The transformative edge: 10 traits of high-impact Chief Transformation Officers

The need and business case for the Chief Transformation Officer has never been stronger. The fastest growing C-Suite role is attracting consensus from across professional services and strategic advisory organisations - it is here to stay. However, its emergence comes with challenges - namely the ambiguity around what is needed to deliver value and succeed in the role.

Here are three statistics to focus the mind.

In 2022, the Office of National Statistics reported the business death rate (11.8%) had exceeded the business birth rate (11.5%) for the first time in over a decade. Since then, PwC’s 27th Annual CEO Survey revealed that one in five (21%) UK CEOs believe their current business model will not be economically viable within a decade and 83% of top performing companies surveyed have changed their business model in the last three years.

In short, business life cycles are under tremendous pressure and the disruptions facing organisations are being dealt with inconsistently and inefficiently.

The ability to transform rapidly and keep evolving is critical, and in pursuit of the change they need, an increasing number of organisations are appointing dedicated transformation leaders such as a Chief Transformation Officers (CTrO). In fact, our CEO Survey revealed 21% of UK CEOs have appointed a dedicated transformation leader and this number is growing rapidly.

“The CTrO will be one of the top boardroom jobs within the next five years.”

_{Tina Marron-Partridge

PwC Partner, Enterprise Transformation Leadership Consulting}

For CEOs still considering such an appointment, or for those working within transformation roles and looking to break into the boardroom, we’ve identified 10 skills, traits and characteristics we see in the highest impact CTrOs, based on extensive conversations with C-Suite executives, change professionals and transformation leaders, including attendees at PwC’s 9th annual Global Transformation Leaders’ Summit.

Those traits can be distilled into five key themes: a visionary leader and change coach, a strategic transformation architect, an influencer and strategic relationship builder, an integrator and business partner and last, but not least, a complex programme orchestrator. The graphic below outlines a summary of these attributes but let’s deep-dive into some of the detail:

Visionary Leader & Change Coach

Leading on processes, people, culture and readiness for sustainable transformation
Guiding and coaching organisations through major transformation initiatives vial change management
Credible, influential, trusted and engaging

Strategic Transformation Architect

Align strategic vision, with transformation purpose & drive
Design bespoke transformations aligned to business architecture, leveraging technology
Solve complexity across organisations and their ecosystems

Influencer and Strategic Relationship Builder

Link between C-suite vision and business
Politically astute relationship builder, savvy around conflict management

Integrator and Business Partner

Understanding of the core components and services of the lines of business
Analyses knowledge of external business factors to deliver high quality work
Avoid the trap of BAU and identify opportunities for transformation

Complex Programme Orchestrator

Orchestrating the successful delivery of multi-year, multi-territory initiatives
Navigating the volatility of change and ensuring sustained transformation outcomes

Visionary leader and change coach

A strategic, visionary approach

Despite all evidence pointing to the need to transform, many businesses remain unable to do so, in part due to major internal blockers, such as a lack of clear strategy and objectives, and failing to discern ‘the art of the possible’ when it comes to the velocity and volume of change an organisation can absorb. Other symptoms include unwieldy or meandering programmes where business cases are threadbare. The first criteria on the list for any CTrO must be the ability to clear the mists of transformation complexity and bring a strategic approach and clarity where there is confusion and uncertainty. The CTrO must be a proactive thinker, creating a transformation strategy, underpinned by a relevant transformation operating model, that aligns to the organisation’s purpose, values and goals - and demystify the organisational strategy so it becomes comprehensible and actionable.

“Transformation isn't a temporary endeavour. It is persistent. The only constant is change itself.”

_{Rachel Hannon

Chief Transformation Officer, Aviva IWR}

Leadership, coaching and sophisticated people skills

The most effective CTrOs will be ones who lead from the front, inspiring others and shifting mindsets - a forward-thinking leader, coaching change and fostering deep-rooted relationships. The CTrO will also have to balance integrity, emotional intelligence with technical competencies to appeal to colleagues who prize each differently. Ultimately, transformation is a collective undertaking and any collective undertaking requires cohesion and buy-in. Even with sophisticated people and influencing skills, achieving universal buy-in is highly complex but without those skills the value and impact of the role becomes materially reduced.

“You want someone with an inspirational style of leadership who can rally people towards a common goal.”

_{Andy MacLean

Global Head of Organisation & People Capability, Standard Chartered Bank}

Integrator and business partner

Being brave, being bold

Whoever else within an organisation might be tempted to bury themselves in business-as-usual, CTrOs must be prepared to challenge the status quo and seek out opportunities for successful transformation. An analytical and innovative mindset will drive them to proactively dig deep into their organisation to understand external business factors that will allow them to deliver differentiating transformation.

The ability to prioritise - objectively

PwC data shows 68% of Financial Services organisations face confusion caused by too many competing transformation priorities. A CTrO must be able to cut-through the superfluous and find the way for an organisation to achieve its outcomes by ensuring transformation activity remains aligned to the vision and strategy of the business. The CTrO may also inherit a situation where prioritisation can be determined by whoever wields the most influence. In such situations, they must be able to drive prioritisation based on objective measures - ultimately, what is best for the organisation as a whole - and in doing so attempt to break down the silos that exist.

Open-minded yet single-minded

All of the open-minded, bridge-building, relationship-forming empathy-showing requirements upon the CTrO must also be complemented by a single-minded focus on outcomes. Across many boardrooms, businesses will naturally allow themselves to divert attention away from their central strategy and purpose. This is inevitable based on the dynamics of the market. However, the CTrO should be ever-persistent in bringing the organisation back to alignment to the most optimal financial and non-financial Return On Investment - that will enable it to efficiently evolve and transform.

“Transformation fuelled by a drive to constantly improve is more effective than one fuelled by desperation and a reactive approach.”

_{Niall Mann

Director, Financial Services - Enterprise Transformation Consulting, PwC United Kingdom}

Complex programme orchestrator

A track record of success and failure

Programme and portfolio management is a craft, and one that takes years of experience to master. One can only hone this craft through successes and importantly failures. Without this, a CTrO will not have built up the capability to navigate the volatility of change and the ecosystem that surrounds it. Whilst it sounds trite, embracing a fast fail culture is critical by not penalising positive intent.

A paradox mindset

Many of the transformation challenges facing businesses are rooted in the counterintuitive, the competitive or the outright paradoxical. Some organisations’ efforts are currently undermined by an ability to weigh and compare critical, but contrasting value levers such as revenue growth and cost-cutting, improving efficiency and reducing risk and regulatory compliance, decreasing cost, improving efficiency and customer satisfaction.

As such, CTrOs must have the ability to simultaneously balance contrasting short and long-term priorities and shift seamlessly between big picture and fine detail. They must also be able to think global and personal, work with ambiguity and structure and operate experimentally yet with a focus on results.

Strategic transformation architect

Fully conversant with emerging technologies - and enterprise architecture

Orchestrating the successful delivery of multi-year, multi-territory initiatives is no small feat, and can only be better enabled by harnessing the seismic shifts in technology. Simply put, technology can make or break a business. The CTrO will have to be able to harness technology in the right way so that it becomes a key enabler of successful business transformation. The advent of AI will drive disruption in a positive manner and CTrOs should be building use cases to drive better insights and efficiencies across the organisations programmes and portfolios. At the same time, they must understand how to ‘unlock’ the burden of relying on legacy technology and the technology debt (and organisational debt) that has been accumulating.

“Pet projects, gaming of the prioritisation process and a local over global focus significantly impact the organisation’s ability to optimise return on investment.”

_{Michael Cooch

Partner, Financial Services - Enterprise Transformation Consulting, PwC United Kingdom}

Influencer and strategic relationship builder

Politically savvy

Transformation ambitions can flounder on internal fiefdoms and inefficiency. From creeping group-think that focuses on fine-tuning the current model rather than daring to disrupt it, to executive resistance to cede authority and budgets to a centralised transformation strategy. As such, the CTrO must be able to navigate internal divisions, break down fiefdoms and credibly traverse the transformation operating model, top down and bottom up - acting as the glue between the strategy, business architecture and the successful delivery at project and programme level - and all the teams they interact with along the way.

A supportive CEO and board

While the CTrO has a pivotal role to play in a world of continuous transformation, the key focus for them - and the organisation that appoints them - must ultimately be on building a function that underpins them and a culture that empowers them and their successors. That change will be accelerated and become more deeply embedded within an organisation if the CTrO works with a leader and a board that supports them and helps them overcome the internal blockers they will encounter.

This article forms the start of a series of blogs on the rise and importance of the Chief Transformation Officer. In subsequent articles PwC will build on:

10 disruptive themes that must always be in the mind of the Chief Transformation Officer
10 biggest organisational challenges faced by the Chief Transformation Officer
10 foundational design principles for a successful Chief Transformation Office
10 building blocks of a fit-for-purpose Chief Transformation Office

Whether you’re a CEO looking to appoint a CTrO, a transformation leader looking to upskill or needing support in building out your Transformation Office Capability, PwC has the expertise to help you along your transformation journey. Contact us to find out more.