When it comes to real, fundamental change, you can’t change an organization without changing its management. This applies both to changes due to the external environment (such as a major change in the key market serviced by the organization), or simply to changes linked to the change in size and nature of the organization as it grows or shrinks significantly.
This has been my constant observation in all the organizations which I have known deeply enough, when they were faced by major changes.
“I’m not saying they have to pack up their desks and be replaced. I’m saying that they themselves, every one of them, needs to change to be more in tune with the mandates of the new environment. They may need to go back to school, they may need a new assignment, they may need to spend some years in a foreign post. They need to adapt. If they can’t or won’t, however, they will need to be replaced with others who are more in tune with the new world the company is heading to.”, says Andrew Grove, former CEO of Intel, in his book ‘Only the Paranoid Survive‘.
Indeed, the most mature executives will know when to change move beyond their comfort zone; some will do the effort and some won’t; at least they are then conscious that they need to move on. The worst situation of course is when executives are not even aware they need to change; or when they languish in the reminiscence of a great, cozy past. This can lead to disastrous situations.
If the organization you lead has to go through a major transformation, you need to change. Or to move on. Don’t think you can continue being what you were before!
