Transformation requires a cultural change

It could be argued that there are not just four fundamental forces in physics; there is another universal ‘force’: resistance. The writer Steven Pressfield once described the effects of resistance as leaving things as they are in order to prevent any action, creativity, and progress. Indeed, in many companies digital transformation projects, resistance can create significant barriers to progress. However, since the start of the pandemic, most companies have recognised the urgent need to digitally transform to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. C-level executives have commissioned taskforces, think tanks and innovation labs to address the digital challenges they face.

Some teams hope to achieve a quick-fix solution by recruiting external transformation consultants, but this may only be a temporary solution and unnecessarily lengthen the overall process. Furthermore, according to Professor Alf Rehn and Stanford Professor Steve Blank, this approach is driving the rise of ‘innovation fatigue’ among employees, the idea that people are tiring of new innovations that don’t last, demotivating them.

On many occasions, experts have proposed that leadership is the key ingredient to unlocking success in digitisation, but somehow the topic has been slow to show within the boardroom. This brings to light questions such as whether or not companies are setting themselves up for failure, or if they are feigning actionism for appearance. Another possibility is that carrying out digital transformation is seen as too risky or complex.

On its own, quality of leadership is simply not enough to realise successful digital transformation. This is especially true if organisations have been built solely upon the foundation of classic management practices and a business-as-usual mindset.

The unique thing about digitisation is that it requires a whole new perspective, as by definition, digital transformation revolutionises organisations. In other words, it requires a complete change to organisational culture from the top down. Shift in behaviours can range from challenging pre-existing business models and welcoming critique from peers, to concentrating on being empathetic and doing the right thing for customers to ensure they are in a good place in the future, even if it impacts profits in the short term.

Business leaders need to not only embrace change but also anticipate it. Many workers could have doubts about innovation and would prefer to leave things as they are, but without creativity and adaptation, organisations will likely lose out to competitors who are shaking up their own enterprises. Therefore leadership teams need to prepare ways they will ‘sell’ forthcoming changes to employees to get their cooperation and limit push back.

Ultimately, leaders have no choice but to tackle resistance head on in spite of all the heavy arguments held against disrupting the status-quo. There may be completely fair concerns from employees, but it is the company’s job to foresee issues and explain how problems will be solved so change can go ahead. The world is already vastly different now to the one at the start of the 2020, and leaders have no choice but to adapt by disposing of outdated mindsets and by replacing them with a new outlook.

This type of leadership, one that is always prepared for change, can be likened to that of ‘artisan leadership’, a theory proposed by Michelangelo. The idea is that similar to an artisan, executives carve and shape the culture of innovation with the same precision as they would a high-quality piece of art – with impeccable attention to detail. It brings to focus the importance of creativity and its role at the heart of a company's processes.

Overall, in order to implement digital transformation successfully, and put to rest any employee fears or doubts about change within the company, cultural transformation on an executive level is imperative. Only when cultural change has been affected, can real innovation be realised