What’s the problem you solve as a transformational leader?
What’s the problem you solve?
You may know Clayton Christensen’s theory of “jobs-to-be-done” as a key to understanding why some innovations work and why some don’t.
The story he tells is about trying to figure out why McDonald’s milkshakes were one of their most popular breakfast items.
A milkshake? For breakfast? Sure, if I’m seven years old. But these were being sold to middle-aged commuters.
It turns out the job the morning milkshake was doing was having a “breakfast” that fit in their cupholder, wasn’t instantly consumed, wasn’t messy, filled them up, and kept them interested.
Afternoon milkshakes? A totally different job.
I’m wondering what’s the job-to-be-done of a transformational leader is in 2026? You might be wondering that too, seeing as it’s you I’m talking about. 🙂
Before I started the Change Signal pod, I’d have suggested a number of things:
Running the change project
Getting the senior support for the change project
Keeping my change team engaged, or more fundamentally, alive through the duration of the change project
Project Managing the sh*t out of the change project
You can see the common thread there: “change project.”
What I’ve really come to understand over the last year, is that the change project is dead. Sure, there are projects aplenty. But the truth is for many of us, change is now a state of being, not a project management spreadsheet.
Where I’ve got to? As a transformational leader, your goal is to create the capacity within the organization, and the agency within the people, to take responsibility for the change in their part of the organization.
There is no project. There are just your people.
Does this ring true? Or does it sound like poppcock?
