I recently heard Howard Putnam speak. He is the former CEO of South West
Airlines - an airline with a reputation for being safe, cheap and more
importantly, fun! Putnam was talking about what he did to lead South
West into one of the most successful airlines in the USA by being the
lowest cost operator.
What he did enabled the airline to constantly win multiple awards,
remain profitable even though it had the lowest cost tickets, and never
downsize anyone.
There was no magic in it. He simply spent 60 - 70% of his time talking
one on one to the people who worked for the airline. He regularly worked
a number of hours on the baggage handling line. In fact, he says his
greatest achievement was never to do anything he learned at other
airlines!
First the vision
Putnam said first you have to have a vision. Next you need to know what
business you are in - Putnam said South West was not in the airline
business but in mass transportation - and that perspective changed the
way he ran the airline. Then comes the really big challenge - the
critical part - you have to build the culture.
You get a sense of his focus and commitment when you find out that South
West has a 'people department' not HR or Personnel. They have 'people
committees' who are responsible for sorting out business problems.
Employees feel able and are encouraged to talk to management about
what's going on in the business without fear of repercussions. They are
given a sense of ownership through shares in the airline.
So what can we learn from this approach? Can it help us answer why so
many expensive Australian business change initiatives fail to deliver
the expected results? And interestingly, why is it that most CEO's and
managers appear to know the answer but only about one in five
organizations implement the solution for success?
Leadership from the top
The CEO. The Board. The senior executive team. That's what is needed.
But all too often the CEO either delegates the responsibility or worse,
doesn't believe it is necessary to get out there and lead the change to
build an organisation that has adaptability as a core competence.
Why? Many I have spoken to say they don't have time or that they need to
focus on the day to day. A short term view resulting in long term loss.
My own view is that more often than not, it's not actually unwillingness
or lack of awareness. It's more likely to be because the senior team
members do not know what to do and how.
When it becomes important to re-focus your organization and to change
the way it has done its work before, CEO's and managers should think
about how they are going to move their people through the 4 levels of
readiness that most people experience as they adapt to change.
The four stages of change
The first stage is comfortable oblivion. Employees deny the need to
change. They don't see the point of it and therefore resist any attempts
or overtures.
The second stage is one of mild contemplation. They are pretty well
ambivalent about what's happening. There is the beginning of recognition
that maybe they need to do something but they procrastinate, substitute
thinking for action, adopt what is cheekily called in the Australian
vernacular, the 'gunna' approach!
The third stage is preparation when at last people begin to see there is
a problem and focus on the solution. Often a critical event causes this
leap. For example, if the organization is trying to implement a new
attitude to safety then maybe it takes a serious accident to bring about
the mind shift.
Of if you are trying to convince your colleagues of the importance of
real customer focus (as opposed to the rhetoric), the loss of a major
account might be the catalyst.
Perhaps you are trying to put some work/life balance into your own life - a car accident due to your tiredness might be a key motivator!
The last stage on the readiness ladder is when your people start to take
action. They visibly practice and changes take place. Your people are at
last motivated to give it a go.
It's also worth remembering that people change to the degree to which
they are motivated by the 'I can do it' factor. No-one is going to try
anything they don't think they can do.
What can the CEO and top team do?
So what does a CEO and the management team need to do to change the
culture and bring about any changes in attitude or behaviours to get to
a the new way of doing business?
Try this list for starters:
Get out there and communicate:
- The business reasons for change - why change is necessary
- Create the urgency- show the extreme pressure to change coming from outside the organization
- Validate the way the organization has been to date and their role in it
- Describe the new vision and scope - what will it be like after change - define it from perspective of the listener
- Identify what is not changing
- Explain the change process - the initiatives and timelines
- Let them know what changes can be expected and when
- Describe the problems they might experience
- Explain the impact of not changing
- Don't blame the past or people
- Answer the WIFM question and "How will this affect me? 'What am I expected to do?'
This is a big job, not for the faint-hearted. But for leaders who
realise that this is the most important role of the leader, their reward
will be to join the small and exclusive list of leaders who have
successfully taken their organizations to the next level.
|
