If you are doing a Digital Transformation or if you have a Talent Management challenge, it is better to stop and think about how you will create the right Culture.
With the new post-pandemic reality, it is difficult for a leader not to have at least one of the following challenges: digital transformation, talent management, new ways of working or a new business model. The solution to successfully overcome these challenges is to build a strong Culture. However, only a few leaders understand that the true potential of the transformations they have to make will only be achieved if there is a change in the Culture, that is, in the way people think and act in the organization.
Let's consider two of the most common challenges today:
Digital Transformation
According to a recent Forbes study, executive leaders named digital transformation as one of their top priorities. However, 70% of digital transformation initiatives fail.
For a digital transformation to be successful, it is not enough for organizations to focus on choosing the most appropriate technology. It is necessary that the organizational culture follows the intended digital strategy.
In a BCG study of 40 digital transformations, companies that focused on Culture were five times more likely to achieve breakthrough performance than companies that neglected Culture.
And what are the decisive elements of Culture for digital transformation? In most cases they are: innovation, autonomy, delegation, risk, speed, transparency and internal and external collaboration.
Talent Management
Another current challenge is the fact that the mindset and behaviors of employees have changed a lot in the last year. Now, most are able to leave a job if they don't have flexibility, the possibility of telecommuting and work-life balance or if they don't feel that they work for a purpose, that they are evolving or that they are respected. To ensure they recruit and not lose talent, leaders must be proactive in creating the right Culture that responds to these needs.
A good example of a strong Culture that attracts and retains talent is that of Netflix. Its founder believes that Netflix's success is due to the strong culture they created of employee freedom and responsibility, optimized for maximum innovation.
The elements of the Culture that make it possible to attract the majority of talents are: focus on the client and on sustainability, as they respond to the need to work for a purpose. Focus on autonomy, responsibility and diversity, as they respond to the desire for teleworking, work-life balance, respect and evolution.
If you have major transformations to make, decide on the right elements of Culture and then implement these new ways of thinking and acting. It's a challenge, but if you have the right support, with a structured process, it will allow your Strategy to succeed. As Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats Strategy for breakfast”.
Isabel Freire de Andrade | Bright Concept CEO
(translated from Portuguese)