The keys to successful business transformation

Mike Carden’s The Joyous Podcast features conversations with some of the world’s leading management thinkers. 

This episode features Alex Badenoch, who is well-known for her role in leading a successful transformation at Telstra. 

Here’s a ChatGPT precis of the transcript for this week’s episode or listen here.

Badenoch says the transformation involved a holistic approach, encompassing customer experience, product and service offerings, organisational structure, cost reduction, and workforce culture. 

Key factors in the success of this transformation included:

Clear and simple plan: the transformation was anchored around a one-page plan with clear objectives, key goals and specific measures of success. This clarity provided focus and accountability.

• Disciplined execution: the team adhered to the plan and maintained discipline, resisting the urge to constantly insert new ideas. Consistency and staying the course were essential.
• Bottom-up input: while many transformations begin top-down, there was an acknowledgment of the need to bring in bottom-up input. Involving employees in the process not only aids in change adoption but also fosters innovation and identifies potential roadblocks.
• Employee engagement: engaging the broader workforce in the transformation process was crucial to ensure that the entire organisation felt the impact of change.

The discussion during the podcast also touched on the challenges of healthcare transformation, where leaders at the top were making significant changes while many frontline employees perceived little change in their roles.

Badenoch discusses how Joyous, a company that focuses on using employee feedback for continuous improvement, could play a valuable role in transformation efforts within organisations. 

Carden asks whether Telstra had to break the culture during its transformation. Badenoch acknowledges that they did need to disrupt the existing culture significantly to bring about change. While they didn't eliminate all aspects of the culture, they made substantial changes, including changing 50% of the executive team and restructuring the organisation. They emphasised transparency and shifted to a more servant leadership style, where leaders focused on removing obstacles rather than micromanaging.

The conversation concludes on the idea of servant leadership, highlighting its significance in bringing about transformative change in organisations. 

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