The Fifty Percent Solution

For those who may not know it, I spend a set number of hours each week either mentoring or just having conversations with others in this space about transformation, coaching, and change. This week I was having one such conversation and as I was talking I thought “Wow...how have I never written about this as a topic?” So, here we are. The fifty percent solution.

As we continue our discussion about culture change and leadership, I will explain what I mean by the fifty percent solution. I often tell leaders that as coaches and consultants we can bring in our toolkit and our expertise but if they are going to outsource responsibility then all they can ever hope to achieve is the fifty percent solution.

Change cannot be delegated to others.

Change and transformation cannot be delegated to the lower levels of an organization nor to the consultants. I had one potential client tell me that he had hired one of the big firms and they had impressive plans and strategies (PowerPoints) and teams of experts but in the end they just didn’t provide the solution or results. This was a preface to “so why would I hire you if they couldn’t make a difference?” And part of the problem was him thinking that hiring the big guys because they impressed him with their spiel was going to solve anything. But a bigger part of the problem was that he just wanted results without being involved.

So why doesn’t this approach work? After all, we spend a lot of time trying to get those at the top levels out of the day-to-day. Isn’t this counter to that? Isn’t this pushing them back in? Setting the organization up for micro-managing from the top? The short answer is “no.”

To do a deep dive into true problem identification, the leaders need to be involved.

The longer answer is multi-pronged. Oftentimes, I find that when an organization wants to make change, they have at least gotten to the stage where they recognize that something just isn’t working. They have also usually identified what they think the problem is. However, the problem is usually a surface issue that requires more digging and also not agreed upon across all parts of the organization. To do a deep dive into true problem identification, the leaders need to be involved. If they make a sweeping statement of “our revenue is down for the last two quarters. Get it fixed.” and then return to some other task at hand, they have not so subtly communicated that they don’t feel they are part of the problem, nor do they need to be part of the solution, and that in some way there will be consequences if it is not resolved.

Leaders need to be part of the solution.

Furthermore, the leaders need to be part of the solution once the problem is identified. This does not mean that they are rolling up their sleeves and running product development, creating new processes or coaching teams, but it does mean that they have their sleeves rolled up and are prepared to support and clear obstacles out of the way once a direction has been decided. It also means that they are concerned about and interested in the people and the culture of the organization, not just the bottom financial line.

Leaders shape the culture.

It is also critical that the leaders help shape the culture that will flow through the entire organization. Change can’t happen in a vacuum and behavior changes don’t happen without leaders who lead by example. Too many leaders especially in the middle levels have been conditioned that they need to always be strong, have all of the answers, and prove they are contributing to the financial success of the organization. Leaders need to model the behavior that they do not have to have all of the answers. You can be unsure. However, they need to then have a plan of action - a plan to include others in finding the answers.

They also need to create a culture of experimentation and innovation. I have written several articles in the past about the experimental backlog and have also done Lives. At the heart of this is that change does have risk so create hypotheses and experiments to prove out ideas before investing in them full force. However, experiments can and do fail. If there is a culture in which failure is hidden so that someone doesn’t look weak, then experiments will not work. It has to be acceptable to try and fail and try again. In fact, I know one organization where the CEO said that there was only one way in which someone was going to be criticized and held to account with the experimental backlog and changes. That one way was if something was failing and they hid it or didn’t own that it was failing and allowed a failure to continue. It was okay for things to go wrong and fail, but it was not okay to keep doing them, knowing that it wasn’t working just so they didn’t have to admit it.

It has to be OK to fail and try again.

This was a difficult change for people to accept. It had been ingrained in them as emerging leaders along the way that to succeed you can’t admit defeat or show weakness. And I see this over and over again. It is not inherent for people in power to show vulnerability. This is something I strive to change in the group coaching program “The Art of Inclusive Leadership.”

But what is the fifty percent solution?

Now back to the fifty percent solution. What does this mean? If a leader abdicates culture and organizational change or transformation to others whether internal or external, all they can hope to achieve is a fifty percent solution. Internal people will try to fix the problems they perceive exist and external consultants or coaches while bringing a wealth of knowledge and tools, cannot own the solution or the changes. We can only share what we know and guide those who are willing. Without the leadership team being part of the solution and the organization knowing that they are standing side by side with them, there isn’t even the chance of making the needed changes and those that are made will not be lasting.

Want to learn more about inclusive change and growth as a leader who has responsibility for change within an organization? Here are three ways to get started today:

• Listen to our weekly Lives available on Replay from our YouTube channel.

• Learn more about our new group coaching program for leaders and get free content.

• Schedule a strategy call with our Founder and CEO, Indra A. Books to see how she can help you get unstuck today.

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INDRA A. BOOKS

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