Transformation or Change?

It’s a distinction that organizations need to understand. To be future-ready

“Change” has been the keyword in the business dictionary for ages and the latest (or, rather not so latest), but relatively new is “Transformation”.

Lately, the new buzzword is “Transform”, and many organizations have changed the term “Change” to “Transform”. And the leaders are harping on transformational change. The real question is, are they the same or different? And do they understand the difference?

Well, they are different.

A lot of organizations are primarily focused on fixing things that didn’t work in the past;  in specific areas of work/ dept/division. Or, started initiatives to correct past mistakes.  Or were working on a vision that may not be relevant anymore.

In the current scenario, some of those initiatives either die early in the journey, some lead to inevitable frustration, exhaustion for not getting the results which were expected and finally some are just in the air.

Transformation is about redefining the way things are done. Not specific to a work area or an issue, but the whole organization at large. It requires organizations to re-look, assess and redefine their vision relevant to the current scenario and aligning the execution to the same. It’s scope is much larger compared to bringing about a change in some aspect that has not worked in the past.

Transformation is not about looking at the past and fixing something that didn’t work, it’s forward-looking and shaping your present, revising your strategies and execution based on a vision of the future. And the key is keeping that focus on the future throughout the transformation journey. Well, the past is not entirely irrelevant, you still have learning and experiences that can weigh in and make a difference…

Transformation happens when everyone is working towards a common goal and all initiatives are aligned to that goal.

Organizations have one vision but different departments and divisions within define and work towards their own goal. For example, operations goals are to improve quality and productivity so that more and more can be sent out to the customers;  HR’s goal is to keep employees motivated and happy; finance will insist on profits and sales and operations always having a constant tiff. Often, if you keep pushing employees to keep giving more and more they may not remain motivated. If you want more profits then you either increase your business or cut costs. It’s not every day that you will get new business so organizations often resort to cost-cutting and when the employees see that happening they lose faith and get de-motivated. Well, I am not a big fan of the term ‘cost-cutting’, but the fact is that even if the intent is to improve efficiencies, optimal utilization of resources, at the mid and lower end the message is lost and it is interpreted as ‘cost-cutting’.

It is tough to keep everyone together working for a common cause which is often the cause of failure. This requires a constant assessment and re-alignment of present and the future along with an evaluation of the progress you are making towards the future and most importantly consistent communication and constancy of purpose.

This doesn’t simply work on one division or a department because you risk misalignment of the structure which everyone is used to. Transformation needs a change of behaviors and capabilities throughout the organization and it’s not a one person’s job.  Unless everyone is involved and works in sync, any move or transformation initiatives are bound to fail leading to further frustrations and loss of faith in the transformation process.

So, who is responsible for what?  Being larger in scope it should originate from the top and not a division or department level. It is the CEO’s job to drive, facilitate to keep such programs focused, integrated, balanced, provide consistent and ongoing clear directions and evaluate the progress from time to time.  Sr. and middle management need to define the strategic and tactical plan in alignment with the vision and have to ensure that the directions from the top are clearly understood and there is open communication, allow employees to take a fresh approach (some may also call it out of box thinking), acknowledge and reward teams and most of all they need to lead and not manage the transformation to the new future. Last but not the least it’s the people at all the level that need to constantly and repeatedly ideate, improvise and execute.  It’s like any team game where each player has a different role but a common purpose. Imagine if every player works for themselves, you know what will be the result.

Author: Abhishek Budhraja

Disclaimer: Views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author. In case you have any suggestion, you can contact the author on contact@abhishekbudhraja.com or leave a comment below!