How does one change an organisation in an in-depth way when it’s full of fear, not in control, has high absenteeism, and lacks a clear vision of the future? That was the challenge ahead for Endinet six years ago, after the takeover by Alliander.

An intensive, in-depth organisational and leadership transition helped the company back on its feet. Endinet faced some serious challenges. Firstly, there was no mission, vision, strategy or common goal. The company had a tendency to concentrate on day-to-day business and dealt with issues as they came along. There was little to no perspective on the future. The business was operating in fire-fighter mode; it was reactive and not in control. Furthermore, the strategy was fully concentrated on financial aspects, and had little business perspective. Therefore, managing the company was unilateral in financial terms.

Secondly, the company’s employees had low morale and didn’t feel trusted, nor did they trust their leaders in turn. The company’s history was dominated by takeovers. Putting a large emphasis on financial aspects and paying little attention to people and their development meant that staff were not really motivated to do their best. The company was led mostly by leaders with a very authoritarian style. If people had ideas for improvement, they were ignored.

Thirdly, employees were in no position to claim responsibility or ownership for their work. Because of the authoritative leadership style, people only did what they were ordered to do. Proactivity and new ideas were not appreciated. And, even if people did put forward suggestions, their ideas went into a black box and no feedback was received. There was a large gap between team leaders and the management team, and besides that both teams did not function as a real unit. There was no common ground and little energy to move forward.

To empower people is to encourage your employees to make their own decisions. People will take responsibility when they feel safe. It’s important never to punish employees for trying to improve the company

A new culture
Six years ago, when Alliander took over Endinet, part of the leadership team was changed. Paulus was appointed CEO and, together with Danielle and Marika, initiated the company’s transition. Change was defined by two important pillars: leadership and in-depth transition.

In 2010, we went on a journey as a company, where the main goal was to be the best you can be as a company, an employee and as a person. We wanted to create an environment in which people have the opportunity to develop and work with their assets and qualities. Our philosophy has two specific characteristics: empowerment of people by creating space and offering a safe environment, and the idea that ‘changing the business is running the business’.

To empower people is to encourage your employees to make their own decisions. People will take responsibility when they feel safe. It’s important never to punish employees for trying to improve the company. Offer space and don’t undermine their decisions when made within the set and transparent boundaries, even when you, as a leader, wouldn’t have made that decision yourself.

In order to transform the culture from fear to daring, we empowered people by getting them involved. Make sure you use the strategy of functional participation, not fake participation. Be very transparent on the decision-making process and always give feedback on people’s input. To really empower people and create an environment where people feel safe and can develop, it is important to use fair processes so people feel respected. To change a culture, you need to recognise what is already good as well as recognising the traumas of the company. Pay attention to prevailing emotions and use what’s good as a base to reach the next level. Make sure to recognise achievements, celebrate them and add more successes as you proceed to. Make people proud again, of their work and of themselves.

Embracing change
‘Changing the business is running the business’; change can only be successful by combining it with business challenges/ambitions. Always have a clear transitional goal and communicate that goal thoroughly. Create focus and energy. A goal without energy won’t last, and a goal which creates a lot of energy but has no focus will not lead to results.

The development of the organisation and employees should be part of running a business. Use the wisdom of the crowd by combining a top-down and bottom-up approach in an interactive process. Have employees give their input on the strategic plan, business plan and operational plan, all within set directions and financial goals. Employees need to understand and recognise their individual contribution to the common goal. Make this visible within the management system through cascading targets. In this way, people will take ownership of both personal and company targets.

When your employees do what they do best with passion, drive and ownership, you will get the best results for your company. You can have all the assets and grids you want, but if you don’t have the people to operate, develop and maintain them, you won’t be as successful as you can be.

Human capital is the biggest asset of any company. This starts with a well-balanced, diverse and compatible team; get the right people on board with the skills and capabilities needed for the task ahead. Create a team in which members challenge one another and bring out the best in everyone involved. As a leader, you can never be better than your team – make sure you build the best team you can for the challenge ahead.

People power
To maximise productivity and motivate people, you have to make sure that employees do the job they are best at. Create a strategic map that you monitor constantly. Furthermore, create an environment in which you strive for continuous improvement, and in which people feel free and enjoy trying to do things better every day. Employees love to work for Endinet and are proud of the company, which leads to significantly improved results in
all fields.

Finally, as a leader you should be very aware of your own behaviour: lead by example. Be authentic and realise that showing vulnerability is not a weakness. Get people involved by simply asking for help. Don’t be the leader who knows all the answers (because you don’t), but ask for input on strategic issues. Emphasise joint effort. Be honest about what you don’t know and where you want people to help you and the company. Share your own struggle, not only because people can learn from it but also because it makes you more approachable. By creating a real connection with your employees, you can empower them. The most important question all leaders should ask themselves every day is: ‘what is it in my behaviour that makes the company act as it does?’.

Implementing change in the DNA of the company’s culture gives the company (and its people) the ability to cope with all possible challenges that lie ahead, whatever the future may bring.