“In life, change is inevitable.
In business, change is vital.”
- Warren Bennis
I specialise in transformation.
As I started working pre-Internet in the 90’s and then joined the digital revolution in 2000, to work for fast-evolving companies such as Google or Eventbrite, the need for transformation in my career has been frequent, brutal and unannounced. No one ever held a warning sign saying “Marion, it’s time you change”! In hindsight, I see now that the most painful challenges I faced in my career happened because I either failed to identify that I needed to transform my way of working, interacting with people, thinking or functioning, or when I was confused about what to change, or about what change should look like and how to implement it and monitor it.
I learned the hard way! But in time I also learned that I could change, and even, that I liked change! Indeed, I am now grateful that I am not working in the same environment that I did in the 90’s, doing that same task, in the same way. That would feel very stale!
It is this love of change, or at least the ability to embrace it, that I try to share with my clients in their fascinating journey as leaders of tech companies.
Transformation represents one of the biggest challenges because it requires companies and leaders to:
Identify that transformation is required, when the old successful ways won’t “cut it” anymore. This alone can be a slow and painful process, during which confidence is shaken.
Discern what needs to be kept as before and what needs to change in order to achieve new goals. This is a challenging step that calls for subtlety as one would have a tendency to want to “reinvent” himself, when in reality, not all the “old” is obsolete, but some important tweeks are required.
Find ways to implement this transformation within their existing soul or style, the traits that made this person or this organisation successful and trustworthy in the first place, and do so at a pace that will be embraced by all audiences: Workforce, customers, stakeholders, partners, investors...
Monitor progress versus pre-defined signs of improvements and clear goals. Be ready to do more of what works, understand why things do not work, and be open to test a variety of approaches.
As humans, we dislike change. It takes a lot more effort to alter our way of functioning than it does to use our tried and tested methods. It is also quite common to forget to communicate during a time of change or to ignore the need for a period of mourning for the “old ways”.
At an individual level, a common need for transformation is when a leader’s role, responsibilities and remit change:
From Manager to Director
From Director to Vice President
From Vice President to C-level.
The subtlety of this transformation is that, although the promotion of an individual is a result of his past achievements, it not only calls for a new behaviour but also for a complete change of his primary team.
For instance, when a leader joins the C-suite, the leader’s primary team is no longer the function he leads but his C-level peers. At C-Level, the leader’s focus has to encompass the holistic well being the company, beyond his own function. Not only does a leader’s relationship with his function changes when he is promoted to C-level, his need to manage upward is also drastically modified: From asking for support from his manager, to dealing himself with all issues in order to keep the CEO free to focus on bigger things.
I specialise in helping leaders harness their own power, experience, achievements, capabilities, knowledge, wisdom, passion, resilience, agility and strengths to define and implement the transformation that is required for them to thrive within the new parameters of their new role and then communicate and spread this new attitude to their team.
This sometimes stressful process, characterised by loneliness and a lack of “how to” manuals or even the unavailability of a very busy boss, does not need to be experienced without support and this is where executive coaching steps in.
I work with:
Entrepreneurs and Founders whose company’s ambitions and environment are changing fast
CEOs who want to empower their C-suite
Leaders who want to optimise the efficiency and ambition of their team
HR partners who want to support leaders fill their ever expanding shoes and to nurture the company’s future leaders
Head hunters, who wish to secure the successful probation period of a newly appointed executive.
And I love it!