Latest news with #peopleFirst
Fast Company
07-07-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Tech is only half the transformation—don't forget the people
You just launched a new platform. The tech is live, the dashboards are humming, and the project milestones are moving along as planned. But three months in, something's off. Adoption is lagging. Teams are skeptical. Progress has stalled. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. In my experience, too many transformation efforts focus on technology and process while overlooking the most critical factor: people. Real, lasting transformation doesn't happen because you install new software. It happens when you empower the humans behind the change. THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT GAP According to McKinsey, 56% of business leaders say their organizations have achieved most or all of their transformation goals. But only 12% have sustained those goals beyond three years. That gap is where change management lives and where most efforts fall short. It's easy to roll out a new tool. It's much harder to unlearn old habits, align cross-functional teams, or win over skeptics. Yet that's where the real opportunity lies for aspiring changemakers. McKinsey also finds that organizations that put people at the center of change are 3.4 times more likely to achieve and sustain performance gains—not because they work harder, but because they work smarter, with intention and empathy. HOW CHANGEMAKERS EMPOWER PEOPLE A powerful example of people-first transformation comes from Air France-KLM, which recently worked with my company to replace multiple legacy content management systems with a single platform across all brands and channels. Throughout the process, the management team recognized that transformation isn't just about technology: • They merged product and content teams from Air France and KLM, using intercultural workshops to build trust and collaboration. • They prioritized user adoption, providing extra training and support for business users less familiar with content management tools. • They communicated openly, maintained clear documentation, and ensured responsive support to manage uncertainty. • They celebrated milestones to reinforce progress and boost morale. • They established a two-way feedback loop with my team at Contentstack, surfacing user pain points and informing platform enhancements. If you want transformation to stick, you need more than a go-live date. You need to empower the people driving the change. Here's how: 1. Align change with purpose. Before introducing any tool or process, tie it to a clear, meaningful business outcome. If your goal is to reduce time-to-market for digital campaigns, show how the new system streamlines publishing across regions or channels. If you're aiming for more personalized customer experiences, connect the dots between composable content and one-to-one engagement. As a changemaker, you need to make that alignment obvious. Draw a straight line from your platform or initiative to a tangible business win. When that connection is clear, it's easier for internal champions to advocate for change and harder for detractors to push back. 2. Activate champions. Find internal collaborators early—people who speak their colleagues' language, model new behaviors, and provide honest feedback. The best way to activate champions? Show how the change solves their specific challenges. Their pain points often reflect broader organizational needs; when people see their frustrations addressed, they become advocates. And don't forget: vendors have champions, too—customer success managers, solution architects, and industry thought leaders who can amplify learning and momentum across organizations. 3. Tackle resistance with empathy. Resistance is natural when people are asked to leave familiar ways of working behind. Instead of pushing harder, get curious about what's behind the hesitation. At Levi's (another client of Contentstack), when the digital team proposed eliminating PDF mockups in favor of live previews, creatives initially balked; PDFs were central to their workflow. By making the change optional at first, they gave people space to adapt. Over time, creatives embraced the new process because they saw its value. As a changemaker (or tech provider), recognize that you may be seen as a disruptor (or outsider). Listen closely, adapt, and co-create with your stakeholders. When you acknowledge concerns and show flexibility, resistance becomes a catalyst for trust. 4. Enable teams for ongoing success. Modern transformation requires clearly defined roles, skill development, and ongoing support. Ask yourself: Are the right people in the right seats with the tools they need to succeed? Sometimes, enablement means unblocking; sometimes, it means rallying; sometimes, it means getting out of the way. Tech partners can play a critical role here—through AI Accelerators, customer conferences, peer communities, and other shared learning opportunities that help people and teams grow into modern heroes. VENDORS WON'T SURVIVE—PARTNERS WILL True partners earn trust when things get messy—when resistance surfaces or priorities shift—and stay present long after go live. If you're not guiding your customers through the human side of transformation, you're becoming replaceable. Transformation isn't just about new tools. It's about new ways of working and leading. That kind of change demands changemakers who champion people first—and partners who walk alongside them every step of the way.
Forbes
24-06-2025
- General
- Forbes
Servant Leadership Is Broken—Here's What To Do Instead
Cartoon of person watering tree with employees Robert K. Greenleaf coined the term 'servant leadership' in 1970, advocating for a leadership style in which leaders prioritize the needs of their team. While the idea itself predates Greenleaf's work, he is credited with popularizing the concept in modern business culture, shifting the focus from self-serving leadership models to people-first cultures. This transition to a more empathetic, service-oriented approach was a welcome departure from the top-down leadership styles that had long dominated the corporate world. At first glance, servant leadership sounds both noble and compelling. And in many ways, it is. The notion of dedicating oneself to helping others achieve their full potential, demonstrating empathy by genuinely caring about employees' well-being, and actively seeking to understand their needs and perspectives is admirable. In practice, it has yielded tangible benefits, including higher employee engagement, improved employee retention, enhanced team cohesion, and even increased employee creativity. When done right, it works wonders. But here's the catch: servant leadership, when taken too far, has a downside that often goes unnoticed. Over time, the concept can morph into self-sacrifice. Leading through service can sometimes cause leaders to lose sight of themselves. They are encouraged to prioritize others' needs above their own, often at the expense of their mental and physical well-being. This approach is not without consequences: burnout, declining productivity, higher turnover, and absenteeism inevitably follow. For women and marginalized leaders, this dynamic can be even more dangerous. From a very young age, many of us are socialized to prioritize the needs of others—be accommodating, nurturing, and agreeable—while suppressing our own. This pattern plays out in both our personal and professional lives, where women are often expected to adjust their schedules and make compromises when family responsibilities collide with work. Sound familiar? You start saying 'yes' to everything. You overextend yourself to 'support the team,' putting your own needs on the back burner because, well, 'not everything is about me.' Over time, what began as a commitment to servant leadership can easily slip into people-pleasing behavior on an unsustainable scale. Despite the growing presence of women in leadership roles, women still lag behind men in many industries. When leadership is framed as constant service, and that service is demanded at home and work, it's no wonder women leaders are burning out. Forty-three percent say they're burned out, far higher than the 31% of men at their level. Compassionate leadership includes yourself in the circle of care. It recognizes that sustainable leadership isn't about endless self-sacrifice; it's about showing up as your fullest, healthiest self so you can truly support others. So, how do you make that shift? Here are four small shifts toward compassionate and sustainable leadership that you can make to show up for your team and yourself. Stop being available all the time You don't have to be on-call every day and night to be a supportive manager. Set clear expectations around your availability, both in your calendar and your communication. For example: block 'focus hours' on your calendar where you won't take calls or respond to emails. Add recurring blocks for rest, exercise, or even unstructured creative thinking. Intentional calendar blocking ensures your needs have the same weight and legitimacy you give to others. When you protect your time and you aren't always available, this signals to your team that boundaries are more than just acceptable: they're a healthy part of work. Practice empathy with edges You can listen deeply and still make a call your teammate doesn't agree with. Compassionate leadership means being present with your team's needs, but not taking on all of them as your own. You can try saying, 'I hear you, and I care. Here's what I can offer.' This keeps you grounded in empathy while reinforcing that leadership doesn't mean absorbing (or solving) every problem personally. Ask what your team needs directly Many servant leaders jump straight into problem solving mode. But often, your team doesn't need a fix; they need a listening ear. Before diving in with a solution, ask: 'What would feel most helpful from me right now?' This helps you offer support while also preventing unnecessary energy drain. Define and communicate your responsibilities When roles are unclear, leaders often end up taking on more responsibilities than they should. After all, servant leaders love being helpful. But before taking on extra work, take time to clarify what's truly in your lane and what's not. Then, name that with your team. For example: 'I'm here to be a sounding board through the decision-making process, but the decision is ultimately yours to make, not mine.' This builds ownership on their end and lightens the emotional load on yours. Let's rebrand servant leadership as compassionate leadership, where compassion is directed both outwardly toward others and inwardly toward ourselves. You cannot be an effective leader if you aren't taking care of yourself first. The familiar adage from airplane safety demonstrations holds: put your oxygen mask on before helping others. You can't help others if you're running on empty, and your team will notice when you're burnt out and not showing up every day as your authentic self.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
CGTN: From father to son: The enduring values guiding Xi Jinping
On Father's Day, CGTN published an article discussing how the teachings and example set by Xi Jinping's father have silently influenced his governance philosophy, particularly his firm stance on standing with the people and his emphasis on the importance of research and investigation. BEIJING, June 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- During a 2021 visit to the very place where his father had once worked, Chinese President Xi Jinping softly recited a line now displayed prominently in the exhibition hall – "Sit upright at the side of the people." These words were spoken, and lived by, his father Xi Zhongxun, who was a revered leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Describing his father as someone who had devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Chinese people, Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has pledged to continue the mission of serving the people. Putting people first Xi Jinping's people-oriented approach to governance was deeply shaped by his father's influence. When the senior Xi worked at the prefectural Party committee of Suide, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, a simple phrase echoed through the mouths of local cadres and villagers alike: "Go find Zhongxun." The simple words were a testament to the approachability, trust and support that Xi Zhongxun embodied as a leader, and a problem solver, rooted in the lives of the local people. Like father, like son. Xi Jinping has engraved the word "people" in his mind throughout his political career across different parts of China, first from Liangjiahe to Zhengding, from Fujian to Zhejiang, and from Shanghai to Beijing. Over the years, he engaged with villagers, whether seated on a kang, the traditional bed-stove made out of clay or bricks in north China, or on humble wooden stools. He shared simple meals with them, listened intently, and showed real care about the everyday needs in people's lives. "Of all the jobs in front of us, the most important is to ensure a happy life for our people," Xi reiterated in his 2025 New Year message. Prioritizing investigation and research Xi Jinping has consistently placed great emphasis on investigation and research as cornerstones of both planning and decision-making, convictions influenced by his father. In 1978, Xi Zhongxun was sent to south China's Guangdong Province as a principal official, and later helped build the country's first special economic zones including Shenzhen. Back then, Guangdong's industrial and agricultural growth had lagged behind the national average for 14 consecutive years. Determined to boost productivity and improve people's livelihoods, the senior Xi worked with a strong sense of urgency. To better understand conditions at the grassroots level, Xi Zhongxun visited 23 counties in a single summer. After conducting in-depth field research, he submitted a report to the central leadership, advocating for greater autonomy for Guangdong and proposing that the province take the lead in reform and opening up by building special economic zones. Xi Jinping has inherited his father's work ethic. Since November 2012, Xi has conducted more than 100 grassroots inspections. He has explained policies to people in courtyards and pavilions. He has listened to reports on boats and trains. He has inquired about livelihoods in fields. And he has sketched development plans on factory floors. Following thorough investigation and research, the pressing concerns of the people have topped the agenda of the central leadership's meetings, becoming focal points and drivers of China's continuous reform endeavors. "No matter what your job title is, serve the people diligently, consider the interests of the people with all your heart, maintain close ties with the people, and always stay approachable to the people," Xi Zhongxun once told his son. While bearing his father's words in his heart, Xi Jinping has also always lived up to his own pledge: "I will fully commit to the people and never fail them." CONTACT: Contact：CGTN，cgtn@
