Butterfly Goo and Digital Transformation
The strategic value of an accelerator program
When asked about my journey to government I often say that I “followed the cookie crumbs”. It is no secret that government services often do not meet the expectations of citizens or their needs. I have experienced it first hand as a citizen and as a non-profit leader. My desire to be part of the solution (plus luck) led me to dedicate my career to serving the servants; to better enable our public institutions to deliver in a new era.
I have had the privilege and responsibility of leading hundreds of public servants through innovation processes like accelerators, sprints, and labs. Through these experiences I have observed a common pattern that lends itself to the learning process and the reason why accelerators are used to support organizational transformation. And that pattern is perhaps best illustrated by the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly.
Which brings me to goo.
To become a butterfly a caterpillar first digests itself, releasing enzymes to dissolve all of its tissues. If you were to cut open a cocoon at just the right time, caterpillar goo would ooze out. Once a caterpillar has disintegrated all of its tissues except for the imaginal discs, those discs use the protein-rich soup all around them to fuel the rapid cell division required to form the wings, antennae, legs, eyes, genitals and all the other features of an adult butterfly - Scientific American
Butterfly goo.
For most public servants an accelerator program will be a completely new experience. Like with any new experience it will come with:
- lots of uncertainty of outcomes;
- unfamiliar concepts;
- strange practices; and
- a general discomfort or pain.
This. Is. Normal.
The caterpillar can relate.
The good news is: you are not alone.
Many before you have embarked on similar journeys in the past. Through an accelerator program like the CSPS Digital Accelerator, as a participant you are:
- surrounded by your teammates;
- championed by your executives; and
- supported by a highly skilled facilitation team and advisors.
This is the material that makes up your cocoon.
What participants are embarking on is part of a larger transformation in the public service to better meet the needs of Canadians.
Organizational transformation requires a lot more than a policy or directive. These could be the imaginal discs. Transformation also requires structural changes, technology changes, changes to the ways we work and changes to the way we see the world.
Transformation requires all of us and our organizations to break habits and unlearn patterns of thinking that no longer serve citizens. To be willing to let go and turn to goo is a required part of transformation. A process that is not only uncomfortable but painful, yet yields extraordinary results.
What we practice we become.
Through an accelerator experience, it is our intention that you will become:
- more comfortable with new ways of working;
- more familiar with new technologies; and
- imprint new ways of learning and thinking.
…all of which will be brought back into our operating environment. Butterflies are pollinators after all.
The CSPS Digital Accelerator provides the cocoon needed for individual/team transformation to occur safely so participants can pollinate the organization with new ways of working.
The hands-on approach of accelerators, incubators, and labs help us demonstrate value through doing and showing; as opposed to simply telling. This helps accelerate change in the organization because most people need to “see it to believe it”. Furthermore participants in the process get first-hand exposure to users and ways of working that can be personally transformative.
If the pandemic taught us anything, it is that digital is not simply a nice to have. Digital is an imperative; not only in the sense of adopting new technologies to do the work of government but more importantly because we in the public service need to adapt to the demands of the digital era.
Canadians are depending on us. We need to be willing to let go of forms that no longer serve us and turn to goo before we can rise to the challenge.
