Transformation Theatre: 6 anti-patterns to avoid
It’s hard to avoid the word “transformation” these days. Everyone is on a transformation journey—or at least they claim to be.
But do just a little bit of digging and you’ll find that many of the organisations that claim to be focused on transformation are doing little to actually back up these claims. Or the actions they’re taking are purely performative and don’t have the desired impact.
I was happy to see that Marty Cagan recently wrote on this topic, offering a brief introduction to the topic of transformation theatre (among many other types of theatre we’re likely to encounter at work). This gives a name to some patterns I’ve observed in my years as a transformation coach and consultant.
I’d like to draw on my own observations to share a bit more about how transformation theatre manifests itself and what you can do if you find yourself stuck spinning your wheels in transformation theatre rather than making progress towards your transformation goals.
First of all, what do we mean by the term transformation theatre? It’s all about appearances. It means you’re going through the motions of adopting transformation without making any meaningful change.
Image: Illustration depicting popular organisational values: 'collaboration’, ‘customer obsession’ and ‘outcomes focus’.
How do you know if you’re in a transformation theatre situation rather than involved in actual transformation? Here are a few signs to look out for:
You’re using the correct language (like talking about outcomes), but no one has actually changed their behaviour. We often see this in adopting OKRs—they have the word “outcome” right there in the name! But when you look closely, they’re still focused on outputs. And often this happens because companies incentivise and reward employees based on output rather than outcome, which is another major impediment to transformation.
You claim to care about customer centricity but still make decisions and take actions that don’t include or prioritise your customers and their needs.
You expect instant and impressive results. The truth is that transformation–and creating lasting mindset shifts and behaviour changes in a complex system–takes a fair amount of time, iteration and nurture. In contrast, transformation theatre is much faster to implement.
Teams are not empowered to make decisions, and everything has to travel up the chain for approval. One common example: Product teams are still being held to a specific solution rather than given autonomy to decide how to pursue a desired outcome.
Your business model doesn’t support the required change. People shift towards desired new approaches, but the ‘system says no’. Are you asking your people to solve complex challenges or solve for mutually exclusive goals?
You’re on a regular cadence of reorgs, but they don’t seem connected, and there’s never enough time to give the new approaches time to deliver value. This can lead to change fatigue and a sense of despondency that there’s no point in participating in transformation efforts since they never lead anywhere anyway.
Why is this a problem?
When you’re engaged in transformation theatre rather than real transformation, it creates a flywheel: The changes you have put in place aren’t making the impact you’d hoped for. You then come to the conclusion that the practice or concept is at fault because you’re not seeing the results you were expecting. Ultimately, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy: You can proudly claim that “agile doesn’t work” or “design thinking doesn’t work” and comfortably resort to the old way of doing things.
And while sticking with what you know best can feel comfortable, this is a false sense of security that doesn’t actually help you. The amount of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) in the world only continues to increase and accelerate. (Just consider the explosive adoption and hype around AI that we’ve seen in the past few years.) While turning back to old tools like spreadsheets and Gantt charts feels like it’s giving us comfort and predictability, approaching work this way will only leave us more vulnerable to future change.
So what does this mean for you?
If you’ve been nodding along or recognised aspects of your organisation, know that you’re not alone. There are plenty of leaders and organisations that are struggling with the same challenges.
If you’d like to dive deeper into how to engage in real transformation, here are a few additional steps to take:
Check out this blog post, where I’ve outlined the patterns for successful transformation
Also give this blog post a read to learn more about the role your operating model plays in successful transformation
Download a copy of the OMG (operating model goals) canvas to help you understand what’s not working and create a path forward
Bring in a professional! You can hire a transformation consultant to help you focus your efforts and start making real changes. Think of this person as a personal trainer who can help you define realistic goals and hold you accountable on the path to reaching them. If this is something you’re interested in, you can learn more about my consulting services here.
This work is not easy, but consider the alternative: continuing to work in ways that are ineffective and ill prepare your organisation for the challenges ahead. When you look at it this way, it feels like engaging in true transformation is the only real solution.
