""

Study with EY shows leaders are 12 times more successful when prioritising a human-centered approach to transformation turning points

Published

The EY organisation’s latest research with Saïd Business School reveals new insights into what happens during transformation.

 

  • 96% of transformation programs experience challenges that generate a turning point, when the program has or will go off track.
  • Skillfully navigating these turning points by placing humans at the centre can double the likelihood that a transformation overperforms its KPIs (1.9x) and speed (2.1x) of the overall program.
  • The human element plays a crucial role in successfully manoeuvring these turning points and increases the chance of a transformation significantly, improving performance by up to 12 times.

The EY organisation’s latest research with Oxford Saïd reveals new insights into what happens when a transformation programme’s leadership believes a transformation has or will go off-course, and intervenes with the intent of improving its performance (turning points).

According to the joint research, based on analysis of 846 senior leaders and 840 workforce members across 23 countries and 16 industry sectors, and five qualitative case studies, turning points are ubiquitous in nearly all transformation programs. It showed 96% of respondents experienced at least one turning point over the course of a project, with 76% citing them as unavoidable in today’s unpredictable business environment.

Data from the three-year collaboration with the EY organisation and Oxford Saïd has highlighted that transformations are not linear, and that along with global volatility and the increased speed of disruption, new thinking is demanded around how leaders must navigate these turning points while also addressing the changing environment inside and outside of an organisation. The data reveals that at the centre of this new thinking are humans.

The research finds that when leaders fail to take a human-centric approach to navigating turning points, the transformation programme is 1.6x more likely to underperform and 3.5x more likely to leave workers experiencing negative emotions, such as anxiety, fear, and apprehension towards future change.

 

In a world preoccupied with artificial intelligence and machine-learning, our study shows that human behaviour is the most prescient influence in driving transformation.

Andrew White

Senior Fellow in Management Practice, Said Business School, University of Oxford

Yet, those who take an adaptive, people centred view to a turning point are more likely to successfully steer the programme back on course and can also potentially double (2.1x) the speed of the overall transformation programme, improve the wider program performance against key performance indicators (KPIs) by nearly two-fold (1.9x) and support workforce readiness for the next transformation programme (1.9x).

The study revealed a three-step human centred approach — Sensing, Sense-making, and Acting — that enhances the overall transformation chances of success by a factor of 12:

  • Sensing: Focusing on early detection by looking beyond traditional lagging KPIs to behavioural and emotional changes of the people involved in the transformation.
  • Sense-making: Identifying and addressing root causes of issues in collaboration with team members across the transformation program.
  • Acting: Reinforcing the six key drivers that set the conditions for successful transformations established in our initial whitepaper, these include engaged leadership, collaboration, fostering a culture of inspiration, empowerment, care, and finally recognition of the emotional impact of technology.

 

Our joint research with Oxford Saïd has opened a new perspective on the role and nature of emotional energy during pivotal moments in transformation programmes, and, rather than be viewed as noise or a barrier, they can increase transformation success.

Errol Gardner

EY Global Vice Chair

Errol Gardner, EY Global Vice Chair Consulting, says: 'Constant agility and transformation is at the heart of business performance and value creation for our clients in today’s environment. Our joint research with Oxford Saïd has opened a new perspective on the role and nature of emotional energy during pivotal moments in transformation programs, and, rather than be viewed as noise or a barrier, they can instead serve as an opportunity to increase transformation success. This is what brings our concept of Humans@center to life.'

Andrew White, Senior Fellow in Management Practice at Oxford Saïd, says: 'This research is incredibly significant and is the result of years of dedicated, collaborative work between EY and Saïd Business School. In a world preoccupied with artificial intelligence and machine-learning, our study shows that human behaviour is the most prescient influence in driving transformation. Applying the three-step approach of Sensing, Sense-making, and Acting enhances the chances of success by a factor of 12, making this human-centric approach crucial to leaders in the development, steering process, and delivery of transformation programs.'

The study has identified a new standard in helping leaders and their teams deliver transformation programmes smoothly that moves beyond traditional KPI measurements and places a spotlight on the importance of comprehending the impact and role of human emotions as benchmarks in a transformation, demonstrating the power of placing humans at the centre.

Andrew will be exploring the topic in more detail, as he interviews subjects from the research for a new run of his special podcast series on transformational leadership. He will be uncovering the critical turning points for five global leaders during the transformations they led. Catch-up on the previous series, and watch out for episode one of the new series dropping on 18 April.