“Just ask: how are you and what do you like? What are you running into? I wish I could do that for all 8,600 employees. Of course that's not possible, but where possible, I will do it. I hope my colleagues will do the same.” Heleen Cocu Wassink (CHRO of Alliander) recently received a major assignment from her Executive Board. She was asked to manage the transformation of the whole company. The energy transition requires enormous growth and change from Alliander. So far, that transformation is not happening fast enough. So it's striking that in addition to that major transformation assignment, you would like to do simple things like this. “Of course, basic human needs are quite simple. Everyone wants to feel seen, heard and ultimately loved. As a manager and for people in HR, it is important to understand what drives the other person. That's different for everyone. One person just wants to make money. The other wants to improve the world through the energy transition. And that's all okay. By knowing people, you can reach everyone and stand by this colleague. Start by asking a question and using the human perspective, even in major changes. Cultural change is ultimately all about people. If people don't feel seen, nothing will move.”
“If people don't feel seen, nothing will move.”
Heleen effortlessly sums up her design principles for culture change: “Standing next to someone simply means: You are okay and I am okay. You are not weak. I'm not mean and vice versa. It is an old principle, but so valuable in culture change. When a fraud issue lands on my desk, it is easy to make a judgment, before I have spoken to anyone. Sometimes the facts seem irrefutable. Yet, in such a situation, I want to postpone my judgment and start with a question. Behavior always comes from somewhere, it is not to thwart you or me. If you first ask yourself: why does someone do this, what positive intention does someone have? Then you stay in the winner's triangle and avoid ending up in the drama triangle with accusers, rescuers and ultimately only victims. I call that acting with a cool head and a warm heart. You are in contact and you set clear boundaries and offer help. I once experienced that myself. That was a life-changing experience for me. From a basis of equality you can mirror value-free: I see you doing this! What do you mean? And also: what happened, instead of who did it? This is necessary to create a real learning culture. It also requires radical transparency from myself. That I show myself vulnerable. So that that space is also created for the other person. Ultimately you will also address behavior, if necessary. But only when you know whether someone is consciously or unconsciously incompetent and what the other person needs to grow.
The second principle is that old African saying: “on your own, you go faster, together you go further.” That really comes from my rowing history. In the rowing boat you are completely dependent on each other to deliver a good performance. In scouting, at the age of 9, I was already keeping a group of scouts together by walking in front at a pace that everyone could keep up with and making sure that someone followed behind.
The third principle is part of this: You are first responsible for the whole and only secondly for your own part. In my case that means practically: Transformation or cultural change is not the goal. It is a cog in a much bigger picture. Ultimately, Alliander is about accelerating the energy transition.”
“Just be yourself, because that's how you make a difference.”
It characterizes Heleen: the ease with which she mentions or uses all kinds of models, without hiding behind them. She experiences the models and knows where she wants to use them without glorifying the model. She experiences her time at Hay Group in Australia as the most formative for her experience with culture change. “I learned early on to adapt myself to what others like or need. In the Australian, somewhat indirect culture, I tended to be more cautious and communicate more indirectly. Until Jodie, a team member, said to me: “We all see that you are Dutch: just be yourself, that's how you make a difference. I have never experienced a manager with whom I didn't have to wonder at all what you mean: 'What you see is what you get'. That clarity is very nice.” It remains a growth process for me to stand up for what I believe in, even if it causes resentment among others: staying the course and accepting that people turn against it. That's also nice about being part of Alliander. I'm totally into it, more than when I was a consultant. As a consultant I could remain more distant and reflective. I'm showing up more now. The biggest pitfall is that I feel so responsible, that I have to carry it all. Some distance is necessary to see clearly when I should step in and where I should leave the responsibility to someone else. This requires continuous coordination with my colleagues. Humor and a joke help with that. That is also how we bring back the human touch.”
In Australia, culture change questions were often directly commissioned by the CEO and therefore started from the fundamental business problem. This means that the assignments were more directly linked to the company objectives. “In one case we had a CEO who was super pacesetting, quick to judge and impatient. He did this in an environment with many projects that often ran over time or went over budget. The organization was eroding because the CEO stepped in, instead of setting the course and direction. It did not help the managers below to make decisions, but they also often did not dare to give bad news, afraid of the repercussions. The question was: can we as leaders take responsibility here?
Focus groups based on questions about which limiting and reinforcing beliefs determine how this organization behaves, were a bull's eye. It helped managers create transparency without judgment about the CEO's behavior. Based on this, they could identify what they wanted to keep and what they wanted to change. When the CEO listened to this input, he was able to look at his own leadership. It was constructive towards each other. In the months following these sessions, issues surfaced more quickly and were resolved more often, which improved the results. You could physically read the change from the CEO: He became less red in the face during meetings and started asking more questions.
Deloitte often describes culture as: 'story, style and substance', or stories, behavior and everything else that can be symbolic carriers of culture: policy, processes, traditions and even the design of buildings. Heleen often uses this to look at the results of cultural change from different angles. “We have a very lively intranet. I then look at which stories are being told. Are the stories about shortening waiting times for a connection? About providing a timely, affordable solution to all customers? These are very qualitative measuring points. At the same time, I also look at hard output, such as the return on the total sum of salaries. You simply divide the total wage bill by the amount of kilowatt hours transported. That measuring point is still declining. Most colleagues will explain why that is not a problem. I hope we get to the point where we simply reduce the cost per kWh without justifying a declining indicator. The Employee Engagement Survey also provides hard data and is therefore very useful in the change process. But ultimately the stories about 'style' are the most appealing. A colleague recently said: “the tone at the top has changed and there has been more speed. I also notice that I dare more now that you are here.” That is the best compliment I can receive: because you are there, I am better. That is what makes me happy.”
