Global study on organisational change: Leading without a landing
How international executives view the new reality of continuous transformation and what this means for modern transformation communication
Our colleagues in London, in collaboration with YouGov, surveyed 622 executives across nine industries and seven markets—including Germany—to understand how organizations are experiencing transformation today, what the biggest challenges are, and what executives truly need during change processes.
Key findings:
The pace of transformation is accelerating. Three-quarters of respondents say the speed of change within their companies has increased over the past twelve months. 82 percent expect this pace to accelerate further, while only two percent anticipate a slowdown in the future.
The real problem is uncertainty, not resistance. A lack of strategic clarity and poor planning are the most frequently cited obstacles to successful transformations. Resistance to change processes, by contrast, ranks only seventh.
Leaders need more guidance in transformation processes. In change processes, leaders seek greater clarity on strategy and the reasons for the change (38 percent) and better alignment between the various leadership levels (37 percent). Clearly, more dialogue across management levels is needed to empower them for their important role in change processes.
CEOs and HR leaders have differing perspectives on their organization’s readiness for change. Among the executive groups surveyed, CEOs are the most confident, while HR leaders are the most skeptical about the organization’s readiness for change. This suggests that strategic ambition and the view of what the organization is capable of often diverge.