686: Reevaluating Our Relationship with Change (with Former Deloitte's Chief Learning Officer, Ashley Goodall)
Jun 17, 2024
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Former Deloitte's Chief Learning Officer, Ashley Goodall, discusses the importance of stability in organizations over constant change, the impact of effective time management through color-coded calendars, and the significance of care and connection in professional relationships. He also reflects on his journey in consulting, challenges in leadership, and insights from writing a book on workplace dynamics.
Focus on team cohesion and shared values over reshuffling teams for stability and success.
Transforming performance management by prioritizing meaningful conversations over numerical ratings for efficiency.
Deep dives
Experience at Deloitte and Team Connection
Ashley Godoll discusses his initial experiences joining Deloitte, highlighting the importance of team connection and shared values. He describes how finding a community of like-minded individuals focused on people and leadership elements was pivotal in shaping his career path. The sense of belonging and common focus on curiosity and human interactions resonated with him, leading to long-lasting relationships and career growth.
Navigating Large Organizations
Ashley reflects on his early days at Deloitte, emphasizing the challenges of navigating large organizations. He shares insights on the need for networking and advocating for oneself in professional services environments. Ashley discusses the realization that organizational structures have hidden nuances beyond formal hierarchies, requiring individuals to understand the 'Wild West' aspect of large organizations.
Transition to Performance Management
Ashley delves into the transformation of performance management practices at Deloitte and Cisco. He outlines the shift from numerical ratings to weekly check-ins focused on improving work effectiveness. By emphasizing meaningful conversations over rating debates, Ashley illustrates how this change led to a more client-centric and efficient approach to performance management.
Leadership Role and Creating Stability
Ashley shares insights into his leadership journey, highlighting the importance of creating stability in organizations. He explores the misconception that constant change equates to progress, advocating for a balanced approach that prioritizes stability and predictability. By encouraging team leaders to empower their team members and provide space for personal growth, Ashley underscores the significance of fostering stability for optimal team performance.
Welcome to an interview with the author of The Problem with Change: And the Essential Nature of Human Performance, Ashley Goodall. Drawing on two decades spent leading HR organizations at Deloitte and Cisco, Ashley Goodall reveals in his book why change is not the same as improvement, and how, by prioritizing team cohesion (instead of reshuffling teams at will), by using real words (rather than corporate-speak), by sharing secrets (not mission statements), by fixing only the things that are truly broken (instead of moving fast and breaking everything in sight, and more, leaders at every level can create the stability that people need to thrive.
Ashley Goodall is a leadership expert who has spent his career exploring large organizations from the inside, most recently as an executive at Cisco. He is the co-author of Nine Lies About Work, which was selected as the best management book of 2019 by Strategy + Business and as one of Amazon’s best business and leadership books of 2019. Prior to Cisco, he spent fourteen years at Deloitte as a consultant and as the Chief Learning Officer for Leadership and Professional development.