Business leaders often set grand visions for their organizations, aiming to transform operations, improve profitability, and unlock growth potential. But executing transformative growth is not just about setting goals; it’s about navigating the complex realities that come with change.
In Vietnam, where market conditions can be volatile and businesses operate at full capacity, the path to transformation is filled with challenges. Yet, it is possible. The key lies in understanding the challenges and tackling them with a structured approach.
The Leadership Bottleneck: The Paradox of Micromanagement
The tighter leaders hold on to micromanagement, the slower transformation happens. It’s like a coach who tries to call every play from the sidelines during a game – no matter how good the strategy might be, it’s the players who have to execute it. For the team to win, the coach must trust the players to adapt and make decisions on the field. Growth requires trust and empowerment. Sometimes, the greatest success comes from knowing when to step aside.
Many executives struggle to let go, either due to lack of trust in their teams or an ineffective leadership structure and organizational design. This bottleneck holds back decisions that could be delegated. The solution: Develop your leadership team and empower them to make decisions. Transformation requires collective leadership. Leaders often fail to engage the whole organization in the process. Change leadership is not a soft skill – it’s a hard, tactical discipline that requires strategy and execution. Every layer of the organization, especially customer facing and operational roles, needs to be engaged. Without alignment, even the best strategy will falter.
Space to Change: Why Capacity Matters
Leaders sometimes think growth is about adding more – more projects, complexity, and initiatives. It’s like trying to pour more water into a full cup – it overflows – and makes a mess. Transformative growth often hinges on what you stop doing.
In business, subtraction – removing distractions, cutting underperforming initiatives, products, processes, and even wasteful meetings – creates space for focused, high-impact change. Many Vietnamese businesses are already operating at over 100% capacity. Adding transformation to an overburdened workforce leads to failure. Organizations must subtract before they add. Without cognitive and operational space, teams will default to maintaining the status quo.
Underfunding the Transformation: The Hidden Cost of Doing It Cheap
Transformation is often underfunded because leaders expect significant wins at minimal cost, especially in emerging economies. But transformation is like building a strong bridge. You wouldn’t cut corners on materials midway and expect the bridge to hold. It’s not about spending lavishly—it’s about ensuring the right resources and investment are in place for long-term success. Leaders must ensure the transformation effort is fully resourced from start to finish so it can hold the weight of future growth. Cutting back on essential resources may save costs initially, but the real cost of doing it cheaply is long-term loss of momentum and missed opportunities.
Transformation doesn’t happen in a single leap – it’s the result of small, consistent wins. Leaders should adopt a Design Thinking mindset: empathize with teams, define the change, ideate, prototype, test, and repeat. This approach allows organizations to adapt, learn, and course correct. By breaking transformation into chunks, organizations can celebrate small wins, build momentum, and create a culture of innovation. It’s this momentum that carries them through the tougher phases of change.
“Transformative growth often hinges on what you stop doing.”
Strong Governance and Execution: The Invisible Hand of Structure
Governance is often seen as bureaucracy, but healthy governance is the structure that allows transformation to thrive. Think of a Formula 1 car—it goes fast not just because of the engine, but due to tight controls, precise measures, and systems that keep it on track. Perhaps counterintuitively, the brakes are in fact what enables the car to go so fast.
Leaders must understand that governance isn’t about stifling creativity – it’s about creating the foundation for success. Clear roles, accountability, and execution mechanisms are the invisible hand that guides transformation. Even with the right leadership, capacity, and funding, many transformations fail due to weak governance. It’s not enough to have a vision—you need a structured plan for execution. This means clear accountability, and regular check-ins to monitor progress.
How to Get Started
To execute transformative growth, leaders must recognize that transformation isn’t just about changing business models, processes or adding new products – it’s about changing mindsets, structures, and behaviors.
Here’s how you can start:
- Assess and Subtract: Take a hard look at current operations. What can you pause or eliminate to create space for change?
- Empower Your Leadership: Develop and trust your leadership team. Transformation cannot rest solely on your shoulders; you need a team that can execute with autonomy.
- Fund the Journey: Invest wisely in the transformation. Ensure you have the resources to support the change from start to finish.
- Break It Down: Don’t go for the big bang. Break your transformation into smaller, manageable chunks, test your ideas, learn, and iterate.
- Govern and Execute: Put strong governance and accountability in place. Keep transformation on track with regular check-ins, clear roles, and a focus on execution.
The Journey Ahead
No organization undergoes significant transformation without external perspective and guidance. Leaders must seek the right support to navigate these challenges. An experienced partner can make the difference between a stalled initiative and one that drives lasting growth. Those who succeed know when to leverage that support – ensuring they move forward with confidence and focus.
CONTACT DETAIL
Matthew Webber is a leadership and disruption expert with over 25 years of experience across global markets, helping organizations, leaders, and teams thrive in times of uncertainty. Matthew is also author of international best seller “Fit for Disruption” and is a Course Facilitator and Coach for Stanford Graduate School of Business. Contact Matthew at m.webber@menark.com.au for leadership coaching, organizational design, and business transformation services.
