#145 In-formalising Transformation with Hilton Barbour

"it’s faster to implement a piece of technology than it is to get 10,000 people to stop doing what they’ve been doing for a decade and start to do new things and work in new ways"

Hilton and I unpack the hidden dynamics of organizational change, and the influence of informal power dynamics on transformation. Most change programs falter, not due to strategy, but because leaders often overlook the invisible power of trust and connection networks. Amidst the 'talent' lists and org charts, do you know where your powerful influencers are in your organisation ?

Hilton shares his powerful “people, not pixels” philosophy, explaining how technology investments frequently overshadow the critical human element. It is difficult to budget for, and prioritise, translating a ‘people not pixels’ approach into culture change; similar to what we are finding with AI today, digital transformation stands and falls with the people and the culture of an organisation, not the technology. We also dive into the “3% rule" from Innoviser, exploring how identifying and activating informal power networks can create significant momentum and surface untapped potential and highlight the 'key influencers' in your organisation. This conversation challenges traditional views of leadership and offers a fresh perspective on cultivating a resilient, adaptable culture.

Discover how to transform your approach to change by understanding the relational and emotional infrastructure that truly drives performance. Learn why acknowledging emotions and mapping your organisation’s real connections are non-negotiable for future success. Look at where and how you can unlock potential in your teams and organisations.

How can you use data differently to understand the potential of your organisation ?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

o  C-suite is under such immense pressure that people are overlooked and investment is made in technology, which becomes an efficiency tool that is quicker to implement and yield results than changing people’s habits.

o  We ignore previous failures and neglect to learn lessons, yet without an enthusiastic commitment of the culture to change, strategy will flounder and adoption will slow – the vital balancing act is to engage humans proactively: tech + humans, not tech v humans.

o  The invisible part of culture is where it has been made amorphous and ambiguous, so that it is seen as the ‘soft’, human-related aspect of change when it is actually the most challenging aspect – to motivate, entice and energise others.

o  How humans behave and make decisions within an organisation is important because of how we interact with each other across ecosystems – the many decisions that are made (or not made) on a daily basis must align with the strategy.

o  Culture can be defined as the worst behaviour tolerated by management - this is pivotal to sustainable transformation because of the importance of the relational and emotional infrastructure when building culture and performance.

o  Functioning informal power networks and humanly - not digitally - connected organisations are built on the basic tenets of humanity, i.e. trust, advocacy, commitment and energy, which in turn are reliant on relationships as the currency of systems.

o  In terms of influence, leadership impact involves many other parties on the edges who build communities, create momentum, and unlock hidden potential (cf. Innovisor’s rule that 3% of employees drive 90% of change in an organisation).

o  The inherently human approach of organisational network analysis to define the connectors in the organisation enables leaders to unlock potential by engaging those people who provide the ideas and the energy and invite trust.

o  Agency is diluted by a lack of clear accountability – a more informal structure is possible if leaders acknowledge human characteristics; are transparent and authentic; are explicit about latitude for failure; and encourage enthusiasm, curiosity and creativity.

o  Passive constraints make consequential management difficult as systems favour familiarity but ‘early warning radar’ humans are those who are (not obviously) the influences on others – this is the disconnect between sense-making at the top and what people experience on the ground.

o  Emotions drive decision-making but are not spoken about because they are messy, uncomfortable, and vulnerable – organisations that ignore emotions and how they play out in teams do so at their peril.

o  Emotionally literate leaders would bring about different outcomes by unlocking hidden potential at the edges of the organisation – the pressure on leaders to succeed is excessive and often comes at the expense of cultural sensitivity.

o  It takes confidence and courage for leaders to ride out the exciting, exhausting and unpredictable ripple effect when like-minded people find each other; it is a missed opportunity not to ‘dimensionalise’ emotions and secure – immediately and deliberately – the foundational elements to withstand today’s speed of change. 

Find out more about Hilton here :

Culture & Strategy - Building Your Competitive Advantage

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hiltonbarbour/