Strategy2Life – Strategy Execution Consulting

Character, Culture, and Change

April 3, 2010 at 9:56 pm Leave a comment

by Stephanie Owen – Strategy2Life

Whether you lead a Finance, Risk, HR, IT or other support function, at some stage of your career you will probably find yourself faced with the task of transforming your function to better align with changing business strategy, or simply to improve effectiveness. Despite the plethora of change management courses, specialists, methodologies, and tools, ultimately the success of any change effort depends on leadership. You can delegate or outsource change management diagnostics, communication planning, or organisational design, but the buck stops with you when it comes to leadership.

Leadership is often viewed as a set of skills. While this view is true to some extent, and helps sells millions of books and seminar places every year, it is at best a partial picture. Some so-called leaders may be very skilled in leadership but are not trusted. They are not trusted because they are perceived to be lacking in character. (Think of crime bosses and certain politicians.) Despite the mass media preoccupation with celebrity leaders in recent years, most of us can spot character deficiencies, and our trust in these leaders declines accordingly. Imagine being asked to change by someone you perceive to be lacking in character. Even with the right “spin”, in the right setting, with the appropriate carrot or stick, how likely are you to heed the message?  Stephen Covey, author of one of my all-time favourite self-improvement books, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, summed it up when he wrote that “in the last analysis, what we are communicates far more eloquently than what we say or do”.

If leadership is challenging to define, character is even more so. General Norman Schwarzkopf said that “I judge character not by how men deal with their superiors, but mostly how they deal with their subordinates, and that, to me, is where you find out what the character of a man is”.  As people watch their leader for cues on how to behave, it is no wonder that a leader who treats people with respect encourages their staff to do the same, and the converse is also true. This is usually how a leader’s character drives culture – often defined as “the way things are done around here”. A leader who is lacking in character – for example, through unethical dealings, condoning unacceptable behaviour or performance, and rejection of new ideas – creates a workplace culture that says that not only are negative behaviours okay, but also that change is not. Conversely, a leader who listens and responds thoughtfully to staff suggestions, celebrates successes and teamwork, who is “hard on the problem but soft on the person”, creates a culture that embraces positive change.

To be successful in managing and leading change, therefore, it is not sufficient to have the right change management tools and specialists. A seed does not thrive if the underlying soil is poor, even if you give it sun and water. You need to create the right culture that supports the change that you’re trying to implement, as well as being the visible leader of the change initiative. Your leadership needs to be based on trust, which in the long run can only come from solid character. The starting point for all this means a long hard look at the “person in the mirror”. To be doubly sure (since all of us have our blind spots), get out the results of your latest 360-degree feedback, talk to a trusted colleague, mentor or coach, and get an honest appraisal of what the current culture is, in relation to the change that needs to take place.

I am aware that this message is not easy to accept, let alone implement. It goes against the peddlers of books, magazines, consulting services, and courses that promise success through the “right” change management process, methodology, tool, framework, course, or specialists. Like the heroes and heroines of timeless myths, today’s leaders of Finance, HR, IT, Risk, Procurement and other support functions can only successfully conquer the challenges of functional transformation by starting with inner courage and character. Only then will the right tools, frameworks, techniques, and specialists help the seed of change thrive and bear fruit.

© 2010 Copyright reserved by Stephanie Owen and Strategy2Life – http://strategty2life.com Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from Strategy2Life is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Entry filed under: Change management, Finance function, HR function. Tags: change leadership, Change management, culture change, finance, HR, Human Resources, IT, leadership, organisational change, Risk, transformation.