An In Good Company podcast with Paul Wise, COO - Innovation & Services Development Leader, GE Vernova
Compliance vs commitment in business transformation
Introducing, leading and implementing a successful change programme is a challenge that all organisations will face. Data shows that two-thirds of these initiatives will fail. One way to boost their chance of success is moving from a culture of compliance to one of commitment. Commitment-driven change will boost employee engagement and drive sustainable growth and innovation. So how do you do this?
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Paul Wise, COO – Innovation and Services Development Leader at GE Vernova has worked in and around some of the most regulated sectors for most of his career. He joins Dan to talk about his experience of change leadership and to share some practical techniques on moving from a state of compliance to commitment.
Change management best practices
What are the key steps and considerations for implementing sustainable organisational change?
The first step is to start with the strategy and where you want to take things. And then understand what change that needs for the organisation – in terms of markets, customers, how people interact etc. Then look at how you want to try and implement that change. You can force a change, but it's not sustainable, and it's not as powerful as if you can drive commitment. We see this in both personal and professional contexts. For instance, individuals attempting to quit smoking or lose weight often only succeed after multiple attempts. Initially, they comply with social norms or external pressures, but true change occurs when a significant event, such as a life milestone, shifts their level of commitment. And it's no different in organisations. Forcing a change will typically need a policing mechanism to make sure it sticks. Instead, put your effort, time and energy into creating an environment that allows your organisation to commit to the change. In my experience, the power and sustainability of that change are on a different level.
How can organisations create an environment that empowers leaders to promote and advocate for change?
One of the things I'd say is that the actual solution of most unsuccessful projects, or the change they were trying to implement was probably a good idea. But the reason it failed was because of the way in which it was implemented. As a change leader, my job becomes one of creating an environment where people are comfortable to make that change. I believe the only person I can change is me. You can't change a culture or an organisation without changing the people. But it's all about having them be able to change themselves and how you create that right environment for that to happen. Traditionally communications often focus on the solution and the change that they're trying to implement. But people want to know why the change is needed and how it will impact them. Start with the needs of the receiver rather than the needs of the transmitter. You will get resistance. It's normal, it's natural, and it will come. So have a plan for it.
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Coming up
047: Talent acquisition and change with Bryan Ong, Director-Talent Acquisition at KPMG Singapore