Want to lead transformation? Start with yourself

BCR (Romanian Commercial Bank) is the biggest financial institution in Romania, with 5,400 employees. I’d worked there since 2013 and was Executive Director of the Corporate Network – effectively the bank’s SME business – when I decided to apply for the Senior Executive Programme (SEP) at LBS in 2017, which I was able to do with the help of the 30% Club Women’s Scholarship.

I didn’t know what to expect of the programme, but I had begun to be very aware that a lot of things were changing around me and I felt the need to update the practical knowledge that I had got in the sector with the latest academic thinking.

I did a lot of research into various executive education programmes, but the structure of the SEP resonated with me because it is a very comprehensive curriculum on strategy, innovation and business transformation. Soon after completing it I was made Chief Transformation Officer of the bank, so it was very fortunate timing.

Learning how to innovate

The course changed my thinking in so many ways. Before, I used to believe that, in order to innovate or invent a product or make a new discovery, you had to be a scientist or have an idea that nobody had had before. But then I saw innovation – or how to be innovative – actually being taught, and it made me realise that it can be applied to whatever you are trying to do.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the programme changed who I am as a person. If you had have asked me before joining SEP what kind of person I am, what kind of executive, and what were my strong points, I would have said that I was very fact-driven, not particularly people-orientated, and very sure of my opinions.

I thought of myself as someone who preferred very structured environments and stability, and that I wasn’t that prone to wanting to explore things. To my surprise, through doing the exercises on the programme, I realised that, actually, I was the opposite; not because the things I thought were not true, but because I was interpreting them in the ‘wrong’ way.

For example, it’s true that I like a stable environment, but what I like more is to create it, which means that I tend more to the explorative side of things. Facts are important to me and I am driven by results, but I like to get those results together with the people around me. I like people to grow; I like them to feel empowered and that we have achieved something together, which made me realise that, ultimately, I am more of a people person than a fact-based one.

So the programme showed me my true strengths and showed me how to be comfortable with change. It was a very interesting phase and I will never forget it.

The exercises we did first were the trigger, then during the programme I really came to understand the concept of the bigger purpose of the organisation overall – what strategy should look like going forward and so on. Even more important, the course gave me the confidence to think that I just might be the person to do that.

Learning how to learn

Another very significant change for me from this programme (and this may be true for many people in the financial services sector, which can still be quite hierarchical) was realising the huge benefits to be had from debating issues with peers and colleagues. I try to do this much more often around me now in the bank. It’s about realising that, when you start a dialogue, you should start from the position of, “Okay, I have this opinion, but I might not be right.” Just remembering this makes you more inclined to listen to everyone else and to learn.

What surprised me most was being encouraged to discuss things we don’t normally talk about as leaders – your mistakes, the fact that some of the things you’re trying to do to change the culture are wrong, or wrongly addressed. We talked a lot about being open to things that we are doing wrong. And I started seeing it more and more; that people are trying to change, but it’s one of the most difficult things. I think, in organisations in general, we are really in the early stages of building a culture of acceptance of failure.

Communication is key

When I came back to work and we started the transformation programme, I was quite stressed and I thought, “If this strategy is not about producing concrete results, it’s better not to communicate it!” It’s one of the biggest mistakes you can make when carrying out a very large-scale transformation like this. Then I remembered that we’d been taught that, whatever strategy you have, no matter how good or bad it may seem to different people, you need to communicate it and sign people up to it.

So, I decided we will communicate everything – we are going to discuss it on a weekly or monthly basis with the entire organisation, because it’s more important than anything. And it proved exactly the right thing to do. Even if you’re not claiming immediate results, you can explain your vision, explain your success KPIs, explain what you’re trying to do, and you can even talk about the things that you don’t know how to do. That’s also something that I learned in the programme and that I practise in the bank’s transformation exercise.

When you are running something like this, the most important thing is to show not just the strong points of what you’re doing, but to have a plan and share it – accept input, accept ideas and be honest about it. People don’t expect you to know every tiny detail, but they expect you to have a vision and, by being open, by taking people with you, you actually contribute to the culture that you want to create.

Making connections

My advice for anyone about to do the SEP is to believe what they tell you on the first day, which is, “Guys, you are going to be very good friends when you leave here. You will make strong connections, learn from each other, form WhatsApp groups.” I was looking around me at people, thinking, “Really?! We have different backgrounds, different industries.” But it’s all true – we’ve made amazing connections, we’ve visited each other and our WhatsApp group is very much alive.

Because the SEP gives you the opportunity to talk to people from totally different industries and backgrounds, you suddenly realise that we all have the same type of problems – we just find different solutions.

Another aspect of the course that came as a surprise is that you have time with yourself. For one and a half months you stay there, without being connected to your other life. You don’t go with a phone or a tablet, you don’t check it. It’s an amazing experience – it really helps you focus on what you are experiencing and learning. The SEP programme can reset you profoundly. For me, it sure did this.

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