Hidden Gems

Without question, our business world is in the middle of a disruptive, unpredictable time in history. The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we live and work in ways industry professionals predict will redefine “normal” several times before settling. It begs the question: how do we effectively lead through this period of chaos? According to Jeff Wong, Global Chief Innovation Officer at Ernest & Young (EY), the answer is to identify and empower the hidden “transformers” we already have on our teams.

Joining EY in 2015, Wong quickly built a team of forward-thinking employees he called transformers that created GigNow, a global talent marketplace that added more than 16,000 short-term and 1,300 full-time jobs around the world. Under his leadership, these transformers also built an automation center—reducing the time employees spent on repetitive, mundane tasks by 2.1 million hours its first fiscal year in operation—and created new positions and projects to repurpose and reinvest those saved hours back into the company. When asked what made his team so effective in the notoriously fast-changing and chaotic tech word, Wong was quick to respond: mindset. “When CEOs encourage an innovative mindset that embraces agility, resilience, and flexibility, they can set the stage for unprecedented results.” But, how do we, as leaders, identify our own transformers, and effectively capitalize on this forward-thinking approach? Wong has a method:
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1. Look for “eyes up” employees: “People who focus on keeping their jobs are in protection mode,” Wong says. “They are not focused on learning new skills or executing at pace; instead, they are focused on job protection, corporate politics and what’s happening today.” Wong says this “eyes down” approach, which focuses only on what is happening in the moment, prevents innovation. Instead, he looks for “eyes up” employees, who constantly look for better ways to do the same job. Do you have a teammate who has streamlined a process to quicken turnaround? Is there an employee whose organizational skills keep others on track? How about someone who is constantly on the lookout for ways to combine skillsets, or to divide and conquer to simplify tasks? These “eyes up” behaviors, Wong says, are strong indicators of the hidden transformers in your workforce.
2. Create “jeans and suits” conversations, then listen carefully: “Diversity and inclusion aren’t ‘nice to haves,’” says Wong. “They are business imperatives… Without diversity, businesses will never successfully solve the complex problems in times of uncertainty.” During the planning phase of any new project, Wong creates diverse conversational groups made up of traditional business veterans (the “suits”) and younger employees coming from technology companies, AI companies, and fresh from school (the “jeans”). He encourages the groups—using their different backgrounds, specialties, and skill sets—to work together to define what the new project should look like in five years’ time. While the answers the groups provide are important, it’s the level of cooperation and mutual respect Wong is watching for. Transformative employees, Wong says, are always open to new ideas.        
3. Watch for employees with a “startup” mindset: “Business leaders need to encourage experimentation,” Wong says. “But, failing fast and failing often are extremely important to this trial-and-error process.” As Wong works with his teams on established projects, he keeps an eye out for employees who don’t quit or need constant reassurance when something goes wrong. In the same way startup employees need the perseverance to push through setbacks as they break ground on a new company, Wong says your hidden innovators will display this same mindset and grit. Watch for your teammates who look at failure as an opportunity to try something different—they are your transformers.    

Once you have identified your hidden innovators, Wong says it’s time to empower them to help your company move forward. Put them together as a think tank; give them control over a new project; task them with creating a change-plan for an existing project; give them leadership and responsibility over a lesser-performing team. The possibilities are endless. “Empowering employees and enabling them to find deeper meaning in their work starts with building a culture of transformers,” Wong says. The business world is changing around us at a break-neck pace. Fortunately, we already have what we need to keep up.
 
Do you want to find the hidden transformers on your team? Do you need traction or buy-in for new business ideas? Let us share more leadership lessons from insightful leaders in an online workshop. You bring the team members, and we’ll create an immersive learning program, linking real-life examples with your individual workplace issues.

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