Agreements,” the first agreement is to be impeccable with your word (Ruiz [1997]). The author points out that the root of the word ‘impeccable’ is the Latin pecatus, meaning “sin.” Therefore, ‘impeccable’ means without sin. Ruiz suggests that only by understanding your own intentions can one be impeccable with their word. Too often, we do things with no thought to intention (and, for some reason are then surprised by the unintended results and consequences!). Intention is not “going along for the ride.” It is not something that happens to someone (or to an organization) without its knowledge and consent. It is commitment – deep and thoughtful commitment.

There is no such thing as a transformed organization. First, there is no transformed (past tense) organization because transformation is ongoing. It would be a mistake to consider the acceptance of the initial awakening as the point of transformation; even though, without the awakening, transformation is not possible. The awakening is the provocation for the transformation. Secondly, there is no transformed organization because the organization doesn’t exist apart from the people and other systemic parts it comprises. However, for the sake of conciseness, the terms “organization” or “transforming organization” will be used to refer to the individuals within.

A “transforming” organization is not one that is thinking differently; its leaders are thinking differently with a direction. Because it requires an awakening, not all individuals in the organization will begin their transformation concurrently. Some will not begin a transformation at all. ‘Leading with courage’ is almost redundant. Consider the observations of the following authors:

Heifitz and Linsky [2002]: “Leadership would be a safe undertaking if your organizations and communities only faced problems for which they already knew the solutions.” Rodin [1999]: In introducing the transformation at Marshall Industries, Rodin stated, “Six years ago we bet our company on a radical experiment, tearing our healthy $500 million business down to the bedrock.”

Leaders have to ask questions. However, a system cannot see itself. That is, if knowledge existed within the organization to solve a problem, then the problem wouldn’t have occurred. Great leaders are those who ask for help. They do not chase the “flavor of the month” – the latest management fad; but they go through a rigorous process to find coaches with profound knowledge.

A testable hypothesis is that most managers do not have a theory of management with which they seek to lead their organizations. What they have is a tradition, handed down from supervisor to subordinate, of unguided best efforts. In the absence of theory, there is control and autocracy. There is luck. There is an accepted norm of “if things look OK, don’t rock the boat, just make the numbers.”

A system diagram for creating Transformation is shown below:

“A system is a network of interdependent components that work together to try to accomplish the aim of the system.” (Deming [1993]).

Intention. The system begins with an awakening (“an awakening to the crisis” as Deming [1986] described it). The aim of the awakening is to impress the importance of the need to change. Without an awakening, the person can, at best, learn many important lessons. However, they are abstractions and hypothetical. 

Without intention, there can be no transformation. (4)

Without intention, transformation is reduced to change. This thesis is similar to the difference between memorization and learning, only more profound. Deeply motivated intention occurs after the awakening. The awakening creates a new “mind set” to see the world anew. The new view is not present yet, just the openness to accept a new view. It is possible that someone can have good intentions to transform and to work to learn without the awakening, but the learning and transformation will be gradual. Once the awakening occurs, even if it occurs after the start of learning, the transformation will have an explosion and previously “learned” lessons will have greater significance, even in retrospect. For that individual, there will be a context to which they can relate.

Learning. Deming [1986] once said that the role of management is prediction. Prediction without information and knowledge is guessing. Knowledge is obtained through learning. Several authors (Deming, Senge, and Joiner) have noted that knowledge for transformation must come from the outside (i.e., external education and coaching).

Learning must be continual. (5)

The “S-shaped learning curve” (see figure 4, below) illustrates the need for transformation and new Learning for the next level of growth. If the organization does not transform when it needs to and go to the next level, it will not survive.

Each introduction of new knowledge brings an element of chaos; an increase in fear and a temporary loss in productivity as people adjust to the new knowledge. At some point, however, the absence of another introduction of new knowledge will result in personal and organizational stagnation and then decline. The only way to continue the transformation is to obtain feedback and to reflect, and then to repeat the loop (in the systems diagram).

Action. Knowledge without action is the accumulation of trivia. Action is the application of new learning (the theory of knowledge.) New learning occurs when the PDSA cycle (Figure 5) is rigorously adopted and multiple cycles (Figure 6) bring new learning. Leadership requires action. Action, however, must be managed. This can be accomplished through Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, illustrated below:

Coaching. As was mentioned above, a system cannot see itself. If the knowledge to solve a problem was at hand, then it would have been employed to avoid the problem. The dilemma for managers is finding qualified outside help.

The ‘output’ of the above system is the theory and method for transformation. The SoPK provides the knowledge that leaders need to lead a transformation. It is through the lens of the system of profound knowledge that people can work on transformation; new thinking, new learning and new creating in the organization. The ‘customers’ of this process are, first, the managers and employees of the organization; then, the customers and suppliers with whom the organization does business; and then the organization’s competition.

The presence of a feedback and reflection loop represents that the process is ongoing. It is this cyclical element of the system that makes it so powerful. That is, transformation is a never-ending process of continually choosing and learning and taking action. In some ways, the end-result (i.e., the development and application of a theory of management) is not as important as the process by which the result was developed. It is the difference between a solution and an answer. The trap will always be to think that you have “arrived.”

Why Transformation Fails

The aim of this section is to discuss the psychology of transformation and the frequent barriers to successful transformation. Transformation fails when there is a lack of leadership with profound knowledge, vision and courage. Transformation demands all of these elements. The personal journey of transformation can be both frightening and exhilarating. It demands energy and a deep commitment to learning and significant change.

Consider the following guide for successful transformation.

Success = A x V x M x L x I (6)

where

A= Awakening,

V= Vision,

M= Method,

L= Learning, and

I = Integration.

While each of the elements is interdependent, the elements occur sequentially with feedback loops. Awakening gives rise to envisioning the future; which in turn, provides a sense of vision, and so on.

Awakening. We have discussed the concept of awakening. The awakening will be motivated by profound dissatisfaction with the current state and/or the vision of the future state should the current approach to management and leadership remain. If you are comfortable and perceive no threats then there will be little intrinsic motivation to do things differently. The dissatisfaction has to be substantial.

The most challenging scenario is to be dissatisfied when, according to conventional measures (e.g., revenues and profits), the organization is successful. This is what makes the story of Marshall Industries (Free, Perfect, and Now, Rodin [2000]) amazing. Marshall Industries was very successful. But they chose to transform and to create a new future.

Only when the awakening becomes great enough, will you be motivated to do things differently. Significant dissatisfaction coupled with envisioning a compelling vision places the individual and the organization at the doorways of change and transformation. With an awakening, the choice will be transformation. Without an awakening, the choice will be change. The best time for an organization to transform is when they are healthy; however, many approach transformation when they are in a crisis situation and don’t know what to do.

The challenge with each of these components is communication to others. One person’s dissatisfaction has to be effectively communicated to others. The consequences of maintaining the status quo have to be compelling. The communication of dissatisfaction can have two faces. On one hand, the dissatisfaction can be presented and developed in others by articulation of vision (see below). That is, by having a sense for what the future looks like, individuals realize that their world could be better and they are dissatisfied with the thought of settling for the current state. On the other hand, dissatisfaction can be presented that creates fear in others. That is, presenting the consequences of the status quo that demonstrate that the status quo is suicidal; that the current path leads to extinction (that we have been rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic).

Because not everyone will accept transformation, the leaders need to prepare people for the journey. Leaders need to acknowledge the fears that transforming an organization will create. People fear losing their jobs, making mistakes, speaking up. There will also be strong resistance to change. Transformation invites criticism. When the organization needs to do things differently, it is often implied that it is because you have been doing things wrong!

Because it is common, unfortunately, to have a “management theory” of criticism and blaming, this response to transformation is not unreasonable. Common practices have become synonymous with best practices, however, and enterprises are dedicated with best intentions and efforts and hard work. Unfortunately, too many leaders are not taking the time to think about what they are doing and the impact of their actions and the “best practices” they are imposing. In their aggression for lean, six-sigma, accountability, and other recent fads, they are creating stress, internal competition, sub-optimized systems, and loss. Leaders begin to lose control of their organization and do not understand why. Therein lies the need for transformation, a new view of seeing the world and business.

Vision, Vision is an ever-evolving picture of the future. At the beginning of the transformation process, that vision can include an exciting sense of the “better way”. It can also include a terrifying view of what can happen if things remain unaltered. Once on the transformation path, it is an ever-evolving flood of opportunities. The vision must be collaborative because one person will not be able to articulate everything. The journey will be difficult. Fears will abound: the fear of change, of loss, of the unknown, of making mistakes, of failure, of “not getting it,” etc. On the other hand, as others awaken and join the transformation process, barriers and “silos’ will break down, collaboration and synergy will be incredible; the creativity and innovation will be staggering.

Method. The method for transformation is the system of profound knowledge which include the specific thinking Deming gave us: fourteen points, the elimination of the deadly diseases, and the PDSA cycles. It would be easy to think of “method” or “next steps” in the traditional ‘strategic plan’ mindset. Unfortunately, the path of transformation is not predictable; it is iterative and predicated on learning. In a transformation journey, the next steps will be to think about thinking (see Six Thinking Hats, DeBono [1999]). It requires thinking through and about feelings, data, process, creativity, caution and optimism. The aim of the “journey” of transformation is to create the journey using the system of profound knowledge as the lens.

Learning. We have discussed learning extensively, too. Learning and using the system of profound knowledge as a lens through which beliefs and paradigms, systems and processes, language and tools are developed and evaluated is the core of creating transformation.

Integration. Transformation is not required of the entire organization instantaneously and simultaneously. As will be discussed in the next section, individual psychological resistance to transformation will be present. However, because the organization is a system, eventually transformation will have to be integrated throughout. The feedback and reflection loop is critical, and it represents that transformation is a progressive and iterative process.

Conclusion

We must transform, not merely change or improve if we are to create a viable future. It will take leadership with profound knowledge and courage to have the stamina and commitment that transformation requires. Transformation is not easy, but it is critical to the health of our families and global society. Transformation is not for the other person to do, but for every individual to take personal responsibility to help create new futures, to ask questions, to take risks, and to make a difference.

Marcia Daszko   | www.mdaszko.com  | 408-398-7220  | md@mdaszko.com

Sheila Sheinberg | www.sheilasheinerg.com |   360-876-2399

References

Ackoff, Russell. Creating the Corporate Future, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., NY: 1981.

Adler, Alfred. Understanding Human Nature, Hazelden, Center City, MN: 1998.

Argyris, Chris. Overcoming Organizational Defenses, Allyn and Bacon, Boston: 1990.

Cheaney, Lee. Contributed the first introduction to the BOHICA curve. 1992.

Covey, Stephen R., The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Simon and Schuster, New York: 1989.

Daszko, M., Pivot Disrupt Transform, Diversion Books, New York: 2018.

De Bono, E., Six Thinking Hats, Little, Brown, and Co., 1999.

Deming, W. E., The New Economics, MIT Press, Cambridge: 1993.

Deming, W. E., Out of the Crisis, MIT Press, Cambridge: 1986.

Gharajedaghi, Jamshid. Systems Thinking, Butterworth – Heinemann, Boston: 1999.

Heifetz, Ronald A. and Linsky, Marty, Leadership on the Line, Harvard Business School Press, Boston: 2002.

Joiner, Brian L., Fourth Generation Management, McGraw Hill, New York: 1994.

Keirsey, David and Bates, Marilyn. Please Understand Me, Prometheus Nemesis, Del Mar, CA: 1984. 

Miller, Lawrence M., Barbarians to Bureaucrats, Potter, New York: 1989.

Rodin, Robert. Free, Perfect, and Now, Simon and Schuster, New York: 1999.

Rodin, Robert and Backaitis, Nida. Beyond The Sounds Of Silence (unpublished monograph): 1995.

Ruiz, Don Miguel. The Four Agreements, Amber-Allen Publishing, San Rafael, CA: 1997.

Scholtes, Peter R., The Leader’s Handbook, McGraw Hill, New York: 1998.

Senge, Peter M., The Fifth Discipline. Doubleday, New York: 1990.

Senge, Peter M., The Dance of Change, Doubleday, New York: 1999.

THE POWER TO PIVOT IN 2021

Pivotal leadership — the ability to transform challenging crises into bold solutions and a new future — is essential.

The challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic demanded unprecedented responses last year that few leaders had ever had to make. Across all sectors, leaders faced new dilemmas on an hourly or daily basis.

Pivotal leadership — the ability of leaders to pivot and adapt as their world is disrupting around them — is essential. What does it really mean?

“Pivot” means to make a fundamental, often abrupt and rapid change in direction.

Leaders had to take the essential step to pivot in 2020, to either survive or thrive, and they’ll have to keep doing it this year.

As Covid hit, some executives immediately closed their companies and furloughed their employees. Others adopted a “wait and see” stance, assuming the pandemic would end soon.

But pivotal leaders quickly assessed the situation, sensed what their constituents needed, and responded. They gathered rapid action teams, brainstormed ideas, and created solutions. They designed, focused and applied on the move.

Pivoting takes vision, rapid decision-making, and ubiquitous communication. It’s a commitment to experiment and take immediate action. Time is of the essence!

Leaders who pivot have a compelling, focused aim, and a solid foundation of management thinking to draw from.

We saw auto manufacturers GM and Ford pivot and produce 100,000-plus ventilators for hospitals. Distilleries made hand sanitizers. Luxury clothing manufacturers produced PPE gowns and masks. Schools pivoted to virtual learning, healthcare to telemedicine, and millions began working remotely.

Why pivot? Current needs aren’t being met. The status quo doesn’t work. Leaders see a need and boldly jump into action.

People who continually generate the most creative ideas are the most resilient and likely to pivot, survive and thrive.

I reached out to several executives to find out more about the challenges they faced early on in the pandemic and how they applied pivotal leadership to adapt their organizations. Here are their stories.

Healthcare

“We’re doing things we’ve never done before,” said Chris Boyd, a senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Permanente, who led Kaiser’s Santa Clara facility when Covid-19 first hit. “For healthcare the pandemic got very real, very quickly.”

Immediately, the leaders at Kaiser identified its needs: Safety, personal protective equipment, a command center, and accelerated and widely dispersed communication.

“At first, the projections were so dire, but we succeeded in doubling the capacity of the hospital,” Boyd said. “By the second surge, we were well prepared.

“Communication was crucial, and it had to be different for everyone. We did video visits with patients to video broadcasts to employees, but we also needed contact with others who were not at a computer. Executives took a beverage/snack cart and visited staff to address their fears.”

Great leaders are always pivoting, creating, innovating — finding new solutions and markets. They see a crisis or amazing possibilities and bold opportunities.

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SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR TOBY COREY FOUNDED GETVIRTUAL IN MARCH 2020. THE SANTA CRUZ-BASED ORGANIZATION CONNECTS SMALL BUSINESSES AFFECTED BY COVID-19 TO TECH-SAVVY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WHO COULD HELP PIVOT THE BUSINESSES ONLINE WITH DIGITAL TOOLS.

TOBY COREY

Social entrepreneurship

In March 2020, serial entrepreneur Toby Corey founded GetVirtual.

The Santa Cruz-based organization connects small businesses affected by Covid-19 to tech-savvy university students who could help pivot the businesses online with digital tools. Students receive college credits from partnering universities (it started at U.C. Santa Cruz and has spread to other Bay Area universities), invaluable experience in entrepreneurship, and an opportunity to give back to the community.

“The need is extraordinary. Everything is a process,” Corey said. “There are already 100 students working with 100 small businesses. The students want to be social entrepreneurs, be intellectually curious, and experiment.”

Corey said that altruism is important and that Generation Z is especially altruistic.

“Modern thinking is mindful,” he said. “It’s paying it forward; we’re doing that. We inspire greatness, disruption and innovation.”

The mindset of leaders who are able to pivot are focused on growth, the future, and meeting new needs with bold solutions.

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KAVITHA MARIAPPAN, ZSCALER EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND TRANSFORMATION.

SCOTT R. KLINE

Cybersecurity

Leaders pivoted for the safety of their employees, contractors and customers, locally and globally. For Zscaler — a San Jose cloud security company that became 2018’s biggest Nasdaq tech debut — that meant also dealing with a new level of security.

“One pivot has been the rapid, higher-level emergence of IT for business continuity. IT has been a savior,” said Kavitha Mariappan, Zscaler’s executive vice president, customer experience and transformation. “Preventing disruptions, addressing threat activities (the Zscaler cloud processes 140 billion transactions per day), being resilient, and innovating are what we do to protect the ‘crown jewels’ and protect our customers.

“We talk to our customers about transformation, and pivoting is critical, for security, safety and scaling for the future,” she said. “The pandemic was a true test in leadership authenticity and empathy. It’s a time of growth. We accelerated our initiatives and invested more in our people, infrastructure, and customers. We have a ‘rest and recharge day,’ a day to take a break. We’re anticipating, ‘What does re-entry to the office look like?’”

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Executive Briefing Centers

The conferences and trade show sectors, as well as travel and hospitality industries, were impacted or devastated in 2020. The initial impact on global executive briefing centers where sales teams meet with customers was also felt.

Elizabeth Simpson, president of the Association of Briefing Program Managers, reported how rapidly her 600 business members pivoted with each other.

“It was a tsunami of sharing,” she said. “Members immediately asked for resources to go virtual. We didn’t have them, but two members responded with help for the whole community.”

She continued, “One of our members, Pam Evans, senior director of the Executive Briefing Programs at Palo Alto Networks, made a powerful pivot with her team. She met with the VP of sales to say, ‘We’re open for business. We can take care of our customers virtually.’”

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BOB LINSCHEID, THE NEW CEO OF THE SILICON VALLEY ORGANIZATION, IS THE PAST PRESIDENT/CEO OF THE SAN FRANCISCO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, AS WELL AS CEO OF LINSCHEID ENTERPRISES INC.

TOMAS OVALLE/ SILICON VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Business advocacy

Bob Linscheid joined the Silicon Valley Organization last fall to help the wounded organization get on a new path forward.

After an internal upset caused the previous CEO to resign, Linscheid was tapped to be interim president and CEO. He said he is ready to make a pivot that heals the 133-year-old organization.

“My job is to find the SVO’s path to reconciliation. As the No. 1 most innovative city in the U.S., San Jose is expressing its needs.” Linscheid said. “I’m doing a massive amount of listening to 1,200 diverse members’ voices and processing a lot of information. We have problems to solve, and we’ll be stronger as a group to make a difference. Great leaders hang out in uncertainty, but will be the most innovative.”

SAN JOSE STATE HEAD COACH BRENT BRENNAN WITH LINEBACKER ISA'AKO TOGIA AT CEFCU STADIUM.

TOMAS OVALLE

Sports

From his first day four years ago, Brent Brennan, San Jose State University’s head football coach, began a holistic approach to develop the young men on the team.

In his first two years, the Spartans won just three games. This season, he took the team to the Mountain West Conference championship and won — something that hadn’t been done in nearly 30 years.

With 110 players, Coach Brennan defined success by many measures, not just on the scoreboard. They focus on academics, health, training, and engaging with the campus and community. The team supports other athletic events, delivers dinner kits, and visits schoolchildren.

“Football is the best sport to learn about systems and holistic thinking. The game is a good training ground to pivot. It’s the process, the struggle. The players need to lean on each other. The pieces come together,” Brennan said. “The mindset is (to) keep moving forward: Go to class, get stronger, make good choices, contribute to the community, deal with setbacks together. Their pivotal growth as a team came when they each started caring more about each other and giving to the team. They are more connected.”

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2021 pivots

What do you anticipate in 2021? Are you ready to pivot at the speed you will need? What leadership strategies and creativity do you need? Have you assessed your ability to lead and done your pivot audit for 2021? It will not be business as usual.

Pivoting means that leaders will transform and go where they never before imagined!

MARCIA DASZKO HAS BEEN WORKING WITH SENIOR EXECUTIVES FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS. SHE GUIDES LEADERS TO PIVOT TO SURVIVE, RAPIDLY SCALE, AND ACHIEVE BOLD RESULTS. THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF “PIVOT, DISRUPT, TRANSFORM,” SHE SERVES ON VARIOUS BOARDS AND HAS TAUGHT MBA CLASSES AT SIX UNIVERSITIES. CONTACT HER AT MD@MDASZKO.COM.

TOMAS OVALLE/ SILICON VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL