Nov 20, 2024
Leading people through change has been the focus of our content over the past several weeks. Up until now, we’ve focused largely on the CEO’s role in leading their teams through inevitable changes; the truth, however, is that the role of the CEO’s direct reports is equally as important in ensuring a successful transition.
Every year, I look forward to our ELT Summit largely because of how it drives cross-functional collaboration and insights. This year was particularly impactful, as portfolio executives got to hear directly from their peers about how they’ve gotten through significant organizational changes. If there is one thing I learned (and there are many), it’s that successful transitions are not driven by one person or even one department – but by a concerted effort towards a common goal, spanning across functions and teams.
Growth stage companies are uniquely positioned when it comes to change: agile enough to pivot relatively efficiently (compared to larger enterprises, where transitions are inevitably slow and tedious), yet complex enough to require cross-functional alignment. It follows, then, that the largest threat to successful organizational change in a growth stage business is misalignment and/or poor communication between functions.
As articulated by Steve Schloss, Operating Partner over the Leadership & People Center of Excellence, here are three strategies for growth stage executives aiming to promote effective cross-functional collaboration during periods of organizational change:
1. Assess team readiness for change
Understanding the team’s readiness for change can help growth-stage executives better tailor their change leadership strategy. Steve recommended using the ADKAR framework – a change readiness diagnostic that assesses five key elements of change adoption: awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement. By ranking team members or departments on each element, leaders can identify strengths and growth opportunities on a departmental and organization-wide level.
Take, for example, a team that scores low on “awareness.” The department head may aim to foster clearer communication, hammering home the “why” behind the change (or even using the polarity framework that we learned at the CEO Summit!). The leader of a team struggling with "ability" might implement skill-building or coaching initiatives to increase competencies ahead of the change. All in all, insights derived from change readiness diagnostics can ensure that every department is aligned and equipped to navigate major company transitions.
Frameworks like the ADKAR also serve to uncover potential barriers to cross-functional collaboration. One key takeaway from the ELT Summit was the importance of bridging communication gaps across departments, as well as down into the organization. By leveraging diagnostic tools, leaders can proactively address these gaps, fostering greater alignment and collaboration.
2. Adopt a “we” over “me” leadership style
Steve walked us through the six leadership styles, as articulated by Daniel Goleman. According to Steve, the most successful change leaders are those who employ the visionary and democratic styles, emphasizing empathy, collaboration, and open communication to drive internal transformation.
This “we” versus “me” dynamic is important both on a one-to-one scale and on a department-to-department basis. When it’s time for the company to adjust direction, all departments must work together to make the pivot. Product, Marketing, and Sales must collaborate to ensure new offerings or updates are well understood, both internally and by customers. Finance must stay informed to anticipate and manage budgetary impacts, while Customer Success plays a role in aligning customer expectations with the changes ahead. All of this to say, no single team can shoulder the change alone, and functional leaders must keep in mind how changes in their department can affect the broader organization.
3. Set (and measure) key performance indicators (KPIs)
We often say that you can’t track what you don’t measure, and organizational change is no different. Major change initiatives should be measured against KPIs that, while likely owned by one department, are cross-functional in nature. For example, while a KPI tied to a new product offering may be owned by the Engineering or Product Management team(s), revenue growth and customer adoption sub-metrics may be owned by Sales and Customer Success, respectively.
KPIs should be the focal point of regular progress reviews involving all departments. Creating a continuous feedback loop ensures that the organization as a whole can adapt quickly to changing circumstances, drive more efficient collaboration across departments, and realign resources as needed. Remember, there are no “set it and forget it” metrics. Just as change is an ongoing transition, so too must your approach to measurement be dynamic enough to evolve along with the change initiative.
The success of organizational change initiatives depends on the company’s ability to collaborate cross-functionally towards a common goal. Growth stage executives must take an informed and intentional approach to leadership: understanding the dynamics of all functional teams, reaching across the table to drive meaningful teamwork, and consistently measuring the results of all efforts.
If you’re preparing to lead your team through a major company change, ask yourself: are your team members equipped with the tools, frameworks, and communication channels they need to succeed? And more importantly, are you fostering a culture of collaboration? The most impactful leaders understand that change isn’t driven by one person or even one department – it’s achieved through the collective power of a unified organization.
