Team Rules: Managing Change in the Digital Era

STRATEGY AS A COMPONENT OF CORPORATE CULTURE

A “live” strategy enables the organization to drive and scale from within by optimizing resources and disclosing untapped potential.

90 % of the ideas that make an organization productive are already there.

There are always hidden reserves in a company. They are concealed in overloaded processes, regulations, and suboptimal communications, when tasks are transferred between different units or meetings are lengthy. In most cases, managers and top management tend to focus solely on the surface, overlooking the untapped productivity reserves hidden beneath. To correctly distribute efforts without wasting time and opportunities, one must delve deeper, measure the depth, and gain a comprehensive understanding of the information residing there (see Figure 6).

The key to a better utilization of the internal corporate potential lies in maintaining a healthy corporate culture and involving the entire team in the process of strategy-building. This process aids in concretizing ideas concerning the current situation within the organization, and understanding which aspects require re-prioritizing and/or improvement, such as processes, models, procedures, and tools.

Companies that foster a culture centered on team engagement and innovation tend to be more successful and have a greater likelihood of achieving top-tier results.

The team’s ideas help scale from within: one change leads to another, revealing certain imperfect processes and problem-solving tools along the way.

The implementation of a team’s strategic plan is more dynamic and enthusiastic: when people are inclined to support goals and objectives they have had a hand in developing, rather than ones imposed from the outside that disregard their input.

If the team is aligned with you, it:

• Becomes a driver of strategy implementation;

• Contributes to the systematization of processes, operating from within, at the level of interpersonal communication;

• Is motivated for results;

• Is engaged in continuous progress and improvement;

• Helps implement changes, including digital processes.

Digital tools accelerate transformation and increase productivity by eliminating unnecessary routines, reducing the time and sequence of actions, and reducing the required effort. The successful and timely implementation of the tools directly depends on their acceptance by the team and the team's active involvement in the process.

Therefore, Successful Leadership Strategy #1 in an era of change involves engaging the team in strategy development and establishing shared goals and values with key partners and stakeholders within the organization's ecosystem.

A shared mission and common values unite the ecosystem team at the level of their core convictions. In an era of global rethinking and constant change, belief-based consolidation is essential.

MISSION IS WHY AND FOR WHOM WE WORK. STRATEGY IS THE WAY TO ACHIEVE OUR GOALS

When there is a common foundation – a mission – processes evolve naturally, free from unnecessary stress and toxicity. In a team of like-minded people, where everyone understands the purpose and significance of the task, there is no room for bureaucracy, power struggles, or the passing of responsibility to others. The questions are initially worded differently: “What else can we improve as a team?” and “How can I personally contribute?”

Then the organization develops as a healthy and harmonious organism, an ecosystem.

• All functions mutually support one another. When a failure occurs, there is no energy wasted on assigning blame. Instead, mistakes serve as opportunities for growth.

• Processes operate in a coordinated fashion and are aimed at tackling a shared challenge. If someone departs from the process, the workload is redistributed among other elements of the ecosystem, and the latter, in turn, quickly adapts to changes.

• When the load on the ecosystem increases, it automatically activates its “immune defense” by initiating transformation mechanisms.

In organizations where open relationships of trust prevail, ideas from leaders are embraced by the entire team, and leaders, in turn, listen to the opinions of their colleagues.

For example, a hotel chain, with whom we jointly created a code of values for employees, promotes transparency and encourages the adoption of important strategic decisions by the team. People openly share opinions, joke, complement each other, and align with shared values. During the strategy session, the team embarked on one course of action almost immediately, even without extensive preparatory work. Values already existed, we merely identified them and agreed on the wording.

This implies that ideas and goals are not solely conveyed through documentation and other official channels. They are also understood on subtler levels: through informal communication, day-to-day activities, the influence of role models, and the dynamics of team relationships.

Merely agreeing on values and the creation of appealing visualizations is not enough. Values are found within the environment that shapes our behavior, the assessment of our strengths and abilities, role models, and our beliefs. This is the principle underlying neurological levels of Dilts Pyramid. It can also be applied to a corporate environment (see Figure 7). The alignment based on values goes deeper and requires sincerity and integrity from both parties. This is why internal communications, a topic we will explore in another chapter, take center stage.

GOAL-BASED AND VALUE-DRIVEN MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

For excellent ideas to transform from mere slogans into genuinely meaningful dialogues, communications should be conducted through various channels, ensuring an uninterrupted flow of ideas and feedback from all stakeholders. It is vital to gauge the significance of these dialogues for the team: is the mission truly understood, and how does it translate into daily activities? To achieve this alignment, goals and values need to be seamlessly integrated into all significant processes within the organization. This is how goal and value-based system management operates (see Figure 8). It involves understanding and embedding goals and values at all stages of project implementation – from setting objectives to evaluating outcomes.

Taking HR processes as an example, goals are frequently broken down into team bonus systems based on key performance indicators (KPIs), while values become the foundation for corporate codes and corporate competency models that are used in team selection, evaluation, and training. Even when choosing training programs, the team relies on a code of values that outlines the most significant development competencies.

Thus, the team has a common foundation and a clear understanding of what it implements (goals) and how it interacts within itself (values). Goals represent what we achieve together and the direction we are heading in, while values govern how we work and the approaches and relationships we have within the team.

The organization's goals are transformed into bonus systems based on metrics and employees’ KPIs, thus becoming an integral part of their assignments. Values, whether in client relations or interactions among employees, in processes and communications are defined, verbalized, and then translated into role models and governing rules that can be scaled and ideally correlate with human values. It is important to consider these factors from the outset, especially during the employee selection process through competency interviews.

Thus, employees are more deeply involved and develop stronger relations with the organization. This occurs when employees fulfilling tasks not only excel as professionals but also as individuals, becoming integral elements of the organization's ecosystem, and actively sharing its values and approaches.

By involving the team in the key corporate processes, we cultivate reliable partners who do not engage in declarative or formalistic actions merely for appearances (job done, go home), but are genuinely invested in the success of the organization, contribute ideas, improve strategies and approaches, and most importantly, are more loyal to changes, some of which they have proposed themselves. Such teams have the transformative power to reshape organizations.

Chapter 2. Corporate culture as a driver of innovation. Laying the foundation for organizational improvement and development

Why do changes succeed and benefit some organizations, while in others they are rejected without response and effective application? Because the success of any implementation largely depends on the team.

EVEN THE MOST PERFECT STRATEGY CAN FAIL IF NOT ACCEPTED BY THE TEAM

A strong corporate culture has two important features:

1. It either propels or impedes change, depending on whether the team accepts it;

2. In times of external changes, it helps to maintain stability by strengthening internal ties.

Today, financial achievements and motivation remain instrumental, but they are not the only indicators, especially in the context of long-term, sustainable development.

To ensure stability in a turbulent environment, adaptability and flexibility must be maintained. While competent planning and digital tools are important, the human factor will always play a significant role in determining the degree of success. When the team lacks cohesion, indicators may decline, and when goals are not shared, it can lead to unnecessary chaotic actions that hinder the implementation of changes.

Sentiments, behavior and communication patterns, sets of values, principles, and prepared reactions collectively make up the corporate culture and corporation environment (see Figure 9). This environment serves as the “home” and shared space where goals, values, approaches to transformation, and interactions with clients and within the team coexist. The culture manifests itself on six logical levels.

1. Mission. Answers the questions “Why?” and “What is the point?”.

2. Identity. Determines the individual and collective identity of employees (“Who are we in the team?”, “What is our role?”).

3. Values. Shapes attitudes, stereotypes, beliefs, and motives, outlines the criteria (“What is important/not important for me and why?”, “What do I believe in?”).

4. Abilities. Allows for the assessment of abilities, strengths and weaknesses, skills and competencies. Reveals opportunities for addressing challenges by providing insight into how to act.

5. Behavior. Creates behavioral patterns (“What should we do?”).

6. Environment. Models reality (“Who are we?”, “Where are we?”, “What surrounds us?”).

THE CULTURE WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION INFLUENCES THE DIRECTION AND DYNAMICS OF ITS DEVELOPMENT, EITHER BY SUPPORTING PROGRESS TOWARDS THE NEW OR BY HINDERING IT

The corporate environment also plays an important role as a hearth and home. It can sustain the organization through “hearth and home” relations, especially in times of external changes. In such situations, a united team collaboratively formulates new rules and transforms processes, adapting to the new realities.

“CULTURE EATS STRATEGY FOR BREAKFAST” (P. DRUCKER)

The bad news is that as long as the corporate culture remains beautiful but disconnected from reality, the organization will not rise to lofty heights. In this scenario, the strategy remains merely an image – it may sound impressive but lacks resonance with others and holds value only in your own perspective.

The good news is that corporate culture is flexible. It can be customized and adjusted to create an environment in which the team embraces productive change and focuses on sustainable development and systematic progress. Culture is a target; it can be created, modified, evaluated, and measured.

Internal stakeholders of the organization’s ecosystem, primarily the leader and the team, must change their way of thinking in order to perceive change as a natural process, an integral aspect of corporate life, and something that occurs continuously.

Therefore, Successful Leadership Strategy #2 in an era of change is about building a corporate culture of innovation and an environment open to improvement. It also entails implementing a systematic approach for collecting, analyzing, and testing ideas.

How to achieve this?

THE FOUR PILLARS OF THE CORPORATE CULTURE OF INNOVATION

1. Clarity and transparency of corporate goals, strategies, and mission

When working with a team, visibility is important. This entails making clear the results to be achieved and the deadline, why they are important for the organization and its employees, and the specific role of each project participant.

In organizations with an open and trust-based system of internal interaction, innovations originating from leaders are palpable and sensed by the entire team. People willingly communicate with each other, essentially articulating the same values.

Goals should be open, understandable, and feasible. Ideally, a task map should be designed with a short lead time (sprints) to monitor and adjust processes while taking into account emerging changes.

2. Shared values and joint development

Corporate values and missions should resonate with employees. Otherwise, it becomes incredibly challenging to maintain motivation and engagement. Conversely, if the team understands and shares the goals and values of a project, it is easier to stimulate and persuade the team. The impulse originating from the leader is overlaid with the internal drive within individuals. This synergy gives rise to activity drivers that foster collective and sustainable development.

Each of us has attitudes, opinions, experiences, and lifestyles of our own. However, when we begin to engage in constructive negotiation, seek common ground, and align around shared goals, we move one step closer to working together with a unified focus. Simultaneously, we can contribute our individual strengths and competencies to a collective effort.

Values also serve as a litmus test. What loyal employees find challenging to accept is likely not well-suited for the project or may require further reconsideration and testing.

3. Multi-level leadership system and handling limiting beliefs

A multi-level leadership system means that the organization has competent middle and line management; the heads of departments demonstrate the authority and ability to make decisions within their respective functions as required. The principle of cross-functionality is ensuring that when a manager is on vacation, they are replaced by someone with the necessary competencies and a willingness to assume responsibility.

In this context, revealing leadership potential and addressing beliefs that prevent the manifestation of strengths become paramount. While combating laziness and reluctance to work may be fruitless (it is often more effective to assemble a team of people genuinely interested in the work), it is possible to recognize and surmount the limitations. To achieve this, it is necessary to teach so-called soft skills: effective communication, negotiation, critical thinking, team management, time management, and projects. Additionally, meta-skills such as awareness, emotion management, out-of-the-box thinking, and more play a vital role. Furthermore, it is crucial to encourage employees' ideas, nurture their creativity, and encourage their desire to develop.

4. Efficient neural communication (omnichannel interaction) with a focus on continuous development and improvement

When everyone (or the majority) can communicate with everyone, it becomes easier to disseminate and gain acceptance for new concepts. This is particularly relevant today, with employees residing in different cities and representing diverse cultures and worldviews, thanks to telecommuting.

Joint educational initiatives become the foundation for a common set of concepts and discourses, streamlining communication and making it more efficient.

“

ELENA GLUKHOVA, DEA expert, Doctor of Business Administration, business consultant:

– Techies and humanists, IT specialists and marketers, call center workers and extras – all these individuals operate within different categories and speak different languages due to the specific cultural discourses of their respective professions. Agreement necessitates a culture of cross-interaction and a shared understanding that is facilitated by a common glossary – a cohesive and understandable set of narratives and competencies. These tools establish a unified space for effective employee interaction, irrespective of differences in their worldviews.

This can also be facilitated by “interpreters of meaning” – employees who are on the periphery and can translate the ideas and thoughts from one speaker to another. In IT companies, this role is performed by analysts who can convey to developers what the customer wants or what the manager proposes to implement, and vice versa. They also explain technical intricacies to new employees, help to find optimal solutions, demonstrate how functionality can or cannot be provided, and so on.

”

The strengthening of ties and finding common concepts are also facilitated by employees learning from each other, expanding their competencies and horizons. The more extensive they are, the greater the points of contact and opportunities for joint growth. In some cases, this challenge is addressed by introducing temporary employees who can strengthen the team and reveal the strengths of individuals who might otherwise go unnoticed. Especially when it comes to unconscious competencies: that is, a person who has a predisposition to something that he has not tried, or has not studied (“I don't know if I know this”).

When I was the HR director for Russia and the CIS in a global hotel corporation, we regularly conducted employee engagement surveys and, based on the collected data, we devised measures to improve employee loyalty. It turned out that many employees viewed corporate values as something abstract and not fully tangible or relatable. This was partly because the regional divisions were mostly left to their own devices, as there was limited collaboration among teams from different locations. The situation was further complicated by factors such as the geographical remoteness of the hotels and differences in the interpretation of wording translated from one language to another.

The solution was to conduct team building activities and promote one of the company’s core values – the opportunity to be oneself. The primary objective was to create an environment where each team member not only felt unique but also experienced a strong sense of belonging to a unified community.

Employees were invited to take part in a photo shoot with a professional photographer and show their lives outside of the workplace, sharing their interests and hobbies. Some employees brought skiing equipment, others brought flowers from their gardens, and some even brought their pets along. As a result, the employees obtained beautiful pictures, while corporate albums and presentations were replenished with vibrant photos of employees from different hotels. This initiative helped to bring the company's values closer to employees.

The process of preparation and discussions brought the teams closer; people began to understand each other better and engage in conversations that extended beyond work-related topics. This development has become an element of the new unified corporate culture and a system of informal communication as employees continue to communicate outside of the workplace.