The transformation story starts with Markus Grässler, the CEO of gkk, a German mid-sized company that provides CX services and customer relationship management (CRM), operating call centers and managing social media communities (to name just a few of their offers). When Markus first approached us, he shared that while gkk has embarked on several transformation and strategy processes in the past, they have never been completely successful. Often, when developing a new strategy, it often felt like pushing forward with a handbrake on. What Markus told us about his company is not an isolated case by any means. Instead, transformation processes fail more often than not.
But why? What is missing in the picture that hinders successful change? And how can transformation succeed not just at the leadership level but across the entire company? To be more specific, Markus told us that he has repeatedly faced challenges with strategies developed in small leadership circles—strategies that were never implemented. Often, the new strategy would even lack the backing of the company’s board, not to mention the wider company. The people involved would report that they would not buy into or even understand the purpose of the new strategy.
Yet, at the time Markus reached out to us, the gkk arrived at a pivotal moment. The mid-sized business has been established in the market for long. Moreover, the market was changing profoundly, involving the advent of generative AI and ever more powerful chatbots for dealing with customer relations, which was especially challenging the raison d'être of the company’s call center operations. The entire board agreed that there is an urgent need for change if their business is to succeed in the future.
This was also the point when Markus contacted us and where we, theLivingCore, enter the story. It was clear that this time around, a different approach was needed and that impactful transformation across the entire company was critical. Before we continue here, we would like to spoil the end of the story. This time, the transformation worked and had a lasting impact. But what does impactful transformation look like? What did we achieve?
Together with gkk, we brought about meaningful and deeply ingrained changes throughout the company. These cultural, structural, and process-related changes and results do not only stand in insulation from one another but work as an integral whole:
Next, let's take a look at how we got there in the first place and what measures we took to make gkk fit for a thriving future:
As you can see, the transformation process started to change the company profoundly. Only the interplay of the abovelisted transformation-building blocks made this possible. However, two of them must be considered a necessary ingredient of successful change, even more so because they are often underestimated or even overlooked. Thus, we want to focus on these two building blocks: (1) creating a shared strategy and vision that guides all other transformation activities and (2) working on mindsets.
As mentioned earlier, gkk's earlier transformation projects did not get off to a smooth start, but rather a faltering one.. At that time, the CEO, Markus, drafted the strategy in small management circles because he saw it as his responsibility. Thereafter, the staff often did not understand and support the new strategy.
Once we arrived, however, we asked Markus and his board colleagues to take a different approach. Instead, we started with the entire company board, along with key people in the organization. From the outset, it was critical that the strategy was not presented to the board as a ready-made solution without their prior involvement. Quite the opposite. We facilitated a process in which the strategy team embarked on an exploratory journey together so that everyone had a hand in shaping the future strategy. This journey was not without its challenges; it involved intense discussions and a significant amount of uncertainty for everyone involved. However, the result of this process was a strategy that every member of the strategy team welcomed. Most importantly, they were directly involved in shaping the strategy and thus had a deep understanding of it. As a consequence, it was second nature for them to communicate it. They thus became compelling multipliers in opening up the process to the entire company. It fostered more advocates within the organization, enabling the strategy to be effectively conveyed and adopted throughout the company.
Reflecting on the process, Markus remarked on his role, that he was first feeling somewhat out of place as he had to take a step back, often assuming the role of a listener and as one of many participants in the process. But he also remarks that this was exactly what was needed to develop a strategy carried forward by everybody involved.
While developing a strategy is a pivotal moment in the change process, it represents just the initial step. Another important building block of gkk’s transformation journey was essential to fostering change and implementing it throughout the organization working on mindsets.
Mindset work has been a golden thread running throughout the transformation of gkk. So let's turn to these mindsets and outline briefly what they are and why they are so important for not only making change happen but for doing so sustainably.
Essentially, a mindset is a collection of beliefs that define how we approach tasks and actions, often without our awareness. For example, in the workplace, it is common practice to include, or "cc," colleagues in emails who are thought relevant or important. However, few pause to consider the underlying mindset and respective beliefs driving this behavior. Upon closer examination, we find the hidden belief that copying in others enhances productivity by keeping everyone informed and avoids the need to forward the same message on a different occasion. We also frequently find the belief that including colleagues in the email chain often aims to make them feel included. Nevertheless, reflection and scrutiny can reveal the flaws in these beliefs. Copying in colleagues excessively can lead to a snowball effect, overwhelming recipients with more information than they can manage. As the volume of emails increases, the flow of information becomes clouded, making it challenging for individuals to discern critical details amid the flood of content. Research indicates that limiting emails to only essential recipients can boost productivity by as much as 7%. Furthermore, rather than feeling included, many find the barrage of unnecessary emails annoying rather than thoughtful. Reducing this overload, however, requires a mindset shift regarding effective email practices.
But let us return to gkk. Neglecting the work on mindsets in gkk’s past transformation projects was also a reason why the efforts to pursue a new vision did not pick up steam. In general, we see that companies' new vision can generate a lot of excitement in the organization at the beginning, but operations soon revert to business as usual. However, employees don’t realize why the changes aren’t sticking: Unbeknownst to them, the new vision and strategy don’t fit with the company's current mindset. In other words, the deeply ingrained beliefs of employees and managers that determine how they make decisions, communicate, and work together are incompatible with what the new strategy requires.
This is why we put mindset work and working out required future mindsets center stage – and the effect was that almost everybody in the organization came to understand the vision, especially on an emotional level, fostering a deeper commitment to it. The feedback we received was clear: the future of gkk suddenly felt much more emotionally resonant. Furthermore, employees and leaders gained a lasting understanding of the new strategy and the required mindsets then made it a reality. Most importantly, commitment to the new strategy remained high over time.
To give just one example. In one of the workshops, we identified a current-day mindset regarding the role of leaders. It said: “My job is to provide employees with precise structures and processes.” There is nothing wrong with that mindset at first. However, if you look at the belief in the context of gkk's new vision, this mindset must change so that the new vision can gain a foothold.
We then developed the future-oriented mindset, stating, “My job is to support employees in achieving joint goals.” When employees and leaders begin to live these mindsets, they have a tangible, noticeable impact on how they act. For the gkk, it became clear that their leadership is not about dictating to employees in detail how they should work. Rather, leaders must formulate clear, meaningful goals and, as moderators and sparring partners, help employees achieve these goals.
The work on mindsets is crucial for tackling those behaviors that subtly hinder change because people often lack the vocabulary and language to identify and discuss them. By engaging with mindsets, these behaviors are transformed into topics that can be explicitly articulated, discussed, and reflected upon. This process is essential for facilitating change and cultivating new, future-oriented mindsets.
Verena Müller-Rehkopf, now one of gkk's CEOs and former head of transformation, tells us she is convinced that our approach was urgently needed as it proved effective for uncovering hidden present-day mindsets and shaping new future-driven mindsets. According to Verena, she was often surprised by the kind of mindsets that were ingrained in the company and that stood in the way of the new vision. Without extensive mindset work involving the entire organization, the new strategy might have remained an abstract vision.
Rest assured, gkk's transformation did not stop there. As we listed above, we have only touched upon two of what we consider to be very essential building blocks of impactful transformation. Moreover, gkk's transformation is an ongoing story that encourages the company and its people to realize their future potential. So let us conclude with an important result of our work: we have not only achieved many concrete results, but we have also developed a strong foundation for this continuous change, on which gkk can continue to draw in the future. We equipped the company to shape its own future, providing tools for self-led transformation rather than imposing an out-of-the-box strategy or change program. That is, we supported the gkk in taking its future into its own hands.
If you are embarking on a transformation journey with your company and find our approach promising, we are curious to hear your case. Just reach out to us using the form below.
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