organizing
Jesus On A Lean Donkey
Let your spirit
be strong like Jesus.
If that part becomes weak,
then the worn-out donkey grows to a dragon
Be grateful when what seems unkind
comes from a wise person.
Rumi
The third Phase in a quest for growth is rigorous planning and empathetic holding.
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Ørsted, an energy company based in Denmark, has done what very few can claim in stopping climate change. Companies in every industry must rapidly reduce their carbon emissions, yet only a a few businesses show it can be done. Twelve years ago, when it was called DONG Energy, the company earned most of its revenues by selling heat and power, 85 percent of which came from coal. Then, in 2009, management announced a major strategic shift: the company would seek to generate 85 percent of heat and power from renewable sources by 2040. This ambition to work towards flipping the ratio was labeled the initiative “85/15.”
One key factor supporting the decision to rethink their strategy in favor of renewables was the failed attempt to develop a 1,600-megawatt coal-fired power plant project, called Lubmin, in Northeast Germany. They had made substantial investments in this greenfield project during the more than six years they spent trying to develop it. And while the project was supported by the German federal government, they had experienced strong local opposition against the idea of building a coal-fired power plant. This was the first clear sign that the world was beginning to shift. Also, in 2009, the global renewable-energy agenda was positioned strongly at the United Nations COP15 climate summit in Copenhagen, supported both by the Danish government and by company's board of directors.
In communicating the plan the company’s leaders addressed hard truths about its strategic exposures, including climate change and the inevitable depletion of fossil fuel stores, with boldness and rigor. Henrik Poulsen, who was the CEO of Ørsted from 2012 to 2020, used that approach to enlist an initially skeptical workforce. “We set a long-term vision, then translated it into a strategic business ambition with tangible targets to guide it,” he wrote in an online newspaper ad. “Then we rolled that back into action items for each employee to focus on over the next year.” Ørsted had aimed to reach its goal in 30 years. The organization did so in a decade.
In the third phase we get to the heart of the work of transformation. When executives begin a transformation, they often tend to reach for a project plan. More often than not, this focuses on a rational understanding of how long it will take to perform key activities and deliver outcomes. These plans are often overly ambitious from a cost and time point of view, and worldwide research and our own experience suggests that such plans miss a critical component, which causes the transformation process to slow down. And that component is the non-rational - the emotional journey in transformation.Transformation is often exciting and unsettling for members at the same time. In other words, they feel excitement about being part of a purposeful company and also unsettled and anxious — for example, if they fail to visualize how their mindset and skills will be relevant. Addressing these contradictory and mixed emotions is key to the project plan. Bringing topics like anxiety and fear of the unknown as well as different ideas about what the organization’s future looks like into formal conversations allows them to be worked through, instead of just festering and creating resentment. For this reason, listening skills and empathy are just as important as a project plan in a leaders’ toolkit of skills.They enable leaders and the workforce to understand their own purpose and values and how they integrate into the wider organizational purpose. If you’re to integrate both the emotional and rational into your plans, you need to think of the process as a corkscrew rather than a straight line — in other words, a core focus on progress but a non-linear way of getting there. This requires a different approach to project planning that integrates the rational and emotional processes and activities by bringing together the need for patience and pace.
Rigorous Planning: Detailed implementation planning is essential, addressing the chosen path and ensuring feasibility. This involves gathering information to plan interventions, sequence activities, and roll out changes.
Energizing Change: Skill building, incentives, and support for new behaviors are crucial for energizing the organization. Assessing readiness and preparing managers are essential first steps.
Empowering with Optimism: Optimism empowers stakeholders to embrace the vision and contribute. Coaching, support, and participation foster ownership and innovation. Change plans empower members to take responsibility, with local managers facilitating involvement and rewarding initiative. Embracing stakeholders' concerns and ideas, while avoiding defensiveness, maintains momentum and ensures successful implementation.
“Purpose and benefits are the two most important things leaders ought to focus on in any change project: Every successful change project needs at least one clearly articulated purpose. And the benefits to stakeholders must be clear. Together, they help significantly increase the level of engagement and buy-in on a change initiative.”
