Blockers

Culture change is mainly about identifying behaviours that positively impact the business and getting more employees to demonstrate them. It can’t be mandated, so it has to be persuaded. Creating a popular movement that is pro-change.

In most companies, employees are surprised to be given the chance to contribute in this way. This creates an opening in which the bravest can step forward to make change happen. They tend to come from the younger generations. For them, the appeal is the opportunity to be recognised for doing something more than their KPIs.

Gradually the ‘middle majority’ will make their minds up to join in … or they won’t. Then at least it’s obvious who they are. As a senior client says: “In culture change there are blockers and enablers. It doesn’t take long to find out who is what.”

But sometimes it’s not the broader employee base that’s the issue. Instead, the block can lie in a senior management team who are comfortable with the status quo and see no reason to disturb themselves. They say things like: ‘If it ain't broke, don’t fix it.” Or they don’t say anything at all, knowing that passive aggression will do more damage at less risk.

So, pity the CEO who wants to make significant changes to the business, and the workforce who are open to possibilities, when the biggest block lies between them.

In 2017, Uber's CEO Travis Kalanick sought to make sweeping changes to Uber's aggressive growth-at-all-costs culture. In spite of a series of scandals, his executive team, many of whom had been with the company since its early days, resisted his attempts to instil more mature processes and oversight. The power struggle ultimately led to Kalanick's ousting and set Uber back in its evolution from disruptive startup to sustainable business. In 2024, Boeing continues to face significant challenges related to change readiness, particularly in its safety culture and production processes. Many of its employees have been vocal about the need to change the way the company works and are now adding pressure by threatening labour disputes.

So why might senior managers be allergic to change?

Many executives rise through the ranks on their functional expertise, not their ability to lead. As seniors, they have thrived in their company’s existing culture. Working together for years, they may have developed a groupthink mentality and a shared fear of the unknown. If their compensation structures reward short-term results over long-term transformation, they’ll baulk at changes that could hurt their own payouts.

So, building a change-ready senior team should be top priority for any CEO embarking on business reinvention.