How leadership drives sustainable operational excellence

It’s time to stop thinking about process, system, and people transformation as separate initiatives, they should be one and the same.

When organisations take an integrated approach, the results are tangible. As part of a broader customer service transformation, one energy supplier achieved a 63% uplift in leadership capability and a +34 point increase in NPS by combining leadership and operational excellence.  

Often, operational excellence becomes a catch-all for 'making things better.' But while organisations invest in the latest tech, RPA, AI, now Agentic Automation, they often miss the investment in what makes transformation and new technologies stick: their leaders.

Gaps in leadership capability 

As highlighted in our recent blog discussing field operations – (Build Leaders, Boost KPIs: A smarter way to improve field performance), the numbers paint a clear picture:

• Only 27% of workers see their manager as highly effective (CMI).
• 82% of leaders enter management roles without formal training, so-called 'accidental managers’.
• Nearly half believe promotions are based on tenure or "fit" rather than capability.

The 2025 DDI leadership forecast adds urgency:

• 61% of leaders identify managing change as critical.
• Yet only 36% have been developed in this area.
• Meanwhile, 64% see setting strategy as essential, but just 37% have received training.

This gap in future-focused leadership capabilities directly impacts organisational readiness for upcoming challenges and undermines operational improvements as they are attempted.

The ability to land and sustain change, and to continuously evaluate and improve is what makes the difference. That’s why combining the best of both worlds, an operational excellence or change programme underpinned by our award-winning Leadership Excellence approach, delivers more than just short-term gains. It builds the skills, culture, and mindset needed for lasting impact, empowering leaders to tackle the next wave of challenges as the sector evolves.

Why Operational Excellence fails without Leadership

Operational excellence is a well-trodden path, and almost all utility companies already know what operational excellence looks and feels like: lean thinking focused on customer value, a mindset of continuous improvement, standardised processes that ensure reliability, and data-driven decision making.  

Frameworks and training programmes are everywhere, and in a sector where regulatory pressure and customer expectations shift faster than ever, operational excellence is thought of as foundational rather than exceptional.

However, the problem isn’t knowing what to do, or which model to use, its sustaining change, however it comes about.

Process improvements can lose traction, new systems invite workarounds, and as we see with every client we work with over time, change fatigue quietly takes hold.

Without leadership capability embedded at every level, operational excellence becomes another initiative rather than a way of working.

Ultimately, operational excellence isn’t just about running smoothly today. It’s about developing the skills, mindset, and capabilities that allow people and organisations to adapt, innovate, and thrive tomorrow. But futureproofing doesn’t happen through process alone, it requires leaders who can embed these principles into daily decision-making and culture.

The Leadership Multiplier

Operational excellence is sustained and amplified when leadership capability is embedded at every level of change. The most critical enabler to effective, efficient and adaptable operations is the knowledge and skills of your leadership population. Their ability to diagnose problems, engage support functions, and drive continuous improvement determines whether excellence becomes embedded or fades away after each change initiative.

Four interconnected enablers determine whether excellence takes root:

• Strategic clarity ensures leaders understand and embed company vision into daily operations, making mission and core strategies visible through every decision.
• Coaching mindset develops the ability to recognise, diagnose, and respond when things go wrong, or to continuously improve 'how we do things around here' before problems emerge.
• Empowerment and trust enables frontline decision-making, giving teams the authority to solve problems at the source rather than escalating everything upward.
• Resilience in change makes adaptation the norm rather than the exception, where new technologies and efficiencies are embraced and leveraged to continuously improve.

In energy operations, these enablers are deeply connected, overlook one, and the rest can’t perform at full strength. Align them all, and operational excellence becomes achievable. The challenge is keeping it that way, which requires leaders who embed these practices into daily work.

Leadership-Enabled Operational Excellence Model

At BFY, we deploy a three-layer system where each level amplifies the next:

• Leadership Excellence: Building capability to lead change, not just manage it.
• Operational Excellence: Executing with consistency, agility, and customer focus.
• Sustainable Outcomes: Embedding a culture of improvement that delivers long-term value.

These layers are interdependent. Leadership capability is the glue that holds and amplifies the system, consider how much more effective your operations would be at driving change with a 60% capability uplift and a long-term sustainability plan that keeps building on it? 

The business case is compelling. According to the 2025 DDI leadership forecast, organisations that develop strong leadership benches are:

• 3.5X more likely to be awarded as most admired companies
• 2.9X more likely to be recognised as top financial performers
• 2.8X more likely to outperform industry peers financially.  

These metrics transform leadership development from a "nice-to-have" initiative into a strategic imperative with measurable business impact, why not combine the investment while solving your existing business problems?

How can BFY help?

If you're leading operations, transformation, or change in energy retail, ask yourself:

• Are your leaders equipped to make change stick, or are they firefighting the last initiative while preparing for the next?
• Do your change programmes consistently hit their goals on time, on budget, without operational pushback?
• Are your teams maximising the technology and opportunities already available across your organisation?

If you answered "no" to any of these, you're not alone.

At BFY, we specialise in delivering transformational change that lasts. By combining operational excellence with leadership development, our clients typically see 5–10x ROI when leadership is at the heart of the programme.

We deliver projects whilst building your leadership capability, making future change easier. With the right skills, culture, and mindset embedded, your teams are ready to tackle whatever comes next.

Contact Kev Brown or Carl Dixon if you would like to talk about how we can support your next transformation.