Tara Duke is a Consulting Partner in Corporate and Digital Transformation.
In my recent article, “Digital Transformation Part 1: How To Avoid Three Pitfalls,” I discussed overcoming hurdles to get the green light for your transformation and how to mitigate those, I challenged us to remember that digital transformation IS business transformation.
In this article, I will chat about three things that are necessary for the successful execution of your transformation.
1. Your Choice Of Transformation Leader Can Make Or Break You
When choosing a leader to oversee your digital transformation efforts, it is imperative to choose someone who has one foot in the world of business and one in technology.
This person needs to understand on a fundamental level what the business goals and outcomes are, what the technology goals and outcomes are and how you plan to reach both through this transformation. They should have a firm grasp of the various workstreams and dependencies to make real-time decisions as challenges arise—and there will be challenges.
This leader is not your run-of-the-mill program manager. In fact, inserting such a person will almost guarantee failure. Think of your transformation leader as the conductor of an orchestra. They may play an instrument or two, but their real job is to bring together all the various sounds, at the right time, to create perfect harmony.
This requires a working knowledge of what each component brings to the table and how they interact with and rely on each other.
Picture this: One of your five technical workstreams is behind schedule and one of those leaders would like to change their approach to get to the end result for their workstream, faster. If your transformation leader does not fully understand the intricacies of the program, how the workstreams depend on each other and what each of the desired outcomes needs to succeed, they may just approve this change to get the program back on schedule.
A true transformation leader may instead catch that one of the proposed items deleted from the workstream is key for one of the business side workstreams and that, without it, they will be unable to reach two of the desired outcomes. Therefore, the transformation lead will not approve the change, but work with the lead to identify other areas for change that will not impact the program.
Your transformation leader needs to be given full autonomy to make this program work within the budget and other parameters given. The governance structure discussed in Part 1 provides the needed checks and balances to ensure your program does not go off the rails. Ultimately, you will need to trust that your leader knows what they are doing and will come to the committee if they need support.
This role is a full-time job. No one else will have the intimate knowledge of each workstream or the holistic understanding of the full program as this person will. So, choose wisely.
2. Get Comfortable With Change
When bringing business and technology teams together, one of the chief complaints is that people aren’t on the same page. They manage projects differently. They communicate differently. They make decisions differently. Their outcomes are realized at different times along the transformation journey.
A key responsibility of the transformation leader is to understand how each of the teams will be structured to complete their portion of the puzzle, but then also create a common language when they interact with each other and within the governance structure.
The example of something going wrong is common and should be expected. While you do your best to plan and uncover challenges in advance, your process should include a plan for what to do when you hit that unknown snag.
A good leader will already have everyone prepped and expecting unknown challenges, which alleviates panic when the unknown occurs; this is half the battle. A good transformation leader over-communicates and keeps everyone on the same page while pulling together the right leaders to make fast decisions that can be rapidly rolled out.
Change doesn’t have to be terrible, and an agile mindset looks for solutions rather than grinds to a halt, stuck on the problems.
3. Plan For The Worst…
…while hoping for the best.
Another area often overlooked and rushed through is testing. Thoroughly reviewing every solution and planning for the unexpected is not just key to execution but also foundational to a smooth go-live.
Creating a playbook around this transition is critical so that everyone is clear on the part they will play. Sometimes, things still go wrong. Having a plan for when that happens keeps your impact time low and prevents the loss of critical data, access and processes.
Roll-back plans (plans that undo changes and revert to the original state) should be created upfront. If you don’t have one and an issue occurs, you may irretrievably damage your information, customers and reputation.
Remember: Go live should never be the end of the road. Learning, listening and adjusting are critical to ensure: 1. that the processes work how you planned, 2. that people needing additional training get it and 3. that the technical solutions produce the desired outcomes.
This phase should not go on forever, however. After the planned timeframe, all systems and processes should be hardened and the organization should move to a steady state. Continuous change brings fatigue, which could result in a lack of adoption, making all the time and money spent a waste, even once completed.
Your Choice In Execution Leadership Is The Catalyst For A Successful Digital Transformation
Embarking on a digital transformation is not for the faint of heart and requires commitment from both business and technical leadership. A great transformation leader will be both a strategic visionary and a tactical warrior, piloting your troops to victory.
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