This article is founded on the research conducted by McKinsey (released December 2025) where they “analyzed nearly 100 transformations and 1,000 specific behavioral shifts over the past five years“. I then augmented these insights with my own observations and experience, to produce six key insights on what is required to make the transformation or breakthrough successful.
Here is a link to the orginal McKinsey article.
Organisational health
McKinsey defines organisational healthin three key elements.
1. “how well the entire organization rallies around a common vision and strategy
2. how well the organization executes its strategy, and
3. how well the organization innovates and renews itself over time.”
These resonate with me. These are behavioural attributes. In organisations I have seen with a shared vision (and even some sort of plan or strategy to get closer to that vision), the teams can collaborate productively and easily. This shared understanding of where they are headed unifies efforts.
The teams here will have a very clear and shared view of the vision. Often one or two outcome statements (or Results using the language in PuMP Academy). Clear statements, no weasel words, understandable outcomes. The strategy challenge then is how to get closer to those outcomes that come from the vision/purpose. (Performance measures will later, evidence the degree to which the team is getting closer (or not) to the outcome.)
How well the organisation can ‘execute the strategy’ – to me – seems more about internal capability and capacity. Regarding the execution of strategy as “successful” appears more important to the leaders and board. If the people within the organisation can learn from the execution of strategy, then they can innovate and renew their efforts towards the outcomes that are their vision and purpose.
Remember, we refer to organisations – possibly not because they are particularly well organised – but because they are full of organisms (humans). Which brings us back to our central theme of the behaviours these humans within the organisation leverage to achieve their goals.
The top five behavioural themes for transformation and performance breakthrough.
The McKinsey research identified these five areas of behaviour were targeted most in these transformations. Curiously, they all start with C. (collaboration, commitment, continuous improvement, clarity of goals, and customer orientation – detailed below).
Collaboration and Commitment.
Having a common purpose, a culture where people are open, honest with each other and share knowledge openly.
Continuous improvement and innovation.
Over recent years we have all seen these words become part of almost every organisation’s rhetoric. However, in my experience saying this and doing it is very different. Paying ‘lip service’ to improvement and innovation does not work when those saying these words still hold people to account for KPIs (measures with targets) that are activity based, or unachievable or are a tick a box exercise. Or as we say within the PuMP method – we need to understand the cause-and-effect relationship between outcomes/results and their performance measures to know where the leverage points are for improvement efforts.
To genuinely pursue improvement and innovation, most organisations (and the organisms within them) need to adopt new ways of working. Ban the old ways of using KPIs and adopt a method like PuMP.
Clarity of goals.
McKinsey here state that this principle is about, “strategic priorities that are clear and aligned” across the organisation; “communication is regular and transparent” and people have well defined roles.
I have to say that for the vast majority of organisations I have collaborated with, most people cannot (at first) articulate the vision or strategy. They can say the words, but there is no shared understanding or clarity of the goals. The language is action orientated, rather than outcome focused. There is a profuse use of weasel words. And to make matters worse, key ideas are conflated, such as, “as we transform we will endeavour to be more efficient and effective…”
Within the PuMP method, we use two techniques to ensure we have goal clarity. Firstly we ensure the goal is measurable by using three measurability tests.
1. No action statements. No delivering, enhancing etc, but clear outcome statements that are the intent of all the action.
2. No weasel words – clear language (perhaps that a 10-year-old would understand).
3. Each statement (or Result) has a single focus.
Then we map these result statements onto a cause-and-effect Results Map. Now that we have these Outcome/Result statements mapped out, we can now design and select performance measures for each of these Results. PuMP provides the technique for this process.
Customer Orientation.
McKinsey state that about 30 percent of the organisations seeking a transformation (or breakthrough) “sought to sharpen the organization’s customer focus, deliver exceptional customer experience” and use customer feedback to innovate.
Again, to me this is all quite vague as well. Every person in the organisation will have some level of customer orientation and will also have a completely different view of what that is. Which is precisely the problem.
There is an easy way to resolve this lack of clarity and ensure every person in the organisation has a clear understanding of what the customer orientation is.
Get the detail about this approach in these two articles:
1. How to ensure your Customer Strategy is fit for purpose
2. The Customer Centric Business Model
The five missed behavioural themes
The McKinsey research also points to five behavioural themes that appear to be underemphasised by organisations during a transformation. McKinsey refers to these as “blind spots”. They suggest that perhaps leaders were “more comfortable focusing on cultural and engagement-related shifts” rather than, competitiveness.
1. Performance edge
Firstly, they refer to Performance edge, where “organizations should be driven by clear financial and operating goals and metrics at all levels”. This all sounds okay and is often prescribed in management textbooks. However, in reality, when leaders seek to install “goals and metrics at all levels” people within the organisation end up with lists of KPIs. These are typically numbers or targets to hit which are connected to tasks and activities. Resulting in a tick-a-box approach to these metrics at all levels.
Using a method like PuMP will bring a measurement framework into being that is outcome focused and evidence based. Measuring the impact of action, rather than the completion of the action. Understanding the cause-and-effect relationships that move the organisation closer to their goals/outcomes (towards vision, mission, purpose).
Within ‘performance edge’ McKinsey refer to accountability, financial and operational management – but also, “measurable performance gains” being absent.
They state:
“Yet it is transparency—clear visibility into goals, metrics, and progress—that most directly enables disciplined execution and continuous improvement.”
In my experience, most organisations get the importance of this but lack a method in how to do it. And (you might have guessed this by now) that method is PuMP (see PuMP Academy page).
Only 27% of the 94 organisations that were within the McKinsey analysis included ‘performance edge’ within their transformation or breakthrough efforts. Yet, most leaders understand ‘transparency’ (as defined above) is critical. However, they attempt to cobble this together using all their bad habits from their old toolbox, which does not work. Possibly even more concerning is that these leaders think they have “got this”, with that list of operational and action KPIs at all levels.
2. Capabilities enablement
Refers to talent acquisition and deployment of teams to support the breakthrough. Combined with the enablement of technology.
3. Decision-making
Discusses leaders driving “top-down innovation” and being more decisive and data driven in their decision making. Which, to me becomes a problem when you only have operational activity metrics as your data. This data only tells you what happened, not the impact it had on your goals.
4. Competitiveness and, 5 Accountability
The McKinsey research article suggests that leaders also need to be looking “outside the organization’s boundaries to understand market trends, the competitive landscape, and the company’s value proposition compared with competitors”. Only 11% of the organisations studied identified competitiveness as something they were focused on. Similarly, only 10% of these organisations were looking into accountability specifically, “consequence management and financial incentives”. The article states: “accountability is a key theme that puts teeth into behaviors related to commitment, continuous improvement, and clarity of goals.” To me, this definition of accountability can be a two-edged sword with unintended consequences.
The top six insights for leaders-managers to be successful in their transformation or performance breakthrough
Now from all this discussion and supported by this study here are my top six insights for leaders to be successful in their breakthrough or transformation.
Firstly, get the foundations in place.
1. Customer Orientation.
Develop your Customer Strategy. The decisions from this analysis and subsequent documentation will identify all your customer groups, what value they get from you and what value they return to you. Once this analysis in done, then areas for improvement can be prioritised (see below). With your Customer Strategy in motion, everyone in your organisation will have a consistent customer orientation needed for your specific requirements. Learning how to improve the value of your customer portfolio over time addresses all elements of ‘completeness’ and market viability.
2. Evidence-based Measurement Framework.
This starts with developing a Results Map (PuMP Academy). This is an outcome based, cause-and-effect framework for Results. In the centre of the Results Map are the outcomes derived from your vision/mission/purpose. Everything leads to getting closer to the outcomes in the centre of the map. These Result statements are clear and measurable.
The leadership group develop the Results that come from the vision/mission/purpose. These are in the Pink and Green levels of the Results Map. Subsequent managers and teams then contribute their results in the blue and tan levels of the map. Everyone is engaged in the development of this. Then, the performance measures are designed and selected for each of the Results (where to start is with prioritisation). These measures establish an enduring framework structured around the Results and the cause-and-effect principle. No more list of KPIs around activity. No more “metrics” at all levels of the org-structure. But a framework of outcomes and performance measures.
With these two foundations in place, let’s now look at the remaining four areas.
Leadership and managing.
Let’s describe this as what the leaders-managers of the organisation do.
First, they lead the development of the Customer Strategy and Measurement Framework.
Then they:
3. Prioritise improvement efforts.
Select the Results/Outcomes (and then the associated performance measures) where the improvement effort is to be applied. This provides the level of goal clarity needed. An outcome with performance measures and targets for change. With the imperative to “get as close as we can to the target.” It is not failure to miss an ambitious target. Failure is faking it or not learning about how to get closer to the target. For other Results and Performance Measures that are important, but no change required, then targets can be applied as a way of signalling, “we need to maintain this level of performance”.
4. Fund and resource improvement efforts.
Be realistic about the level of capability with the organisation to get the change required. Asking people to do their business-as-usual work and also get change can lead to burn out and failure of initiatives. To realise the change needed, the teams need to be resourced.
5. Monitor for impact.
Use your evidence-based framework to progress of the strategy. Success is not hitting the target; it is about learning. Focus on the insights gained from hitting or getting close to a target. People are not accountable to a target, they are accountable to each other, their teams, the purpose, and for learning how to improve.
6. Embed a Performance Improvement Culture.
The leader’s role here is not to monitor a red/amber/green report tracking task completion, that is the project manager’s role. The leader’s role here is to monitor impact. Progress towards the prioritised goals/outcomes. Encourage learning and the sharing of these learnings. Prioritise resourcing or realignment of effort. This is not a one-year plan and check what happened at the end of the year.
Encourage curiosity, frank conversations, learning and iterations of improvement. The performance improvement culture is best established through shorter cycles of effort, impact, and learnings. In my experience these efforts are best done in 90-day cycles .
Summary of the Six Insights
If you, or your team or organisation is seeking a transformation or breakthrough in performance, then this is how to ensure greater levels of success.
The six key insights required to make your performance breakthrough successful.
Ensure you have the optimal foundations in place for:
1. A shared Customer Orientation – coming from the analysis and decisions you have made in your Customer Strategy.
2. An Evidence-based Measurement Framework – derived from your outcomes based, cause-and-effect Results Map and the Performance Measures attached to these Results.
Ensure your leading and management efforts are focused on:
3. Areas for Improvement Efforts are Prioritised. Using your Results Map, prioritise a Result (or two or three), establish a baseline of the current level of performance against these Results. Set targets for change against some of these prioritised measures. (see formula for prioritisation)
4. Teams working on these improvement efforts have the resources and funding they need.
5. Monitor for Impact. You are not tracking the activities and actions you are focused on the impact. What is changing and how did we achieve that change. What is not, and why. Then with those insights, what should we do now…?
6. Embed a Performance Improvement Culture. Encourage learning and the sharing these learnings. Re-prioritise as needed, realign resourcing and effort to make the desired progressed.
Use these six insights to guide the planning and implementation of your transformation or breakthrough in performance.
Further reading:
Attention: Breakthrough Seekers
How to create your customer strategy
photo by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash
