Head of Change at Hymans Robertson, Douglas Holms, shares his recipe for change in the latest in our series of Change Conversations.
It is the role of change professionals to ensure strategy led change manifests itself in the ‘right’ activity across an organisation, leading to the intended valuable outcomes. It is not easy but we are responsible for getting it right.
How? It is a bit like cooking so we need to:
- Find or develop a recipe
- Identify the right ingredients
- Source the ingredients of the desired quality
- Orchestrate the cooking so we add the right measurement of ingredients at the right time
- Constantly taste what we are making….
Every change recipe is different but there are some key ingredients I will reach for every time. These are:
- A Compelling Story – ensure the change story is really compelling emotionally and intellectually
- Ambition: be really ambitious and focus on full potential of your people and avoid focusing on current potential
- Planning: plan to do everything really well and do not dilute what is possible
- Selection: Be clinical and choose the right team members; do not compromise on quality
- Design and Measurement: design and measure outcomes ruthlessly
- Talent: check you have the right talent pool to a) implement the change and b) fulfil the change sustainably
The final and most important ingredient is patience. Research, plan, design, test and only when you have your ingredients ready, you will have the strong platform to launch from.
To find out more about recruiting the right talent to enable transformational change within your business contact [email protected].
