Transformational leader: what does it take to be one?

The nature of business is changing as new generations enter the workplace and emerging technologies continue their meteoric rise. Organisations must now contend with machine-learning, cloud computing, the internet of things and an increasingly multi-generational workforce. Businesses must transform. And for this they need a transformational leader.

Many of the characteristics of a transformational leader reflect the new times we live in: they should be nurturing when it comes to their staff, open about the decisions they make and willing not to be the smartest person in the room. However, driving transformation still requires leaders to be the bold visionaries we have seen in the past.

Charisma can be the difference between transformation success and failure. The process requires buy-in from everyone, from junior staff to the board of directors, and securing this is considerably easier if the leader can articulate the “why” of transformation. Transformational leaders must be storytellers, able to communicate their own enthusiasm, inspiring staff to want change.

“Leaders need to be adventurous,” says Rita Trehan, chief executive of global transformation consultancy Dare. “They should have the ability to look beyond what is known and cherish not having the full picture because this necessitates experimentation.”

It is this drive for something new and better that can bring energy to a change programme. Sophie Devonshire, chief executive of strategic consultancy Caffeine, agrees. “Transformation doesn’t come from bullet points and rational financial data, but from a sense that the organisation is changing in a way which employees can feel positive about,” she says.

So critical is business transformation that many companies have created a dedicated role to oversee it: the chief transformation officer (CTO). This role sits above both the chief technology officer and the chief operations officer, and is responsible for running interference between technology and people.

“A transformational leader needs to own the end-to-end outcomes,” says Nagaraja Srivatsan, chief growth officer at operations management company EXL, “and they need to be ambidextrous when it comes to understanding both the human and the technological. A CTO can help to integrate the operations and the technology teams more closely, allowing for constant experimentation.”

Transformation happens when technologies and people interact, but this is also where anxiety arises. Much of employees’ resistance to transformation comes from the fear they will be automated out of a job. Transformational leaders must present a different picture, one where mundane tasks are automated leaving employees free to do more exciting work.

“A lesson I’ve learnt, however, is that you have to live with the fact that some people simply will not be part of the team,” says Peter Oswald, chief executive of global packaging firm Mondi Group. “It might be that they are too conventional, or too traditional to understand, or it could also be that it doesn’t suit their interests.” People make organisations, so weeding out those who will be detrimental to a project’s success is just as crucial as identifying those with the capability and desire for change.

One school of thought says you do not “lead” transformation projects in the traditional way.