Susan's Articles
Leading Transformational Change - Making the Impossible Possible
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Leading transformational change: Making the impossible possibleOver many years of leading transformational change in large organisations, I have learnt that the things most people think are impossible in organisations are usually possible.
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We underestimate People's Ability to Change
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Do we underestimate the ability of people to change?In his 1995 book The Road Ahead, Bill Gates wrote, “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next 10. Don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction.”
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Emotions before Reason during Change
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Rule 1: Emotions before reason during changeImagine your boss, uncharacteristically, asks you to come into her office as she has something important to talk to you about. The chances are you start worrying that something bad is going to happen and your adrenalin starts pushing your heart rate up as your autonomic fight or flight response kicks in.
Human beings use emotions as their first screen for all information received and trust their emotional instincts above all else. We also hear negative news first and loudest. |
Denying Human Instincts Undermines Change
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Denying human instincts undermines changeFor over a hundred thousand years homo sapiens have dealt successfully with huge species-threatening change, with life and death tribal and personal threats, and with normal everyday disruptions. So why is change seen as a challenge for people in the relative safety or our organisations today?
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A Beginner's Mind - Ask more questions
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A beginner’s mind – ask more questionsThe story goes that Steve Jobs was a proponent and practitioner of the Zen principle known as shoshin or “beginner’s mind”. This involves asking fundamentally naïve questions, often involving “why”. It is based on the idea that the mind of the beginner is empty and free of the habits and preconceptions of the expert. Such a mind is open to all possibilities and can see things through fresh eyes, or in new ways.
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Blue Ocean Strategy process
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Tools & frameworks for innovation & changeBlue Ocean Strategy (BOS) is globally recognised as a world-leading model for the formulation, validation and execution of innovative strategy and transformational change. It is the result of 30 years of research and consulting experience by Insead Professors W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne and has been used around the world by governments, organisations and individuals to develop and implement innovative strategy and transformational change.
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The future of work – can HR catch up?Eighteen months ago I wrote an article on the need for a revolution in Human Resource Management practice, but I could not find much evidence that the transformation I flagged as necessary was underway. Now however I can see some green shoots starting to sprout that indicate change is happening in a small percentage of HR units. The question is, will this produce the transformation that is needed, or does it just signify Marketing terminology is taking over HR?
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Gender equality in Australia in another 251 years!According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2020 released recently by the World Economic Forum which assesses various measures of equality between males and females, in the past 14 years Australia has slipped 29 places to rank 44th globally on their gender equality benchmark.
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HR Exposed - The Banking Royal Commission is a call for actionIn the past week the Australian Government’s Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry released its interim report. When summarising their findings on the question of why the misconduct occurred – their simple answer is: “… greed – the pursuit of short term profit at the expense of basic standards of honesty.”
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Three common sense rules to avoid people management problemsCan we change engagement and performance at work by simply saying hello and showing some good manners? A program is being trialled in a Victorian Hospital to make the workplace more employee friendly by getting staff to change their behaviour towards each other and greet fellow workers.
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4 Tips on how to achieve aspirational targets in organisationsNone of us like to fail. So we have learnt it is safer to set easy targets and avoid failure. This happens often in organisations where going for aspirational targets could be setting yourself (and your team) up for criticism or a smaller slice of the bonus pie if you do not achieve your performance targets.
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7 Ways to improve possibility thinking for better planning outcomesRemember this drawing of the old crone and the young lady that is used to illustrate how we miss seeing possibilities that are right in front of our noses. This also illustrates why it is important in the early stages of a strategy, planning or change process to spend time exploring possibilities before deciding on a course of action.
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Where are we now- the first step in strategy and changeIf you want people to commit to change, first of all they need to see what is wrong with where they are now. Motivation for change comes from people experiencing the gap between where they are now and where they want to be. Creating this gap is your first challenge if you are a change leader.
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There must be a better way - 5 tips for change makersIf you are one of those people who is always looking for a better way, the chances are you find yourself walking down the paths less travelled – often on your own. Adam Grant in his best-selling 2016 book Originals described two paths to achievement – conformity and originality. The browser test may indicate which path you are more likely to choose.
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Organisational redesign that creates value, or just another restructure?If you’ve worked in large organisations you have probably lost count of the number of restructures you have been through. In 2016 The Boston Consulting Group reported 80% of surveyed companies said they had undergone a recent reorganisation, at least 50% involving the whole organisation, and more than half reported these had been unsuccessful.
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What does the Banking Royal Commission tell us about HR practices & leadership?Australian businessman Geoff Cousins called out the business community for not speaking up publicly to condemn the behaviour coming out in the Federal Government’s Banking Royal Commission:
“Where are the business leaders! For goodness sake, please come out and say “This is wrong”! … Speak up for what is right in business.” |
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Mind the gap – silos are a risk and an opportunity for improvementA few years ago I was editing a book on the military strategy of the WW2 June 6 1944 D-Day landings at Normandy in France. Not being a student of military history, I was struck by the lessons from that invasion that could be applied to organisational strategy and change generally – all be it on a much smaller scale.
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Top 5 tips from the dying on getting life’s priorities rightI love this time of year - looking forward to the Christmas break when the weather in Sydney is warm and sunny (hopefully) and I can take that pile of books that I have collected for my summer holiday reading into the garden and lazily read with a cup of tea and a piece of Christmas cake and no guilty feelings that I should be working.
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If not you, then who?If you look at Australian politics at the moment you could be forgiven for despairing. Our leaders on all sides are missing in action.
If the CEO or Board of Australia is not able to create a compelling vision and strategy for the country and then implement it – who can? The answer, is the same for the country as for an organisation. Prime Minister/CEO/Board and cabinet/executive leadership team – if not you, then who? |
Top 5 ways HR can make a difference to strategy and change
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Top 5 ways HR can make a difference to strategy & changeFrom my experience in leading strategy and transformational change, both from within and from outside of HR functions, here are the five key areas in which I think HR can make a significant difference to the delivery of effective strategy and change.
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Culture was the number 1 concern of CEOs and boards - But where is Human Resources on boards?
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Corporate Culture #1 concern for CEOs & boards - But where is HR?Does the absence of People and Culture (Human Resources) professionals on Boards create a blind spot in the governance capability of Boards?
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Service NSW - a Case Study of Blue Ocean Strategy principles in action
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Service NSW - a Blue Ocean Strategy case studyService NSW is a case study on the application of Blue Ocean Strategy principles to transform government service delivery in the NSW government. Susan Kehoe was the Executive Director People and Culture for the start-up of the award-winning Service NSW.
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