Disruption Is The New Normal

By Monica E. Oss, Chief Executive Officer, OPEN MINDS

No one likes to change. That probably explains the 30 million copies sold of Who Moved My Cheese?

But for the past decade—and likely the decade ahead—change has been a constant, and disruption is the new normal. And a new survey report—Monitor Deloitte’s 2025 Chief Transformation Officer Study—a survey of transformation/strategy executives across industries, found that external forces are driving organizational transformation and the need for change.

The changes that are driving disruption are not surprising. A changing competitive landscape was identified as the driver for 62% of executives. That was followed by new technology (50%), macroeconomic pressures (38%), socioeconomic pressure (15%), regulatory change (15%), and workforce virtualization (15%).

To address these external market pressures, 65% of executives said they are investing in new technology. The same proportion (65%) reported that they are making process improvements within their organization.

These tech and process transformation initiatives require investment. Organizations have budgets that are 2.5 times higher than before to make these transformations happen. Such spending includes investments in more experienced leaders, embracing change management, technology, and prioritizing measurement and accountability.

The most problematic impediments to the success of these organizational transformations are related to the strategic plan and implementation of the strategic plan. Sixty-two percent of executives said they lack the resources to implement the plan—including bandwidth, skill sets, and change management tools. Half (50%) reported having a lack of clarity about the “North Star” in their plan, and 58% said that their strategic plan had an unrealistic time horizon for achieving their intended return on investment.

One byproduct of a disruptive market and a shifting organizational strategy is an increasingly urgent and serious need to restructure the organization itself. And changes in strategy often require a look at how the organization and its leadership team function. We recently had a chance to hear about how one executive lead a leadership realignment in the OPEN MINDS Executive Roundtable, Refining Your Optimal Leadership Structure: The Open Hearts Case Study, featuring Christopher Keck, DBH, chief executive officer (CEO) at Open Hearts Family Wellness. Dr. Keck shared how he “righted the ship” by restructuring his executive team.

Open Hearts, based in Arizona, is a $9 million community mental health clinic that serves 2,000 consumers a year. Operating for 50 years, its services now include behavioral health homes with psychiatry, case management, counseling, and substance abuse treatment services. Specialty services include wraparound care, transitional housing, birth-to-five care, and family support.

Dr. Keck shared that in 2024, an unexpected change on the executive team led to internal conflict, declining team alignment, unwanted power dynamics, an accountability gap, and performance issues. In response, he restructured the executive team into a flatter leadership hierarchy to support a streamlined decision-making process. To operationalize that structure, he established clear ownership of priorities and performance measures, as well as selecting leaders with demonstrated adaptability, strategic thinking, and operational skills.

As a result of this restructuring initiative, Dr. Keck saw improved organizational performance. Open Hearts saw its turnover rate drop from 84% to 30%, increased its operating margin by 12%, and improved its employee net promoter score (NPS) by 70 points.

Dr. Keck shared a couple of pieces of advice for executives who are faced with similar challenges and need to realign the leadership structure of their organizations. He advised them to align the proposed structure of the executive team with “the math” of the budget, while making sure to choose leaders with the skills to do the job.

One key in any restructuring initiative is to make sure the proposed model is feasible in terms of workload and in terms of the budget, Dr. Keck noted. This means that level-of-effort estimates and compensation plans need to be part of the analysis. “Structural change needs math,” said Dr. Keck. “What resources can you allocate, and do the leaders have sufficient time to meet their responsibilities?”

But beyond planning the position specifications and compensation, it is critical to find team members with the right fit. Dr. Keck noted that elevating individuals to the executive team solely in recognition of their technical capabilities is insufficient for success. It is critical for the CEO to promote and hire people with soft skills like people skills, culture-building skills, and stress management skills—and the ability to meet productivity and production standards while driving compliance with policy.

“Not all problems are systemic,” said Dr. Keck. “You need a vision champion who is the embodiment of organizational values.”

To achieve sustainable success in a shifting market, leadership structures must be as flexible as organizational strategies—the market drives strategy—and strategy drives structure. To quote author Jim Collins, “When facing chaos and uncertainty, and you cannot possibly predict what’s coming around the corner, your best ‘strategy’ is to have a busload of people who can adapt and perform brilliantly no matter what comes next. Great vision without great people is irrelevant.”