How was Leslie involved in supporting your organizational goals, successes, or growth?

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]She made a compelling case for not just throwing things over the fence and hoping for the best but thinking things through and mapping out all of the critical steps required to go from concept to embedding the change in the organization.[/perfectpullquote]

I first got to know Leslie when a colleague of mine at PwC recommended her to support the change management piece of a new performance management system implementation called Performance Coaching & Development or PC&D. From there, as they say, the rest is history. Initially, Leslie was to provide support for a very limited period of time. However, right from the start, it was clear that she was playing a vital role and her time and role expanded, with Leslie quickly becoming an integral member of the PC&D project team.

 

What were your biggest learnings or what was the impact on your personal development as a leader?

It’s often said that one doesn’t know what they don’t know and what Leslie did was to help us learn what good looked like when it came to implementing significant change. She made a compelling case for not just throwing things over the fence and hoping for the best but thinking things through and mapping out all of the critical steps required to go from concept to embedding the change in the organization.

 

What were the results, changes, or impact?

She shifted our focus from being primarily on the implementation of a new tool to also include the behavioural and cultural change required to ensure success. She stressed the need for stakeholder analysis to understand and proactively address stakeholder positions. She taught us how to map out our key messages through story boards to engage, create awareness and get buy in. She drove home the reality that nothing happens in a vacuum. Instead, you need to think about how what you’re implementing may link to other initiatives or realities in your organization, hence the need to view things from an integrated perspective and identify risks and opportunities. And she reminded us to breathe and laugh along the way! The result was not only a successful implementation of PC&D but, for all of those exposed to the learnings and impact from Leslie, to a team much better equipped to plan for and implement change.

 

What wouldn’t have been accomplished had Leslie not been involved at your company?

Leslie made such an impact on the PC&D project that I had her support me on the next big change within HR, being the restructuring of HR from a decentralized delivery model to a shared service model. At the same time, I encouraged PwC’s then CEO, Chris Clark, to engage with Leslie to see how she might help at a firm-wide level. Having proven her impact, Leslie subsequently became an indispensable advisor to the executive.

For me as a leader it was a privilege to work with Leslie. She is truly a trusted advisor and in everything she did, she was focused on helping me and the organization be more successful.  I would recommend Leslie to anyone and any organization who is open to learning and finding the best ways to plan for, embrace and drive change.