Bridge the gap from strategy to execution: culture change that sticks
| Published date | 09 October 2017 |
| Pages | 222-228 |
| Date | 09 October 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-07-2017-0048 |
| Author | Suzanne Bates,Andrew Atkins |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour |
Bridge the gap from strategy to
execution: culture change that sticks
Suzanne Bates and Andrew Atkins
Suzanne Bates is CEO
and Andrew Atkins is
Vice President, Client
Experience at Bates
Communications,
Wellesley,
Massachusetts, USA.
Abstract
Purpose –A 100⫹year old organization was facing an enterprise-wide, multi-billion dollar
transformation. A new, cross-functional team was brought together to spearhead this change, but faced
challenges because of organizational siloes and lack of cross-functional communication. Following an
in-depth assessment of the leadership team’s behaviors and their leadership presence, the president
realized the team would need to change their communication strategies to drive the transformation.
Design/methodology/approach –Each leader was assessed using a research-based model of
executive presence, the ExPI™, which is designed to measure specific behaviors of executive
presence and leadership communication; the qualities of leadership that engage, align, inspire and
move people to act. The team developed a “profile of success” highlighting their desired future state as
a team, and compared that with the collective data on their strengths and gaps as a team. The
comparison and insights from the comparison formed the roadmap for improving their behaviors as a
team.
Findings –The leadership team ultimately became champions for the enterprise-wide change by
improving communication streams and winning buy-in from their own teams and other stakeholders
critical to the change. They’ve transitioned from seeing their role as protecting their vertical siloes to
connecting their functions into a horizontal, integrated pipe that delivers fast, seamless value to the
company and the customers.
Originality/value –This case study highlights the importance of creating culture change through
leadership behavior. When an organization is faced with high-stakes transformation, change ultimately
starts at the top. Leadership teams who invest in the hard work of changing their siloed actions, and hold
themselves accountable for a new way of working, will be able to drive change more effectively and
more quickly.
Keywords Culture, Leadership, Transformation, Collective leadership
Paper type Case study
Robert Kennedy once said, “Change has its enemies”. But who are those
adversaries? It’s tempting to look around for people to blame when things are
not going well. “Why don’t they get it?!” we wonder. The frustration is strong
when we’ve taken great care to design an organizational structure to support the
strategy. Why the resistance?
Bridging the gap from strategy to execution requires a blueprint for the organization, but
that alone is not sufficient. Leaders must build the cultural scaffolding and the
organizational communication strategies that will support change. This is a complex
challenge, but at the heart of it is their willingness and ability to identify the behaviors that
support change and allow them to engage, inspire and move people to act on the change.
They need to embrace these behaviors, model them and celebrate them in the culture.
Case in point: the challenge to deliver on unprecedented transformation
A 100⫹year old manufacturing company decided to invest in a multi-billion dollar
enterprise-wide technology upgrade to drive growth and remain competitive. This bold
PAGE 222 STRATEGIC HR REVIEW VOL. 16 NO. 5 2017, pp. 222-228, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 DOI 10.1108/SHR-07-2017-0048
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