Regular readers of this newsletter know that change isn’t new, but its increased pace and scale are new in our society when compared with how we used to live and work just over two decades ago, at the start of this century. Technology is a big driver, but so too is politics, which is increasingly driving economic, environmental and public health outcomes. From financial crises to tariff-laden economic nationalism, from global health pandemics to the dawn of self-thinking AI machines, even the most well-run businesses need to adapt to the world we are rapidly becoming.
This is increasingly an age where transformation often happens out of necessity rather than by choice. Drivers of change in one area subsequently drive change in others. Just think of the political decisions to introduce lockdowns during the pandemic, which changed how many businesses use technology and manage risk for the long term. I know of a medium-sized financial services business that was completely caught off guard by the pandemic. Nobody was able to come into the office during lockdown; but staff only ever worked on desktop computers and could not work remotely, so the business could barely function. But within the space of a year, it went from a 20th-century operation to a 21st-century operation where everybody brings home their laptop every night just in case a new crisis locks the site down tomorrow. Some might describe this transformation as learning by doing, but reactively transforming in a crisis is demanding and costly for a business and its staff.
Transformation is a process that takes time, so it is better to start early. It requires dispensing with the old and building a new system of practices and mindsets, so that means having a good sense in advance of the direction of change. And if change is to be done in a proactive, forward-looking way, then that process will need a coalition of enthusiastic change agents on the inside who are willing to influence and sustain change efforts at every level of an organisation for a considerable period of time.
Change agents are an essential ingredient to successful transformation. They are nodes in a system where information, incentives, and behaviours flow. But they also operate with bounded constraints, so if they are to succeed, they need to be brave, have a clear roadmap, the right tools to manage risk, and, importantly (but sometimes forgotten), have the visible support from leadership above. The last point gives them credibility.
Reinventing an organisation is a collective effort, and the bigger the organisation, the more difficult it can be to create a sense of urgency, change the culture, break down barriers, and embed new ways of working. Yet with the right leadership and process, it can be done, as former IBM CEO Lou Gerstner describes in his 2002 memoir, Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?
In this article, I’ll share a proven practical framework to help identify and empower those kinds of change agents within an organisation, so that when change is needed, it can take root and deliver what was originally intended.