President & CEO of Sorenson, a provider of accessible communication for people who are deaf and hard of hearing.
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Business leaders often face the difficult task of redefining their organizations. Competitive dynamics, the acquisition of another company or unit and expansion into new geographies and markets can all be drivers of change. Obstacles to a smooth transition can include operational issues related to integrating technology platforms, aligning go-to-market strategies and optimizing workforces.
Transformation can also create cultural disruption. A strategy shift announced by new leadership can alter employees’ perceptions of how to succeed and advance. Going from a casual to a formal workplace dress code can be jarring. Such changes can fuel resistance to change.
In some cases, this resistance is rooted in a deeply personal sense of self, as well as loyalty to the legacy culture. Leaders, therefore, need to understand how transformation impacts business culture, as well as address the associated emotional and psychological challenges. The question then becomes, what can leaders do to help people adapt, thrive and potentially reinvent themselves?
From Commodity Sales To Consultative Partnering
Many technology companies have evolved from a legacy of building commodity products with specifically defined capabilities to a new business model of delivering services and solutions tailored to customers’ specific requirements as well as designed to drive fundamental change and new ways of doing business. In terms of organizational culture, this transition can pose enormous challenges, particularly for sales teams.
The shift from selling a product to selling a solution requires an evolution in the mindset and culture of the sales organization. A transactional sales process focuses on a product’s specific features and benefits as well as how they align with a customer’s specific technical requirements. Skills required here include specialized and deep technical expertise.
Under a consultative model, meanwhile, broader business issues must be addressed. Selling a strategic technology initiative to a brick-and-mortar retail organization, for example, requires insight into industry trends, including the increased focus on customer experience and the disruptive impact of e-commerce. Here, communication and listening skills are paramount, as are empathy, curiosity and the ability to take a 360-degree view of a customer’s requirements.
In this environment, a sales leader should aim to reshape the organizational culture to cultivate a new set of skills. Industry workshops can help impart required knowledge, and incentives can reward specific outcomes such as identifying sales opportunities in new business units. Clear and consistent communication, meanwhile, can demonstrate leadership’s commitment to a strategic approach that favors long-term results rather than quick, tactical wins.
Integrating An Acquired Entity
Merging two organizations with distinct personalities and histories can create a minefield of obstacles to maintaining a cohesive and unified culture. The fact that acquisitions are often designed to bring together different, but complementary capabilities further complicates matters. To take an extreme example, consider a large, bureaucratic organization that acquires an agile, innovative startup. Behind the scenes of integrating information systems and aligning market strategies, a variety of cultural conflicts are likely taking place, ranging from dress codes and expectations for office face time to fundamental questions around professional identity and purpose.
Beyond practical concerns (“Am I going to lose my job?”), a merger poses significant cultural implications. New leaders can be viewed with skepticism or hostility, prompting a belligerent loyalty to the old regime and stubborn resistance to change—since “this is how we’ve always done it.” Long-time employees who have contributed to a company’s growth and success, meanwhile, can feel betrayed when new leadership discards established practices. All this can lead to the emergence of organizational factions, cliques and fiefdoms that further impede integration.
In this environment, leaders must aim to maintain the effectiveness and morale of existing teams while integrating them into the larger organization. It’s a thread-the-needle proposition: force-fitting the new culture risks alienating the acquired units; letting the new employees do their own thing can create separate islands within the organization.
Whatever the approach taken, frequent and transparent communication—as well as accessibility and approachability—are essential. Leaders must acknowledge that change is potentially painful while articulating the rationale behind the need to adapt. Moreover, they must demonstrate that agility and disruption can yield positive outcomes. For geographically dispersed teams, achieving these objectives may require periodic face-to-face interactions. A workshop to tackle a particularly challenging project, for example, can reinforce team dynamics and allow members to know one another as multi-dimensional individuals.
Going Global
When a business expands its operations to new geographies, most attention is focused on strategic plans, regulatory issues and market conditions.
Cultural considerations must also be addressed. One example: resolving differences in vacation policies and expectations. Many Europeans take four to six weeks off in the summer, as business activity essentially shuts down during these months. What happens to deadlines involving global teams? Placing additional demands on U.S. teams can fuel resentment, as can expecting French and Italian employees to forego an accepted standard. In this instance, any decision is likely to prompt dissatisfaction. As such, articulating the necessity of the decision is paramount, as is sensitivity to and awareness of the positions of the respective teams.
Another potential point of contention is determining the “official” language of the global company. In the past, I’ve led global organizations focused on the U.S. market, but with a preponderance of Latino employees. We decided to mandate English as the standard language of business meetings, even in situations where everyone in the room spoke Spanish and almost everyone was a native speaker. While we experienced some lapses and awkwardness, we felt that using English helped reinforce our cultural identity as a U.S. company operating in the U.S. market. Here again, clearly communicating the rationale behind the policy is key to overcoming the discomfort and gaining buy-in.
Strategic Navigation In Times Of Change
Traditionally, employees worked for the “corp” for 30 years and were rewarded with a gold watch. In today’s fast-paced tech industry, cultures are continually evolving. Leaders must adapt to agile and flexible cultures that support the business as well as individuals’ personal and professional fulfillment. This will allow the organization and its people to thrive.
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