A635.8.3.RB - Transformational Strategies


Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, has been quoted as saying “change is the only constant in life” (As cited in Singer, 2017). Our day in age seems to be defined by constant change, and the pace of change is accelerating. We have more information accessible at our fingertips than any other age throughout the history of the world.  With just a few taps and clicks on our smartphones, or even by just asking Siri, we can find out detailed information about nearly any topic. Advances in transportation technology has made the world smaller.  Within just a couple days products can be delivered nearly anywhere around the globe. Organizations have had to evolve and adjust to keep pace with this constant world of change.

Two examples of leaders from different types of organizations that have had to evolve to survive are Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale of Gallery Furniture in Houston, Texas, and General Stanley McChrystal.  The financial downturn in 2008 deeply affected the housing market in the Houston area. New home construction dropped from about 60,000 a year to only 15,000. The furniture market is heavily dependent on the housing market, so sales were affected greatly.  In addition, in May of 2009 Gallery Furniture’s primary showroom and warehouse was destroyed by fire. Mattress Mack said “we had to find a better way to run the business” (VitalSmarts Video, 2012). In order to maintain the viability of the company and to be able to recover from the downturn and the fire, they completely changed the culture of the company.  They began ensuring that every customer that walked into the showroom was greeted by a salesperson, and that a follow-up email was sent, thanking them for shopping at Gallery Furniture. In addition, they provided their employees with ipads and trained them to use them in ways that could help increase sales. The incentive pay system was completely changed to ensure that it provided rewards for those that performed best and provided recognition to employees that exhibited desired behavior.  Mattress Mack said “most importantly, we are establishing customers for life” (VitalSmarts Video, 2012). In addition, Gallery Furniture demonstrated its commitment to their employees by implemented an employee wellness program. Mattress Mack explained that the changes to Gallery Furniture “have made us a better company” (VitalSmarts, 2012).

Throughout his career in the US Army, Stanley McChrystal saw many changes in the way leadership interacted with subordinates.  He explained that when he was a young man in the army, the only conversation he had with his first battalion commander was at mile 18 of a 25 mile road march where “he chewed my ass for about 40 seconds” (McChrystal, 2011).  That was typical of leadership during that time. Throughout his career McChrystal had many experiences that changed his perception of what leadership really meant. After the attacks of 9/11, McChrystal was in command of US forces spread across twenty countries.  He had to use video teleconferences, chat, email, phone calls, “and not just for communication, but for leadership” (McChrystal, 2011). Much of the communication was aimed at building trust and confidence. “Instead of giving orders, you are now building consensus and shared purpose.” McChrystal (2011) explained that the biggest change was due to the generational differences. Due to the incredible speed at which technology had advanced an “inversion of expertise” had occurred in which the younger, inexperienced individuals were teaching the the more experienced leaders.  “It forced me to become a lot more transparent, a lot more willing to listen, a lot more willing to be reverse mentored from lower” (McChrystal, 2011). McChrystal (2011) summarized, “A leader isn’t good because they’re right; they’re good because they are willing to learn and to trust.”

Although the context of leadership changed for both Mattress Mack and General McChrystal, and they both responded by reinventing the culture of their organizations, the reasons for the changes were different.  Mattress Mack experienced a change in the environment in which he led. Because of the changes in market forces he recognized the need to implement changes that would develop the culture of his subordinates. They began doing things they had never done before which resulted in positive outcomes.  The army’s cultural change occurred not because of a change in the environment, but because of a change in the people. Suddenly subordinates were more knowledgeable about new technologies than leaders. McChrystal recognized that he needed to develop a culture where trust existed so that knowledge would be shared.

Brown (2011) defined culture as “a system of shared values and beliefs that interact with an organization’s people, structure, and systems to produce behavioral norms.”  Additionally, “In a strong culture, the behavior of members is constrained by mutual accord rather than by command or rule.” The following matrix demonstrates that a strong culture is most likely to exist when members share, and are committed to the organizational values.  

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“The need for strategic change and the compatibility of the change, viewed together as a strategy-culture matrix, will largely influence the method used to manage the strategic change” (Brown, 2011).  In the case of Furniture Gallery, the need for strategic change was high because of the changing market, but the change was not compatible with the existing culture, so Mattress Mack had to “manage around the culture” or more accurately, manage the culture.  He had to create a new vision of what customer service was, and help his employees and salespeople to see and adopt that vision.

General McChrystal was dealing with changes that involved a need to change the strategy to meet the evolving culture, so he had to “manage the change” by sharing the vision, becoming increasingly transparent, and building trust.


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Both of these leaders, Mattress Mack and General McChrystal demonstrated the ability to adapt and adjust to the changing context of leadership.  As we move into the future, the definition of leadership will continue to change. Only leaders that recognize that “change is the only constant in life” (As cited in Singer, 2017)  will find success.

References

Brown, D. (2011). An experiential approach to organizational development (8th ed). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.

McChrystal, S. (2011). Listen, learn . . . then lead [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/stanley_mcchrystal?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

Singer, J. (2017). The Only Constant Is Change. Psych Central. Retrieved on July 16, 2018, from https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-only-constant-is-change/

VitalSmarts Video. (2012, September 17). Influencer | Gallery Furniture Video Case Study   [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/E20RW75Fhu4

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