By Bruce Hodes based on an article by Miles Kierson called “The Seven Hurdles of Successful Execution”.
When you take on improving organizational performance, you have to know that these drooling, slobbering ogres are at work. If you do not, you will run into unanticipated resistance. Consider this example: A CEO who wants to improve organizational performance decides to run her decision by her leadership team. We can pretty much guarantee that will be the end of it.
Why? Because at least some people on her leadership team are going to nix the idea. These people have sway and credibility. They will say something that sounds intelligent, like, “Our way works. We have tried these kinds of change and improvement interventions before and they do not stick.” Or, “We have enough to do without getting into another initiative that supposedly improves performance but only worsen the situation because it is one more thing to do. I do not know about anybody else, but I, for one, do not have the time for this.”
If you, fellow executive and CEO, are aware that you will disturb the sleeping ogres, you must decide not to run the idea by your team first. At the very least trust your intuition and be convinced that even in the face of resistance this is the way forward. You as leader need the vision, intuition, courage and commitment to make the decision alone and to move forward. Then you can figure out how to get your team on board.
Improving and transforming the performance of your organization is not for the faint of heart. The type of organizational transformation that we are describing requires a senior leader that understands that they are ultimately accountable for the success of the enterprise.
It is a terrific idea to empower your team and to involve them as much as you can in the decisions that you make. There are just some decisions that you cannot make by going to the team and discussing them. The decision to go forward with implementing real gut wrenching transformational organizational improvement is one of them. Responsibility, comfort, language, broken promises and drift, all of these ogres will stand in your way.
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