An overview of how to frame and deal with change in the context of a post-industrial world

1. How do we change everything
while everything is changing?
Dr Catherine Howe
1st November 2018

2. Why do I do what I do?
Some background
• I have worked in technology
for nearly 20 years (eek) –
ranging from start ups, higher
education, a FTSE100250
business and my current
adventure is in the third sector
as Director of Design, Delivery
and Change at Cancer
Research UK
• My research focus is on using
the social web to do
democratic things exploring
the concept of digital civic
space – though my downfall is
my curiosity
• I am interested in digital
leadership and the skills we
need to work effectively in the
network society
Find me online: @curiousc

3. Hypothesis for today
Networked
leadership
Influence
advocacy
facilitation
participation
We are in the middle of an epoch shift
as we move away from an industrial
society and it is this rather than any
government policy or leadership trend
that is driving a need for new
leadership behaviours.
If we understand this shift then we can
better adapt our behaviours.
Only by becoming networked leaders
will we be able to lead in a networked
age.

4. Change is a constant – it
always has been
Why is the rate of change increasing?
– Awareness: we are told all the time
that things are changing rapidly. In
fact we tend to overestimate short
term effects and underestimate long
term ones
– Pace: New technologies and
networked distribution methods
mean we can roll out new initiatives
faster
– Scale: The likelihood of disruptive
change is much greater than in the
pre-digital age
Transformation is no longer enough;
we need agile and adaptive
organisations
Change in the organisation is often an
echo of change in the wider world.
Understanding that wider context can
help make sense of change.
When people talk about change
fatigue its often because they feel its
being done to them and not with
them. Giving people agency and a
voice in the process can turn this
around.
But its important to remember that
part of the reason why we feel the rate
of change has increased is because,
across a number of measures, it has.
Setting the context – internal and
external - is a first step in helping
people to accept this new norm.

6. PART ONE: SETTING THE CONTEXT
Welcome to the network society

7. We are shifting from the industrial to the network society
Change is a constant
Networks as the dominant social structure facilitated by digital networked
technology
7

8. What does this mean in the realworld?
8

9. Welcome to the network society
What about the networked
individual?

10. The future of work?
Work becomes a way in which we
reinvent ourselves as we
choose and change our
allegiance based on our
values
5M workers are
currently
operating in the
gig economy

11. What does it mean not to own stuff?
We value experiences over
ownership

12. Are the robots coming for you?
Artificial Intelligence Lawyer
chatbot successfully
contested 160,000
parking tickets in London
and New York – for free
Amelia, a virtual agent
in 2016 was deployed to
work within Enfield
Borough Council to
improve local service
delivery.
Old jobs become
irrelevant while new jobs start to
emerge
New skills are needed
How to
survive:
Empathy
Creativity
Manual
dexterity
35% of jobs will
be automated in
the next 20 years

13. Does anything count if we count everything?
We give our data away
and allow other people to turn us
into a commodity

14. Networked democracy?
‘Clicktivism’ connects us and
creates a platform for real world
change

15. Truth is a variable?

16. The
networked
citizen
People expect
to be listened
to
They expect
to be able to
act
They expect
transparency
They expect
data
The lines
between
different roles
are blurred
The world of the networked
individual

17. Their (our) lives are going to be very
different to the assumptions that were
inbuilt for baby boomers and their children

18. A networked individual requires a digital*mindset
Confident
in using
iterative and
experimental
approaches
Open: confident
about sharing
work
in progress
and thinking in
public
Collaborative
and
multidisciplinary
Clear on
your own
relevance and
contribution
Able to work
with networked
as well as
hierarchical
power
Able to take
data-driven
decisions
Self-managing
and engagedExample:
Example:
Example:
Example:
Example:
Example:
Example:
1
8

19. *But digital is a contested term

20. What do you think?
Which society are you part
of?
How quickly do you think this
shift will happen
What examples of this shift
are you living with?
What aspects of the digital
mindset do you best relate to?
Are we moving to a
network society?

21. PART TWO: DEVELOPING NEW
SKILLS
What skills do you need to survive and then thrive*?
*How close are you to retirement?

22. The ability to work with networked power
and influence
22
Hierarchies Are replaced with networks

23. Ability to work in a multidisciplinary way
• Multidisciplinary working
requires attention to
language, skills and
incentives – it doesn’t just
happen.
• Digital environments are
always on and are a
connected system – not a
set of controllable silos.
• System thinking requires
multidisciplinary
approaches

24. Data and research literacy
24
I have all the information I have enough information

25. Openness to innovation and
experimentation
• The transition between old and
new ways of doing stuff takes
time and we don’t know how to
do it. And even when we have
the pace of change means that
it will keep shifting.
• Once you get over the idea
that anything is ever finished –
we have to innovate and
experiment to make progress.
• Shift from waterfall to agile
approaches…..

26. Relevance and personal brand
• Networks depend on reciprocity
and trust
• We value privacy less and
openness more
• Because we expect data to be available
we expect to be understand how
conclusions are reached
• You can’t just tell people what to do
anymore
• What happened to the
experts?
The confidence to
be open with your
personal
contribution: What
do you bring to the
party?
How do you influence
your own relevance?

27. Identity matters
Context
collapse
Where we used to be able to present
ourselves differently to different
audiences our identities are now more
easily traced and connected.
Authenticity is no longer
advisable – its auditable.
Creating your own narrative – your
brand – will connect this and if you do
it well make it human

28. Social media: Individual
• Your own voice in the
conversation
• Relevance and influence
• Show your working out in public
• Find your voice
• Identity: Writing yourself into
being
Journalists are hired on the basis of social media
followers – how long will it be before that is true of
leaders?

29. Social media: Personal
• My place in the conversation
• Action research diary and field
notes
• Reflective practice
• Managing my own context
collapse
How digital are
you?

30. What do you think?
Which of those skills do you
identify with?
Which do you struggle with?
Do you have a personal
brand?
How do you cultivate the
story that people tell about
you?
Do you have the skills
you need?

31. PART TWO: UNDERSTANDING
NETWORKED LEADERSHIP
What does this mean you as a leader? For your relationships with
your teams and your citizens?

32. Trust
Social
Capital
Data
Cash
Money is not the only asset in the
system

33. What are you counting?

34. Building trust
Characteristics of trust1:
a) Ability describes perceptions of
leadership competence in doing their job
or fulfilling their role.
b) Benevolence describes a concern for
others beyond leaders’ own needs and
showing levels of care and compassion.
c) Integrity defines how trustworthiness
is linked to being seen as someone who
adheres to principles of fairness and
honesty while avoiding hypocrisy.
d) Predictability emphasises how
leadership behaviour has to be
consistent or regular over time.
1: Cultivating trustworthy leaders , University of Bath
Or…...
Don’t be an
arse

35. People need purpose
You need to
do things
WITH people
and not TO
people

36. Everyone has a different
relationship with change
How do you feel
about change?
Fear?
Excitement?
Denial?
All of
the
above?
Getting under the skin of the problem
is essential; there is no one size fits all
and different organisation and
individuals start from different places.
Understanding how the team feels
about change and listening to their
concerns is the other starting point
for designing an approach.
If you see networked leadership as
part of the solution then you need to
start as you mean to go on and listen.
Consultation once half the choices
have been made is meaningless,
engagement with a set of pre-defined
restrictions helps build trust.

37. How do you create a new
norm?
Getting started:
• Match the pace of people change and process change: By
understanding where people start you can tailor your
approach to a pace people can accept. With a clear
process and theory of change you can help them find a
place in that process.
• Staff engagement: There is a degree of formality needed
for any structural change process and this needs to be built
in to protect all parties from making the wrong choices.
• Transparent communications: The need for formal
engagement should not inhibit regular and transparent
communications about the process – being clear and
consistent about the process can allay fears and give
people the chance to participate. You need a narrative
that people can relate to and understand.
Creating a new norm:
• Visible leadership: Leaders in the organisation need to be
open to change and able to adapt themselves
• Focus on individual resilience: As we develop individuals
we need to focus on their resilience as well as their skills
and ambitions
• Embedding a learning culture: By keeping people’s skills
up to date and giving them chance to learn you help them
adapt to change
What is your story of change?
Once you have set the context and
understood where the team is starting
from there are a number of
approaches to consider. These are the
ones I have used and would use.
The approaches you need to get
started need to shift over time into
sustainable behaviours that create an
adaptable and flexible culture.
People need a reason to change – and
a reason to keep on adapting. Not
everyone can make this shift – making
sure you are recruiting and retaining
people with a growth mindset is an
important part of the long term
strategy.

38. Networked leadership
Once you have the core
skills which we discussed
in the last section then
you need to stretch your
networked leadership
muscles
• Changing minds not telling people
what to doInfluence
• Making sure all the voices are
heardAdvocacy
• Creating an environment where
different people with different
skills can work together
Facilitation
• Being present and part of the
change that is happeningParticipation

39. Set your intent

40. What do you think?
Is your organisation ready for
you to be a networked
leader?
Do you think it would work?
How would this change the
services you are currently
running?
Where will you start?
Is your organisation ready
for this?

41. Thank you
@curiousc
https://www.linkedin.com/in/curious
c/