Key takeaways
- People naturally resist change, but good communication and a clear strategy encourage buy-in.
- Before implementing a big change, make sure existing technology is meeting your staff needs; show them how transformation will make their life easier.
- Get strong, passionate employees to champion change and inspire their colleagues.
Business owners in South Africa are worried about keeping pace with change. In a recent First Principle Thinking podcast series with South African leaders, Lochner Eksteen, CEO of iCloudius, shared it’s common for companies to think they’re falling behind.
“Nobody’s really way behind,” he assured. “When you speak to medium or bigger companies, they’re behind [where you’d expect those big brands to be]. And just like everyone else, they’re anxious about it.”
Having a roadmap is one way to navigate anxiety, but in uncertain times, leaders are facing decision paralysis. “Our biggest competitor isn’t another vendor, it’s indecision ― businesses stuck in the liminal space, facing complexity and not making that decision to move forward,” he added.
Stephen Wardle, a Salesforce Account Executive agreed. “There’s less of a phenomenon of ‘I’m doing something’ and more of a tension. ‘I need to do something’, but the ‘how, where, and why’ are unknown.”
This has a knock-on effect on staff. When they pick up on tension, they may feel insecure, take it personally, or dig their heels in and slow down new projects.
So, how can South African leaders overcome resistance to change and clearly define the how, where, and why of their transformations?
Striking a balance between impulse and caution
In episode three of the podcast series, Complexity Practitioner and Thought Leader, Sonja Blignaut, shared an analogy that sums up how many leaders feel about change. “It’s hard to survive in a jungle if you were trained in a zoo,” she said. Once the cages are opened, the wild is both full of opportunities and uncertainty.
Knowing when to step into the jungle can be difficult. There’s often tension between those who want to wait patiently until the right moment, and others who panic and want to do things quickly. When the end point is unknown, it’s important to get everyone on the same page and take them with you on your journey.
For some personalities, the rapidly changing corporate landscape is exciting. For others, it’s terrifying. The people who navigate best fall somewhere in between, tempering the impulsiveness that comes with excitement and letting go of the comfortable predictability of the past. These are the characters who can inspire and reassure your team.
Getting buy-in to adapt the environment
One of the most daunting aspects of transformation is change management. Without an effective strategy and staff buy-in, projects will run into challenges. Human connection, empathy, and collaboration are key. And while there are common themes, like making people feel seen and heard, sharing the vision, and celebrating wins, different groups within an organisation need different things to navigate change.
Take managers for example. Staff who reach management level are often passionate, driven, and willing to make personal sacrifices. But they can also be sensitive to pressure from leadership and feel anxious about change. When people feel uncomfortable in a new setting, they can start to doubt themselves.
“The environment has shifted. It’s not that you’ve become incompetent over time, the external context has shifted,” said Blignaut, emphasising that the people who like stability and predictability struggle with this the most.
What managers need more than anything is transparency about what’s happening and why, and to feel trusted to bring their leaders’ vision to life. This comes back to communication. It’s the responsibility of the leader to share their vision and goals with the company, then step back and allow managers to interpret it. And the closer managers are to their teams, the easier it is to get buy-in.
Showing the real-life impact of change
People on the front line are far more likely to go with you on a transformation when they understand how it will make their life better. Before embarking on any ambitious new projects, Trish Vosse, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer at Courier Guy, recommended making sure your existing technology is meeting your team’s needs. Starting the ‘who, what, and why’ with something familiar.
“You’ve got to make sure you do the basics well to get that credibility. If you don’t have that in place, transformation is hard,” she said. This achieves two things. Taking the friction out of everyday life means your staff will be much more enthusiastic about your next project. And when they see you investing in them as a valuable resource, they’re less likely to worry about being replaced by AI.
If you’re not sure what to focus on first, partners like Salesforce Professional Services can provide impartial advice and help create a roadmap to achieve your goals. By working closely with your team, Salesforce professionals can also help keep projects on track.
Wardle shared his experience of helping a university to stay focused. When their attention shifted from prospects to alumni in the middle of revamping the admissions process, he gently guided them back. He highlighted that by targeting prospects ― i.e. future alumni ― the university had four more years to build strong relationships with them. Loyalty that would pay off in the long run and benefit the South African economy.
“Sometimes we get distracted by shiny objects that take our focus away from the task in hand,” he said. “Salesforce can be the lighthouse guiding customers through the journey.”
Taking small steps with your team of champions
If you feel caught between the jungle and the zoo, take small steps into the unknown with a team of dedicated champions. The more successful projects your team has under their belts, the more inspired the rest of your workforce will be. This will make bigger projects less intimidating and allow your company to evolve more naturally.
To learn more about how to break away from zoo thinking and get ready for the jungle, check out episode three of the podcast.
