Transformations Are Ugly
We see the outcome of transformations as an outsider but we don’t see the ugly to get there.The person that goes from being a couch potato to winning iron mans.The company that emerges from impending doom to become a leader in their industry. The community that is written off to bounce back to be a hub of vibrancy. But what we don’t see as outsiders is the turmoil and tumult that the person, company, or community went through to transform…and it is never pretty.
Transformations are ugly before they are beautiful because they have to be. The commitment and resilience to breakthrough and overcome requires things to get messy, dirty, and gritty to get to the other side. It it is the price to pay. It is also why most transformations never start or if they do, fail in progress.
We instinctually know that a transformation will be one of the, if not, the most challenging experiences we will go through individually, as an organization, or as a community and as a result refrain from starting or when the proverbial shit hits the fan we turnaround instead of forging ahead through the pain and discomfort. We know transformations will get ugly but we hope we will be the exception and hope beyond hope it won’t be ugly.
The ugly is where transformations are won or loss. It is true in every endeavor of consequence. There are no shortcuts and no hacks to transformations. There is way to avoid the ugly. Anything that feels or seems like a shortcut is going to loop right back around to where you are and just be a fools errand wasting time and effort.
Talk to a start up founder about the dark days and you will see the anguish on their face and in their voice. Same for a community leader who’s city has gone through a renaissance. A CIO or CMO that has led a digital transformation for their company can recount the days when it appeared all was lost and there was not going to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
Transformations of any type requires going into an abyss and through misery before coming out the other side in a better place. The real challenge isn’t whether a transformation is going to be ugly it is not knowing how long the ugliness is going to go on for. The length and extent to the pain and suffering of a transformation is individualistic. No two transformations are the same, which makes it impossible to tell someone how long to expect to have to deal with ugliness before it gets better.
There is only one way I’ve experienced to help prepare for and navigate the ugliness of a transformation and that is through the guidance of someone who has been through it. Why do startup founders, athletes, politicians, and high profile executives seek coaches and strategists to help them transform from where they are to where they want to be and pay them handsomely in the process? They do it because they need wisdom. They need the wisdom in its entirety but more specifically when they hit the ugly part and start losing confidence in the process and end state. The coach helps them navigate the ugly because the coach has been there themselves and/or with others.
My advice is that if you are going to embark on a transformation find yourself a coach to help you navigate the ugly. Their experience and wisdom will be invaluable during the best parts of a transformation and priceless during the worst.
