How applying the Three C’s Model empowers executives to lead organisational change effectively

When organisations undergo a transformation, having strong executive leadership is essential. However, empowering leaders to drive change successfully relies on creating clarity, gaining commitment, and building organisational capabilities. 

The "Three C's Model" provides a framework for assessing and strengthening these interdependent factors. This model asserts that the likelihood of effectively executing strategy equates to the multiplication of how the organisation scores on those three dimensions.

By evaluating clarity, commitment, and capabilities—and targeting improvements in the most crucial gaps—leaders can systematically remove barriers and empower their teams. 

Assessing them also establishes a baseline for measuring progress over time. The model, though simple, gives leaders intuition and insights that may be unexpected yet invaluable for transformation. 

Let’s explore how applying the Three C’s Model empowers executives to lead organisational change effectively. We will examine what each “C” entails, its interconnected dynamics, and recommendations and examples for boosting executive leadership through this approach.

Understanding the Three C’s

The Three C’s model provides a framework for empowering executive leadership by evaluating and strengthening clarity, commitment, and capabilities in the organisation. Created by the European Learning Alliance, it allows leaders to assess the likelihood of successfully executing strategy through a simple multiplier effect.

Clarity

First, clarity refers to how clearly the strategic message and vision have been communicated across the organisation. This includes assessing both how well-formulated the messaging is and how thoroughly it has reached all impacted levels. Leaders must ensure all stakeholders understand the specifics behind organisational shifts.

Commitment

Commitment reflects how invested and aligned people feel regarding the change. This not only encompasses emotional buy-in but also how well the change aligns with the company’s culture and values. Employees will resist changes that feel incongruent with past identities or ways of operating.

Capabilities

Capabilities involve providing adequate resources and support to make the change possible. This includes assessing tangible needs like time, budget, and skills. But it also entails empowering teams by removing obstacles and barriers along the way.

These three factors multiply, so weakness in any one area drags down the likelihood of success in another. But by using this model to identify and improve clarity, commitment, and capabilities, leaders can systematically enable organisational transformation.

Applying the Model for Empowerment

The true value of the Three C’s model is in its application for empowering leadership. Executives can leverage this framework in several ways:

Conducting Focus Groups

By running executive focus groups using the Three C’s lens, leaders gain invaluable perspectives on strengths, weaknesses, and barriers impacting transformation. 

Asking executives to score and explain their ratings for clarity, commitment, and capabilities provides data to inform planning. Comparing scores also allows benchmarking and measuring progress over time.

Identifying Priorities

The model spotlights areas needing improvement. Low scores demand an investigation into root causes. Leaders can then target resources toward strengthening the most crucial gaps first. This prevents wasted efforts and enables data-driven prioritisation.

Informing Strategy

Understanding shortcomings within the Three C’s indicates the most impactful interventions. Executives can customise strategies, messaging, and change management plans to boost clarity, commitment, or capabilities based on the organisation’s specific needs.

Tracking Progress

Executives can quantify transformation progress by re-assessing the Three C’s at intervals. Comparing scores over time and against initial baselines shows the impact and helps celebrate wins.

The simplicity yet rigour of this model gives leaders an intuitive, powerful mechanism for assessing and enabling change. Executing strategy rests on how effectively executives empower their workforce. The Three C’s provide a blueprint for this empowerment.

Tips for Boosting Each “C”

While the Three C’s Model identifies areas for improvement, leaders must still do the work of addressing those gaps by boosting clarity, commitment, and capabilities. Some examples include:

Improving Clarity

• Craft clear, concise vision statements and messages about the transformation
• Ensure consistency across all communication channels
• Institute regular team-level question-and-answer discussions
• Leverage multi-media formats, including video, to bring messaging to life

Driving Commitment

• Connect change initiatives directly to organisational values and purpose
• Involve teams in shaping implementation plans so they feel ownership
• Have executives buy-in through words and actions
• Link change benefits to employee pain points for relevance

Building Capabilities

• Assess skill gaps and provide adequate training resources
• Define measurements for success and progress tracking
• Allocate sufficient budget and staffing to support the transition
• Visibly remove barriers and obstacles for teams

While these present starter ideas, leaders will need to customise their approach based on the specific gaps and opportunities highlighted through the Three C’s Model analysis. The key is to deliberately improve clarity, commitment, and capabilities in tandem rather than focusing selectively. This holistic empowerment across dimensions is what enables transformation.

Clarity Creates Commitment – which Catalyses Capabilities

Executing on bold visions requires empowered leadership that rallies the organisation through change. By leveraging a simple but rigorous model that multiplies clarity, commitment, and capabilities, executives can systematically identify priorities and remove barriers to transformation.

The Three C’s framework provides a mechanism for assessment, planning, tracking, and celebrating progress. Executives who embrace the multiplication power within the Three C’s will find it a guiding light as they lead their companies to places they have only dreamed possible. 

The work ahead is demanding but battle-tested. By amplifying these Three C’s in concert, leaders will propel their organisation powerfully into the future.

At Actuate we always start off any strategic change management programme with a Three C's workshop alongside the executive team. Get in touch if you'd like to learn more - kevin@actuate.co.za