TED@BCG Paris
Jim Hemerling: 5 ways to lead in an era of constant change
Filmed:
Readability: 4.9
2,570,647 views
Who says change needs to be hard? Organizational change expert Jim Hemerling thinks adapting your business in today's constantly-evolving world can be invigorating instead of exhausting. He outlines five imperatives, centered around putting people first, for turning company reorganization into an empowering, energizing task for all.
Jim Hemerling - Organizational change expert
BCG's Jim Hemerling practices smart ways to deal with, and even grow from, the unavoidable and accelerating transformations taking place at work. Full bio
BCG's Jim Hemerling practices smart ways to deal with, and even grow from, the unavoidable and accelerating transformations taking place at work. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Have you ever noticed
when you ask someone to talk
when you ask someone to talk
0
825
2351
00:15
about a change they're making
for the better in their personal lives,
for the better in their personal lives,
1
3200
3336
00:18
they're often really energetic?
2
6560
1960
00:21
Whether it's training for a marathon,
3
9015
2481
00:23
picking up an old hobby,
4
11520
1256
00:24
or learning a new skill,
5
12800
1856
00:26
for most people,
6
14680
1256
00:27
self-transformation projects
occupy a very positive emotional space.
occupy a very positive emotional space.
7
15960
5240
00:33
Self-transformation is empowering,
8
21720
2456
00:36
energizing, even exhilarating.
9
24200
2336
00:38
I mean just take a look
at some of the titles of self-help books:
at some of the titles of self-help books:
10
26560
3776
00:42
"Awaken the Giant Within,"
11
30360
2696
00:45
"Practicing the Power of Now,"
12
33080
2496
00:47
or here's a great one
we can all relate to,
we can all relate to,
13
35600
2456
00:50
"You are a Badass:
14
38080
2216
00:52
How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness
and Start Living an Awesome Life."
and Start Living an Awesome Life."
15
40320
5096
00:57
(Laughter)
16
45440
1200
01:00
When it comes to self-transformation,
17
48040
2520
01:03
you can't help but get
a sense of the excitement.
a sense of the excitement.
18
51240
3560
01:08
But there's another type of transformation
19
56840
3176
01:12
that occupies a very different
emotional space.
emotional space.
20
60040
3080
01:16
The transformation of organizations.
21
64080
2600
01:19
If you're like most people,
22
67880
1336
01:21
when you hear the words "Our organization
is going to start a transformation,"
is going to start a transformation,"
23
69240
4376
01:25
you're thinking, "Uh-oh."
24
73640
1400
01:27
(Laughter)
25
75426
1150
01:28
"Layoffs."
26
76600
1200
01:30
The blood drains from your face,
27
78800
1936
01:32
your mind goes into overdrive,
28
80760
2856
01:35
frantically searching
for some place to run and hide.
for some place to run and hide.
29
83640
3240
01:40
Well, you can run,
30
88120
1496
01:41
but you really can't hide.
31
89640
1280
01:44
Most of us spend
the majority of our waking hours
the majority of our waking hours
32
92040
2976
01:47
involved in organizations.
33
95040
1520
01:49
And due to changes in globalization,
34
97040
3096
01:52
changes due to advances in technology
35
100160
2536
01:54
and other factors,
36
102720
1816
01:56
the reality is our organizations
are constantly having to adapt.
are constantly having to adapt.
37
104560
4920
02:02
In fact,
38
110360
1216
02:03
I call this the era
of "always-on" transformation.
of "always-on" transformation.
39
111600
3880
02:09
When I shared this idea
with my wife Nicola,
with my wife Nicola,
40
117400
2256
02:11
she said, "Always-on transformation?
41
119680
3136
02:14
That sounds exhausting."
42
122840
2080
02:17
And that may be
exactly what you're thinking --
exactly what you're thinking --
43
125640
2296
02:19
and you would be right.
44
127960
1576
02:21
Particularly if we continue to approach
the transformation of organizations
the transformation of organizations
45
129560
5136
02:26
the way we always have been.
46
134720
1360
02:28
But because we can't hide,
47
136920
2416
02:31
we need to sort out two things.
48
139360
1696
02:33
First,
49
141080
1216
02:34
why is transformation so exhausting?
50
142320
2736
02:37
And second, how do we fix it?
51
145080
1760
02:41
First of all,
52
149200
1216
02:42
let's acknowledge that change is hard.
53
150440
3136
02:45
People naturally resist change,
54
153600
2016
02:47
especially when it's imposed on them.
55
155640
2640
02:51
But there are things that organizations do
that make change even harder
that make change even harder
56
159200
4576
02:55
and more exhausting
for people than it needs to be.
for people than it needs to be.
57
163800
2840
02:59
First of all,
58
167720
1216
03:00
leaders often wait too long to act.
59
168960
3440
03:05
As a result,
60
173040
1216
03:06
everything is happening in crisis mode.
61
174280
2440
03:10
Which, of course, tends to be exhausting.
62
178320
2018
03:13
Or, given the urgency,
63
181360
3096
03:16
what they'll do is they'll just focus
on the short-term results,
on the short-term results,
64
184480
3920
03:21
but that doesn't give
any hope for the future.
any hope for the future.
65
189320
2160
03:24
Or they'll just take
a superficial, one-off approach,
a superficial, one-off approach,
66
192560
3720
03:29
hoping that they can return
back to business as usual
back to business as usual
67
197040
4096
03:33
as soon as the crisis is over.
68
201160
2600
03:37
This kind of approach
69
205600
1216
03:38
is kind of the way some students
approach preparing for standardized tests.
approach preparing for standardized tests.
70
206840
6080
03:46
In order to get test scores to go up,
71
214280
3456
03:49
teachers will end up teaching to the test.
72
217760
2600
03:53
Now, that approach can work;
73
221160
1376
03:54
test results often do go up.
74
222560
1936
03:56
But it fails the fundamental
goal of education:
goal of education:
75
224520
3776
04:00
to prepare students
to succeed over the long term.
to succeed over the long term.
76
228320
4120
04:06
So given these obstacles,
77
234680
2520
04:10
what can we do
78
238160
1816
04:12
to transform the way
we transform organizations
we transform organizations
79
240000
3456
04:15
so rather than being exhausting,
80
243480
1960
04:18
it's actually empowering and energizing?
81
246200
2840
04:22
To do that, we need to focus
on five strategic imperatives,
on five strategic imperatives,
82
250160
5016
04:27
all of which have one thing in common:
83
255200
2735
04:29
putting people first.
84
257959
2281
04:33
The first imperative
for putting people first
for putting people first
85
261079
2657
04:35
is to inspire through purpose.
86
263760
1760
04:38
Most transformations have
financial and operational goals.
financial and operational goals.
87
266120
3696
04:41
These are important
and they can be energizing to leaders,
and they can be energizing to leaders,
88
269840
4256
04:46
but they tend not to be very motivating
to most people in the organization.
to most people in the organization.
89
274120
3560
04:50
To motivate more broadly,
90
278480
1776
04:52
the transformation needs to connect
with a deeper sense of purpose.
with a deeper sense of purpose.
91
280280
4400
04:57
Take LEGO.
92
285720
1200
04:59
The LEGO Group has become
an extraordinary global company.
an extraordinary global company.
93
287640
4240
05:04
Under their very capable leadership,
94
292520
1736
05:06
they've actually undergone
a series of transformations.
a series of transformations.
95
294280
2840
05:09
While each of these
has had a very specific focus,
has had a very specific focus,
96
297800
3216
05:13
the North Star,
97
301040
1296
05:14
linking and guiding all of them,
98
302360
1816
05:16
has been Lego's powerful purpose:
99
304200
2440
05:19
inspire and develop
the builders of tomorrow.
the builders of tomorrow.
100
307480
3760
05:24
Expanding globally?
101
312360
1200
05:26
It's not about increasing sales,
102
314160
2416
05:28
but about giving millions of additional
children access to LEGO building bricks.
children access to LEGO building bricks.
103
316600
4640
05:33
Investment and innovation?
104
321960
1400
05:35
It's not about developing new products,
105
323960
1858
05:38
but about enabling more children
106
326360
2296
05:40
to experience the joy
of learning through play.
of learning through play.
107
328680
3520
05:45
Not surprisingly,
108
333440
1536
05:47
that deep sense of purpose tends
to be highly motivating to LEGO's people.
to be highly motivating to LEGO's people.
109
335000
5080
05:54
The second imperative
for putting people first
for putting people first
110
342120
2936
05:57
is to go all in.
111
345080
1720
06:00
Too many transformations
112
348080
1696
06:01
are nothing more than
head-count cutting exercises;
head-count cutting exercises;
113
349800
3736
06:05
layoffs under the guise of transformation.
114
353560
3480
06:09
In the face of relentless competition,
115
357960
2056
06:12
it may well be that you will
have to take the painful decision
have to take the painful decision
116
360040
3936
06:16
to downsize the organization,
117
364000
2856
06:18
just as you may have to lose some weight
in order to run a marathon.
in order to run a marathon.
118
366880
3680
06:24
But losing weight alone
119
372000
1216
06:25
will not get you across
the finish line with a winning time.
the finish line with a winning time.
120
373240
2840
06:28
To win
121
376560
1200
06:30
you need to go all in.
122
378160
1480
06:32
You need to go all in.
123
380880
3040
06:37
Rather than just cutting costs,
124
385160
1840
06:39
you need to think about initiatives
125
387640
2536
06:42
that will enable you
to win in the medium term,
to win in the medium term,
126
390200
2696
06:44
initiatives to drive growth,
127
392920
1976
06:46
actions that will fundamentally
change the way the company operates,
change the way the company operates,
128
394920
4056
06:51
and very importantly,
129
399000
1536
06:52
investments to develop
the leadership and the talent.
the leadership and the talent.
130
400560
3640
06:58
The third imperative
for putting people first
for putting people first
131
406680
3776
07:02
is to enable people with the capabilities
132
410480
2696
07:05
that they need to succeed
during the transformation and beyond.
during the transformation and beyond.
133
413200
4840
07:12
Over the years I've competed
in a number of triathlons.
in a number of triathlons.
134
420280
3240
07:16
You know, frankly, I'm not that good,
135
424280
2176
07:18
but I do have one distinct capability;
136
426480
4016
07:22
I am remarkably fast at finding my bike.
137
430520
3680
07:26
(Laughter)
138
434640
1896
07:28
By the time I finish the swim,
139
436560
1816
07:30
almost all the bikes are already gone.
140
438400
1856
07:32
(Laughter)
141
440280
2480
07:36
Real triathletes know that each leg --
142
444160
4056
07:40
the swim, the bike, the run --
143
448240
1736
07:42
really requires different capabilities,
144
450000
2496
07:44
different tools,
145
452520
1216
07:45
different skills, different techniques.
146
453760
2656
07:48
Likewise when we transform organizations,
147
456440
2456
07:50
we need to be sure
that we're giving our people
that we're giving our people
148
458920
2856
07:53
the skills and the tools
they need along the way.
they need along the way.
149
461800
2800
07:58
Chronos,
150
466160
1216
07:59
a global software company,
151
467400
1976
08:01
recognized the need
to transfer from building products --
to transfer from building products --
152
469400
4936
08:06
software products --
153
474360
1656
08:08
to building software as a service.
154
476040
2760
08:11
To enable its people
to take that transformation,
to take that transformation,
155
479800
3216
08:15
first of all they invested in new tools
156
483040
2696
08:17
that would enable their employees
to monitor the usage of the features
to monitor the usage of the features
157
485760
5056
08:22
as well as customer satisfaction
with the new service.
with the new service.
158
490840
2760
08:26
They also invested in skill development,
159
494280
3696
08:30
so that their employees would be able
160
498000
1816
08:31
to resolve customer service
problems on the spot.
problems on the spot.
161
499840
2480
08:34
And very importantly,
162
502960
1216
08:36
they also reinforced the collaborative
behaviors that would be required
behaviors that would be required
163
504200
3376
08:39
to deliver an end-to-end
seamless customer experience.
seamless customer experience.
164
507600
4040
08:44
Because of these investments,
165
512679
1577
08:46
rather than feeling overwhelmed
by the transformation,
by the transformation,
166
514280
3336
08:49
Chronos employees actually felt energized
167
517640
3255
08:52
and empowered in their new roles.
168
520919
2081
08:56
In the era of "always-on" transformation,
169
524200
2216
08:58
change is a constant.
170
526440
1496
08:59
My fourth imperative therefore
171
527960
1936
09:01
is to instill a culture
of continuous learning.
of continuous learning.
172
529920
3800
09:06
When Satya Nadella
became the CEO of Microsoft
became the CEO of Microsoft
173
534800
3016
09:09
in February 2014,
174
537840
1936
09:11
he embarked on an ambitious
transformation journey
transformation journey
175
539800
2896
09:14
to prepare the company to compete
in a mobile-first, cloud-first world.
in a mobile-first, cloud-first world.
176
542720
4200
09:19
This included changes to strategy,
177
547640
2296
09:21
the organization
178
549960
1216
09:23
and very importantly, the culture.
179
551200
1680
09:26
Microsoft's culture at the time was one
of silos and internal competition --
of silos and internal competition --
180
554280
4320
09:31
not exactly conducive to learning.
181
559320
2200
09:34
Nadella took this head-on.
182
562480
1840
09:37
He rallied his leadership
around his vision
around his vision
183
565560
3416
09:41
for a living, learning culture,
184
569000
2520
09:44
shifting from a fixed mindset,
185
572240
2336
09:46
where your role was to show up
as the smartest person in the room,
as the smartest person in the room,
186
574600
3376
09:50
to a growth mindset,
187
578000
1816
09:51
where your role was to listen, to learn
and to bring out the best in people.
and to bring out the best in people.
188
579840
5480
09:58
Well, early days,
189
586720
1256
10:00
Microsoft employees already
noticed this shift in the culture --
noticed this shift in the culture --
190
588000
3120
10:04
clear evidence of Microsoft
putting people first.
putting people first.
191
592080
3400
10:08
My fifth and final imperative
is specifically for leaders.
is specifically for leaders.
192
596560
3560
10:13
In a transformation,
193
601200
1656
10:14
a leader needs to have a vision,
194
602880
1560
10:17
a clear road map with milestones,
195
605160
2640
10:20
and then you need to hold people
accountable for results.
accountable for results.
196
608600
4456
10:25
In other words, you need to be directive.
197
613080
1953
10:28
But in order to capture
the hearts and minds of people,
the hearts and minds of people,
198
616240
3136
10:31
you also need to be inclusive.
199
619400
2400
10:34
Inclusive leadership
is critical to putting people first.
is critical to putting people first.
200
622680
3760
10:39
I live in the San Francisco Bay area.
201
627920
1800
10:42
And right now,
202
630680
1216
10:43
our basketball team
is the best in the league.
is the best in the league.
203
631920
2480
10:46
We won the 2015 championship,
204
634960
2656
10:49
and we're favored to win again this year.
205
637640
2240
10:52
There are many explanations for this.
206
640600
2056
10:54
They have some fabulous players,
207
642680
1720
10:57
but one of the key reasons
208
645120
1776
10:58
is their head coach, Steve Kerr,
is an inclusive leader.
is an inclusive leader.
209
646920
5440
11:05
When Kerr came to the Warriors in 2014,
210
653360
2616
11:08
the Warriors were looking
for a major transformation.
for a major transformation.
211
656000
2680
11:11
They hadn't won a national
championship since 1975.
championship since 1975.
212
659480
4480
11:17
Kerr came in, and he had a clear vision,
213
665640
3176
11:20
and he immediately got to work.
214
668840
2400
11:24
From the outset,
215
672480
1336
11:25
he reached out and engaged
the players and the staff.
the players and the staff.
216
673840
4096
11:29
He created an environment of open debate
and solicited suggestions.
and solicited suggestions.
217
677960
4280
11:35
During games he would often ask,
218
683360
1696
11:37
"What are you seeing that I'm missing?"
219
685080
1880
11:40
One the best examples of this
came in game four of the 2015 finals.
came in game four of the 2015 finals.
220
688000
5760
11:46
The Warriors were down two games to one
221
694600
2120
11:49
when Kerr made the decision
to change the starting lineup;
to change the starting lineup;
222
697880
4160
11:54
a bold move by any measure.
223
702600
3400
11:59
The Warriors won the game
and went on to win the championship.
and went on to win the championship.
224
707360
2920
12:02
And it is widely viewed
225
710960
1256
12:04
that that move was
the pivotal move in their victory.
the pivotal move in their victory.
226
712240
3680
12:09
Interestingly, it wasn't
actually Kerr's idea.
actually Kerr's idea.
227
717440
3680
12:14
It was the idea of his 28-year-old
assistant, Nick U'Ren.
assistant, Nick U'Ren.
228
722560
3600
12:19
Because of Kerr's leadership style,
229
727160
2176
12:21
U'Ren felt comfortable
bringing the idea forward.
bringing the idea forward.
230
729360
2840
12:25
And Kerr not only listened,
231
733240
1976
12:27
but he implemented the idea
232
735240
1560
12:29
and then afterwards,
233
737520
1656
12:31
gave U'Ren all the credit --
234
739200
1960
12:34
actions all consistent with Kerr's
highly inclusive approach to leadership.
highly inclusive approach to leadership.
235
742520
5520
12:41
In the era of "always-on" transformation,
236
749280
2656
12:43
organizations are always
going to be transforming.
going to be transforming.
237
751960
3680
12:49
But doing so does not
have to be exhausting.
have to be exhausting.
238
757200
3240
12:54
We owe it to ourselves,
239
762080
2176
12:56
to our organizations
240
764280
1976
12:58
and to society more broadly
241
766280
1720
13:01
to boldly transform
our approach to transformation.
our approach to transformation.
242
769000
3840
13:05
To do that,
243
773920
1656
13:07
we need to start putting people first.
244
775600
3480
13:11
Thank you.
245
779800
1216
13:13
(Applause)
246
781040
6952
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jim Hemerling - Organizational change expertBCG's Jim Hemerling practices smart ways to deal with, and even grow from, the unavoidable and accelerating transformations taking place at work.
Why you should listen
Jim Hemerling is a Senior Partner and Managing Director in The Boston Consulting Group's People & Organization and Transformation Practices. He is a BCG Fellow with a focus on high-performance organization transformation. He also leads BCG's global Behavior & Culture topic.
Hemerling has published extensively on transformation, organization effectiveness and culture. He is co-editor of Transformation: Delivering and Sustaining Breakthrough Performance, a synthesis of BCG's latest thinking on transformation to be published in November 2016.
His previous book, Globality: Competing with Everyone from Everywhere for Everything, coauthored with Arindam Bhattacharya and Harold L. Sirkin, was chosen by The Economist for their Best Books of the Year in 2008. He has coauthored columns for Bloomberg and Businessweek and has been featured in Fortune, Manager magazine and on CNBC.
Hemerling holds a BASc and M. Eng degrees and an MBA with distinction. He is a member of the board of governors of Opportunity International.
Jim Hemerling | Speaker | TED.com