Utility Week Live

UtilityWeek You need will and vision to inspire your people It's strength and courage that win the day. R ichard Bienfait, Affinity Water; Sam Laidlaw and Chris Weston, British Gas; Mark Mathieson, SSE Power Distribution: a roll-call of a few of the utilities leaders who have exited stage le in recent months. As utilities get to grips with new regulatory settlements and new political realities, the right leadership for change has never been more important. But what are the secrets of successfully leading change, and what can utilities learn from other sectors? First up is getting the case for change right, says Clare Roberts of PA Consulting. "It involves being really clear about the direc- tion of travel – what's the vision, where are we going – and also what the burning plat- form is." In some organisations, leaders demon- strate reluctance to be clear with staff about why change is necessary, perhaps in a mis- guided effort to protect them. "In doing so, it's very difficult to move out of that homeo- stasis where people are very comfortable with how they are working." It's important that leaders are clear with their teams that change is non-negotiable: "The message is, we're heading over here. You're either on the bus or you're off the bus. That clarity and energis- ing, Leading change inspiring sense of direction is an important component of those leadership qualities – and there's an element of bravery in that." With the direction of travel set, the suc- cessful leader will engage the board and the senior team, not forgetting to think more widely about communicating with and engaging the wider organisation. Roberts cites the example of BAE Systems, which, like utilities, is coming from a strong herit- age as an engineering business to a more complex and challenging future. "When you're dealing with an organisa- tion with such strong heritage," says Rob- erts, "it's a fine balance between saying 'we're getting rid of all of that and we're going over here', which would risk turning people off, versus 'we've been doing some fantastic things, this is the tradition from which we've come and we now need to go over here'." Maintaining momentum is the next chal- lenge, particularly because change man- agement, unlike project or programme management, can last indefinitely. Planning and demonstrating quick wins and suc- cesses throughout the journey is important. Change on this scale is not for the faint- hearted, warns Roberts. "Many businesses are very good at driving the programmatic aspects of change. What every organisation struggles with, in our experience, is the peo- ple aspects of change. It's not a straight line from A to B – it's wriggly and it's uncomfort- able, and leaders need to get their heads around that." Outside in COMPaNiES THaT HavE EXPERiENCED TRaNSFORMaTiON OUTSiDE UTiLiTiES XEROX Xerox chief executive Ursula Burns has led the printing company through half a decade of change, securing its future in the process. a long-term staffer, Burns had to make many hard decisions on ac- ceding to the chief executive's office, including scrapping some of her own projects. She has led the company's transformation from a printing and copying outfit to a service provider straddling outsourc- ing, insurance and transporta- tion, among other activities. apple The most iconic business trans- formation of them all, apple, was in a slump in the 1990s, following a high period in the 1980s. Steve Jobs, who had been ousted from the company in 1985, returned in 1997. The rest is history. LEADER QUALITIES agility: Change management isn't a straight line Change 16 | 16th - 22nD JAnUAry 2015 | UtILIty WEEK Bravery: Sometimes necessary decisions are unpopular Communication skills: People at all levels of the organisation need to be engaged vision: it's crucial to set the direction of travel "The message is, we're heading over here. You're either on the bus or you're off the bus. That clarity and energising, inspiring sense of direction is an important component of those leadership qualities"

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