In Process

In Process

I am in the process of working with a long-term friend and client who heads a global department in a major bank. He has been there for over 25 years, trusted and respected in his role he knows the job so well that he is able to deliver complex multi-million-pound projects on the run. He has vast accumulated knowledge about how the business works and what needs to be done to get things done. Now in his late fifties he is contemplating life after work and his corporate legacy. There is an opportunity to plan for that legacy, and I am helping him.

One issue is that his top team are of a similar vintage and have been in place almost as long as he has. This flags a requirement for succession planning, which of course takes time to seed, and an opportunity to embed and transfer their combined knowledge, something which is almost taken for granted by both them and their colleagues inside the bank. Another issue is that there is something of a lack of formal process in their operating model. No clear template for how things should be done, when in time they collectively move on, and there are some aspects of business control that are instinctive, and trust based rather than formal. Therein lies risk.

They recognise the benefits of improved system and process but there is rightly, a reluctance to mire the operation in a quagmire of it. What is the right balance? In my experience it is a delicate one to get right. Businesses need discipline, proper governance, and appropriate controls, as well as a distinctive character in the way in which they go about things. There is value in this, the difference is an important part of every successful operating culture, a valuable point of differentiation.

My advice is to occasionally review your operating model and processes to ensure that they are fit for purpose and reflect the evolving needs of the business. Do it every few years and if you find that things are as you would like them to be, make sure that the model is being followed and used properly, the data collected is of the right quality and that the business information is being used to guide better decisions. If not, there is probably a good reason. It may be too time consuming and clumsy a process, it may fail to reflect evolving operational pressures on the team. It may be over gilding the lily. Make sure that the process is not over burdensome and only demand, check and act on what is necessary to run the business in a first-class way. Avoid burdening the operation with process for process’s sake.

If you are new in role, review what you inherit and its fitness for purpose. Also consider its fit with your own personality and operating style. Your predecessor will likely have had a different style and priorities.

I would think in terms of 80% of operating energy being expended on business delivery and at most 20% on governing your operation effectively, collecting data, reviewing learning, and adjusting your plans.

Think about your own legacy in the organisation as a leader. Will you be leaving behind something which has the right balance and allows your successor to pick up the reins relatively easily? An operating model which in their own way and with minimal disruption allows them to continue to operate things in a first-class way yet one which affords them the opportunity to make their own mark.