Tracy Fenton - Specialists in Corporate Transformation

Tracy Fenton MBA
Principal, Leadership

•	Twice selected class spokesperson while attending Queen’s and Cornell School of International Business—and was chosen valedictorian
•	Extensive management experience in Corrections system
•	Grounded in psychology and adult education
•	Focused on working with vice-presidents and directors of organizations undergoing transformation

‘Changing Organizational behaviour’

Why is transformation so hard for organizations to do on their own? There are many answers to that question, but I think an important one is perspective. It’s different being inside a system than being outside it. External consultants like our team at Totem Hill can see and highlight dynamics and issues that might not be visible from within. Often the issues that block change aren’t clear from inside. They can be the products of habit, they might have to do with relationships or structures. Coming at it fresh, with no preconceptions, we can identify and assess what’s in the way.

Once you know what the blocks are, is it easy to move things forward? It’s certainly easier, yes. Structural change can change behaviour, for example—even a minor one like reorienting a reporting structure. behaviour and relationships determine culture, which is what you’re ultimately transforming. Importantly, relationships are a cornerstone of transformation, in the true sense of the word. They’re the stone around which the other stones are arranged. But they don’t determine the plan. The plan comes before you start to build: it can’t be predicated on relationships.

So culture change is critical? Yes. Culture is often a neglected piece in the way organizations look at transformation because it seems ephemeral. But it’s not. It’s material, it’s evident every day in the way the organization functions. It determines character, motivation, orientation: all the objects of transformation. And it can’t be forced. You have to create conditions that are inhospitable to unwanted behaviour while nourishing those you require. Once your plan is set and accepted internally, people will either change their behaviour or decide to get off the bus, so to speak. But if the cultural piece isn’t handled properly, you never get to that point in the process. Also, culture won’t change if it can’t be made explicit. Leaders sometimes get impatient with this; they just want it to happen. We help them understand and appreciate the importance of culture.

How has your experience in Corrections contributed to your approach to transformation? I worked in a maximum security prison for 11 years, with my last position being Assistant Warden of Programs. I managed a variety of unionized workforces; I acquired extensive operational experience. I gained deep understanding of the stresses leaders face, and how to handle those stresses. Really, Corrections is by nature a field of human change, transformation. It was in management at the prison that I started to become really interested in the transformation of systems. Getting my international business degree gave me the opportunity to work with systems in the corporate world, outside of government. I have to admit, I’m fascinated by what happens when the profit motive is injected into an organization’s rationale, how it can drive business.

Are there ways you like to ‘give back’ to society, to contribute? I’ve volunteered almost my entire life. And I don’t really think of it as ‘giving back’ so much. I guess it’s my preoccupation with systems, again. I can see how our society as a system bestows advantages on some and disadvantages on others purely by chance and circumstance. I was lucky to be privileged. It’s my responsibility, I think, to act on that privilege and help others who’ve come up in different circumstances.