In adviestrajecten voor redacties probeer ik vaak uit te leggen dat je in mijn ogen geen grote transformaties moet doorvoeren, maar je organisatie zo moet inrichten die je jezelf continu blijft aanpassen. Geen revoluties, maar een continue evolutie. Toen ik dit stuk las kon ik het er dan ook alleen maar mee eens zijn.
I’m becoming increasingly convinced that our focus on transformation programmes is very unhelpful for a number of reasons.
1. They suggest there is a clear and understandable end point we are ‘transforming’ to. They are classic waterfall programmes - decide on the end goal, outline a plan to get there, spend months or years doing the work and the world has moved on around you in that time.
2. They put unfair pressure and responsibility on too few people. When it becomes a few people’s job to change the way you work they take on a much bigger burden likely to lead to burnout and most importantly, other people don’t think it’s their job to help.
3. It’s too ‘Boom and Bust’. We’ve made that change, ‘we’re done’. It doesn’t help you build a muscle, a capability to constantly adapt as your environment changes.