Organizational Change Potential – Capacity to Translate to Execution

Part 4 of 5: Continued from a Previous post

There are four common areas to address when preparing to implement change in your organization:

1. Pressure for Change
2. A Shared Vision
3. A Capacity to Translate to Execution
4. A Realistic Workplan

Let’s talk about the Capacity to Translate to Execution.

What does a Capacity to Translate to Execution mean?

From the book – A Beautiful Constraint (Source: &Strategy – adapted by Michael Hay):

We need some confidence that we have the capability and capacity to do what is being proposed — we may not know precisely how we are going to do it yet, but we know we have those kinds of capabilities.

The capacity to translate to execution answers the question: Can you do it? Can you make this change? The question probes two main areas:

1. Capability: Have you identified the leadership, influencers, and technical resources to execute your goal? What about the end-users?
2. Capacity: Have you planned accordingly – created space for the right people at the right time during the project? Do you have an idea of what that means?

Why is a Capacity to Translate to Execution significant?

Being able to do the work while having the availability to do the job may seem completely obvious. However, it is essential to understand what that means when you truly get started. Capacity and Capability are incredibly vague. When you layer them on an implementation of software that you do not know – it can be a grey area within a grey area.

To execute an implementation, you’ll need the right people on your side. And while they’ll need the appropriate access to affect the change, they’ll also need time to do it. So the first step is identifying the right set of individuals that can help champion (and execute) the change. Once you have those individuals identified, you’ll want to make sure that they have the availability to do what they need to do. Asking them to do this level of change in the margins of their day will lead to failure. Instead, work with them to identify the level of effort they anticipate needing to execute the implementation.

Once you have your set of critical champions to usher in the change and you’ve identified the amount of effort they’ll need – the Executive responsible for success needs to make that time available. The Executive may need to take on the role of blocker and tackler to ensure the right resources can execute the work as planned – without distraction.

The last step is ensuring that the end-users using the software have the appropriate time to prepare, understand and come to terms with the change. This also needs to be supported by the Executive.

What happens when you don’t have it?

Too often, customers purchase software without understanding the demands introducing that software will take to be successful. People are critical to success. In many cases, Executive Buyers don’t consider the time they’ll need to carve out for their core team (or end-users) to help execute their vision.

This forces the work to be successful into the margins of the day. Working in the margins will not only lead to failure to implement the software but also burn out the individuals who feel responsible for its success. Having Executive pressure and a clear vision but not creating the capacity to deliver on the vision will most certainly lead to losing the team responsible for implementing the change.

If you would like more information on the topic – I’d suggest this read on creating cultures of digital transformation.

Continue to Part 5

References and Resources

A Beautiful Constraint (Source: &Strategy – adapted by Michael Hay)

Supporting Music

Save Your Generation by Jawbreaker

The Last Man on Earth by Wolf Alice

Note: Originally posted on March 3, 2018