Accelerators are the secret to your organization’s success: Here is how to identify them

Against a backdrop of escalating geopolitical events and the immediate climate crisis, every business is navigating change of some sort. Nearly two-thirds of businesses have said supply chain disruptions and rising costs mean they are looking to innovate and are now seeking new business models. But large-scale, lasting change – the sort of transformation that actually works and drives sustainable growth – takes time.

So, how can business leaders balance the dual needs of immediate action and results with creating lasting strategic change?

Answer: by building teams of Accelerators who innovate and enable action now, whilst setting the business up for long-term success.

Accelerators are small, nimble and high-performing project teams who are single-mindedly focused on the goals and objectives that drive the business ambition. Typically, no more than 6 or 7 per team, they’re a selected group of highly motivated people who all share the same collective drive. They’re able to operate freely but within guardrails set by leadership, so are always working in support of the company direction. Crucially, they have the flexibility to experiment, test and learn rapidly, whilst making decisions as they go.

Businesses that have Accelerators in their organization are able to innovate, progress and scale faster than those without.

How to get buy-in and support from the leadership team

Leadership teams set the purpose, ambition and strategy for their business, so it’s imperative they inspire action and drive transformation from the top-down. To bring about lasting change, the first step is to make sure leaders are prepared to support your Accelerators.

Begin by setting clear standards that leaders must work with:

1. Align – collectively focus and align on the big idea for the transformation, the required success criteria and how Accelerators can support.
2. Agree – as a group, decide on what to prioritize and more importantly, deprioritize.
3. Commit – free-up and protect necessary resources (including people and time) and throughout the transformation programme, help remove any blockers standing in the way.
4. Support – provide ongoing guidance and encouragement to your Accelerators to drive progress, enable success, and champion big and small impact along the way.
5. Participate – become an active participant in the work, even if it’s light touch. Leadership involvement can vary but they need enough skin in the game to remain committed to ensure that success is possible.

Once leaders have set their agreed focus, understood their role and are willing to consistently play their part, Accelerators will have a far greater chance of achieving the impact the business needs.

Identifying your Accelerators

There are four criteria that make for a good candidate and team – using the PEAK framework will help you make the right selection.

Any significant and lasting organizational change will fail if it goes against the needs of the business and isn’t anchored by a long-term, enduring focus – notably, a purpose, ambition and strategy. Sounds obvious, but with evolving priorities, ‘shiny new toys’, and conflicting opinions it’s easy to lose sight of what’s important and get distracted.

Accelerator teams are a strategic tool that enable business transformation. Having a programme of these in place, each with their own area of focus and leadership support, will drive quicker progress and a culture of performance – ultimately helping you create value, not just for the organization but the audiences you aim to serve.

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