Transformation is human
As a Senior Fellow in Management Practice at Saïd Business School, my ongoing mission is to explore what it takes to be a successful leader in the modern age. Today this mission is more important than ever before given the scale of political, social and technological disruption we are facing.
The need to transform successfully - and to do so continuously - is an imperative for all organisations. Yet the rate of failure for transformation projects remains stubbornly high.
So, my colleague Michael Smets, Professor of Management, and I, teamed up with the professional services company EY, another organisation equally passionate about demystifying where large scale transformations go wrong and what organisations can do to get them right.
To do this we surveyed 935 senior leaders and direct reports, as well as 1,127 workforce members from around the globe and across multiple industries. Our Transformation Leadership: Humans@Centre research tells us that the success or failure of business transformation is rooted in human emotions and therefore putting humans at the centre can improve your odds of success by more than two and a half times.
But we did not stop our partnership with the research. For the past year I have been hosting a podcast, Leadership2050, talking to visionary leaders and exploring the leadership we need to successfully transition to 2050. And so, what better way to put humans at the centre of this research project than to create a special bonus miniseries - Transformation Leadership2050 - with my EY colleague and fellow project lead, Adam Canwell, Partner, People Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP.
In this Transformation Leadership2050 series we are exploring the emotional journey a number of global leaders and their workforce went through as they successfully led their organisations through significant change. Throughout the episodes you will hear from leaders in Europe, Australia and the US working across a range of industries, from healthcare and consumer goods to electronics, and Adam and I will delve deeper into the findings from our research and discuss the six key drivers that can lead to transformation success.
Do join us on our Transformation Leadership: Humans@Centre journey starting with this introductory podcast episode.
Andrew's research and teaching focuses on how leaders transcend 21st century challenges such as disruptive technology change and the climate crisis. Also, how they create cultures that are diverse, inclusive, resilient and high performing, alongside the ongoing challenge of delivering profitable growth. At Oxford he directs the Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Programme, and works with leaders from industry and governments across the world.
