Connson Locke explores the complexity of leading change within an organisation and explains how it can impact on its bottom-line. Besides, she shares the qualities that a business leader needs to nurture to manage successfully his organisation. She was recently in Mauritius for a series of conferences organised by the Mauritius LSE Society Trust Fund. She talked to “l’express”.

As a professorial lecturer in management at LSE, you teach leadership, organisational behaviour and decision-making to young students and future business leaders. Is it a whole package to accomplish successful management within an organisation?

My academic background is psychology and my focus as a consultant and a professor in management is the study of interpersonal relationships within an organisation and how they impact communication in achieving business goals. It goes without saying that interpersonal communication is considered an important component in an enterprise to bring change, which is possible only if we are in a position to influence the minds and behaviours of employees. Certainly, it is not an easy task, given that some people are comfortable with their current situation and will be resistant to change.

How should a businessman proceed in such circumstances?

He needs to explain to everyone the pertinence of this change and how it can transform the organisation to the benefit of all the employees. Of course, we change for a purpose, to solve a problem that needs to be identified and made clear to all the staff and workers. We need to understand that creating change for the sake of change is useless, as it is important to have the support of the workforce, from top management to the floor workers, to make the change effective. For example, if the customer base of a company is shrinking, or if it is not sufficiently technology-driven, and there is a common understanding among the employees and management that remedial actions are necessary, I don’t see why change couldn’t happen.

Can Artificial Intelligence (AI) be helpful in such a situation?

I know that everyone is talking about AI today and it’s the preferred theme of many conferences. My stance is simple: why does AI need to be integrated within the processes of an organisation if the latter is well-managed?

In terms of organisational change, how do you value the culture component in leading transformation?

It’s a dominant component. Culture is deep and multi-layered within an organisation, with a set of values and norms widely accepted by the employees. Some companies have strong cultures, others not. However, having a strong culture can be beneficial, as it can lead to better teamwork, less stress for everyone, more trust, and a willingness for people to help each other because they know they are working towards common goals.

Certainly, managing cultural change is not easy, as it entails that everyone aligns with the same values and norms of a company. Of course, at the end of the day, it must be done for a purpose. I think of IBM, the American multinational technology giant, which was on the verge of bankruptcy before 2000 and needed an organisational change with a new culture. Given its size and global presence, the mission was challenging, with the CEO traveling extensively to every country where IBM operated to explain the rationale behind the cultural change. At the same time, they introduced a reward system to promote employees who were resistant to change and a competency framework to assess whether the existing manpower fit within the new structure. They also used matrices to measure customer satisfaction and response following the change. It took IBM almost 10 years to effectively complete this cultural transformation.

Given that today we have a global workforce with different cultural backgrounds in both local and international organisations, how should a business leader proceed to overcome these challenges?

I will say that managing a multicultural workforce is almost a standard requirement today. The onus is on the CEO to manage the cultural background of his workforce. An important variable in the cultural values of an organisation is power distance. If a CEO operates in the US, where power distance is low, the power inequality between management and employees is less and employees are allowed to voice their feelings, ensuring healthy relations and interactions at all levels of the organisation, which is also less hierarchically structured. This may not be the case in other countries, where a CEO may adopt a high-power distance, an autocratic management style, with clear boundaries between employees and management. In such cases, culturally, employees may not come forward to express concerns about their working conditions. They should find someone within the organisation with whom they feel comfortable and who can facilitate communication between the two parties.

There are people who may be happy with their comfort zone and resistant to change. How do you bring them on board to be part of this organisational change?

At the end of the day, despite all efforts to get them on board with the new values and culture, those who remain resistant to the cultural change will need to leave the organisation. Similarly, management will need to recruit by seeking candidates whose values align with those of the organisation.

You will admit that the younger generation of professionals or workers has its own way of doing things, often taking issues lightly and operating at their own pace. How do you reconcile the aspirations of this generation with the traditional system of discipline, rules, and regulations?

I am tempted to say that this is not a new phenomenon and has always existed. When I was a management consultant 37 years ago, I noticed the same behaviour among the young. However, I do agree that with the existence of social media, things have become more complicated. That said, I don’t think it’s entirely a bad thing if young people today want to be less stressed and pressured at the office. What matters to them is a proper work-life balance, with fewer working hours. Can we blame them for that?

As a lecturer in management, you teach leadership. A simple question: can leadership be taught?

We have always been told that many inspiring leaders in the world today, and in the past, have proven themselves through their inborn qualities. I think we need to make a distinction between political and business leaders. Political leaders often have inborn qualities, such as charisma, which helps them inspire people to rally behind a common cause, along with visionary thinking and long-term goal setting for the country. Business leaders, however, are not political leaders. They need both leadership and management skills. A good business leader must be trained to set the direction of the company, align people accordingly, and manage the workforce efficiently to achieve business goals. At the same time, they must make strategic decisions and act as problem-solvers.

Business leaders are also expected to use eye contact while speaking, speak fluidly and audibly with a confident tone, and stand straight to command attention. I would say that leadership requires “ambidexterity” – the ability to influence others to understand and agree on what needs to be done and to facilitate both individual and collaborative efforts to achieve shared objectives and goals.

Even though it’s not your field of expertise, as a professor at LSE, I would like your comments on the world economy. Do you see any signs of an economic recession looming?

If yes, how should CEOs of large corporations react? First, I’m not certain whether the world, or specific countries, will face an economic recession soon. However, a business leader must be proactive and, as we say, “go to the balcony” to see things from a distance. They must track financial reports, talk to financial experts, and engage with government officials to better understand the challenges facing the economy, both locally and internationally. This will help them stay prepared and act accordingly.