Lessons from a Catalyst CEO: How Jean-Pascal Tricoire Sparked a 20-Year Transformation at Schneider Electric

In today’s rapidly changing world, the ability for an organization to adapt and transform is critical. But while nearly 75% of leaders believe that their organization risks going out of business without fundamental transformation in the next decade, only 29% say that their organization has been very or extremely successful in its transformation efforts.In today’s Redefiners, Schneider Electric Chairman Jean-Pascal Tricoire joins Russell Reynolds Associates CEO Constantine Alexandrakis and leadership advisor Marla Oates to talk about why and how he led an audacious transformation of the company to become a global technology leader in software, sustainability, digitization, and electrification. Jean-Pascal talks about how he got the board, executive leaders, and team aligned around this new sense of transformational urgency and the first steps he took in the process. He shares why he built a leadership team designed for tension and friction to drive better decision-making, and how he got things back on track if something didn’t go according to plan. And he shares how he maintained his own vision and energy throughout the 20-year transformation process.We’ll also hear from Sean Dineen, leadership advisor at Russell Reynolds Associates, who shares why organizations can struggle to make change stick—even when the need to transform is clear.Four things you’ll learn from this episode: What it means to be a Catalyst CEO to recognize transformation opportunities while aligning your board, leadership team, and people around the urgency How to use “micro-movements” and storytelling to create transformation at scale How to create productive tension and friction on a leadership team for better decision-makingThe differences of driving transformation as a board member versus a CEOIf you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiners episodes:Talking Transformational Leadership with RRA’s CEO Constantine AlexandrakisLeadership Lounge: From Firefighting to Future-Building: How Leaders Can Master Perpetual TransformationThe Eight Moves to Rewrite Your Leadership Playbook with Former IG Group CEO June Yee FelixLeadership Lounge: How to Create and Maintain Impact as a LeaderDriving Transformation with Volvo Cars President and CEO Jim RowanLeadership Lounge: Beyond Handshakes: How to Build Trust and Transform Executive Team PerformanceA closer look at the research from this episode:The Catalyst CEO: Why CEOs Can’t Lead Transformation Alone—And What the Best Do InsteadWhy Organizational Inertia Is Killing Your Transformation—And What to Do About ItTransformational Leadership Study