The Golden Rules
The transformation is just days from kick off. How do you galvanize the program team? Nothing is more unifying than a succinct set of guiding principles that leaders demonstrate every day in action.
No badge no blame
Start the transformation journey with the principle, no badge no blame, to finish exceptionally well. The team wants a meaningful and fulfilling project experience. Recognize this common ambition and harness it to bring out the best in everyone. Spending the limited calories on collective solutions versus blame is the only way to go.
Boring is awesome
Avoid falling victim to action fallacy where noise equates substance. Most effective transformation leaders are, for the lack of a simple descriptor, boring! Show up and work the same process everyday - from short and crisp Steering Committee updates to focused decision making sessions. Quietly build your playbook where no news is excellent news.
Data Data Data
Do not underestimate the work needed on Data, from cleansing to migration. Most projects, where data is an afterthought fumble early in their lifecycle. Our recommendation is to always kick off data cleansing and put data quality measures in place well before the modernization becomes formal. Clarify business ownership of data early and avoid the temptation to wait.
Fluid is fine
Be prepared to adjust to shifting requirements driven by business changes or an evolving regulatory environment. Some measure of stability is essential for a transformation but it is highly unlikely for a business to stay static for the entire length of a long modernization program. Proactively account for parallel projects and keep some contingency for changing needs.
Yellow is the new green
Resist the temptation to report a green status every time. Complex programs rarely go green. There are enough risks and unknowns to always flip the status to yellow. For most programs we lead, our steering and board committees come to appreciate that amber with mitigation is just fine.
Govern as in govern
Set up effective governance forums early and understand which forum is decision oriented versus update only. Program teams sometime focus too much on high visibility forums such as Steering and Board Committees and lose sight of daily or weekly decisioning forums where transformations truly succeed or fail.
Own up
Allow the mid managers to own solutions and choices. If most decisions land with the Steering Committee that’s bad news. Empower your managers to make choices and don’t train them to run to the Steering Committee to resolve every other conflict unless it is fundamental to the overall outcome of the transformation.
Communicate and then some
Keep messaging clear and honest at all levels in a transformation. Share bad news with mitigation early and do not sugar coat. The most effective way to earn trust on a transformation is by keeping and encouraging an open line of communication and to respect the intelligence of your team. Communicate frequently.
Build a bubble
Actively construct a bubble for the project team to operate and work freely within. Be prepared to absorb a lot of the pressure and distraction coming from stakeholders. An important skill of effective transformation leaders is to intuitively know when to push back and when to accommodate changes and then trust the team to build.
Go big on small wins
Celebrate the small wins bigly. Transformation is a marathon and small victories are the fuel that gets a program across the finish line. Recognizing team members for everyday wins also creates a powerful positive halo effect on the program and fosters a culture of mutual trust and appreciation within and outside the program.
