Unpacking the Marathon Petroleum Playbook for Success
Isobel Singh, Event Director: Margarita, what are the responsibilities of your dual role as Senior Director of Digital Transformation and head of the Enterprise Change Readiness Office?
Margarita Panzer: I essentially wear two hats. On the digital transformation side, I focus on initiatives like implementing productivity tools. My aim here is to deliver efforts that genuinely add value by making work more efficient and effective. Our Enterprise Change Readiness Office is essentially our change management hub. I currently manage a team of 12 change managers, and we're actively supporting around 42 projects right now. Last year, we supported over 100, so it's a dynamic and busy environment.
Isobel Singh, Event Director: That sounds busy, what leadership style do you find works best for driving successful digital transformation projects?
Margarita Panzer: A transformational leadership style is a natural fit for digital transformation. This approach emphasizes vision, inspiration, and empowerment. Transformation isn't just about technology; it significantly impacts people and processes too. If you can't articulate a clear vision, inspire your teams, and empower them to embrace the journey, they simply won't. Success depends on aligning teams around a shared vision and purpose, encouraging innovation and a culture of continuous learning.
Isobel Singh, Event Director: That adoption rate is remarkable. Why was a phased approach and a cross-disciplinary team so important for that success?
Isobel Singh, Event Director: That adoption rate is remarkable. Why was a phased approach and a cross-disciplinary team so important for that success?
Margarita Panzer: To achieve sustainable change, you need people to be on board. So, we started with small, phased pilots, gradually scaling up. We showed our people "day in the life" examples to prove how their colleagues are using it successfully.
Isobel Singh, Event Director: How do you mitigate the risks associated with implementing these digital products?
Margarita Panzer: There are technical risks to your existing ecosystems, which require strong partnerships between technical teams, operations, and your digital transformation specialists who are driving the vision. This creates the essential link between business strategy and the value these initiatives bring to the organization. Change fatigue stems from poor communication, a lack of visible progress, or simply feeling overwhelmed. In change management, we have the "what's in it for me" (WIFM) model which reminds us that the vision has to benefit individual users. The pace of change isn't slowing down; it's accelerating. So, we equip our workforce with tools such as digital foundations learning so people are prepared when new technologies arrive. The more they feel part of the journey, the less fatiguing it feels. We talk up how technology helps us achieve our broader strategic commitments. Change impact dashboards give leaders insights into areas experiencing significant change, allowing us to adjust timelines as needed. We have measures to empower individuals to manage change at their own level. Organizational change needs individual change - it’s a delicate ecosystem that requires careful alignment.
Isobel Singh, Event Director: To what extent does a collaborative ecosystem drive successful implementation and adoption of digital tools?
Margarita Panzer: It's absolutely critical because success depends on how well technology integrates into the entire organizational fabric, including our employees, partners, vendors, and internal stakeholders. And all of this needs to tie back to our strategic commitments. Implementations fail when a team works in isolation, then rolls out a tool, and no one adopts it because they haven't been part of the journey or don't understand the agile approach or the concept of an MVP product. Aligning and working towards the same end goal is vital.
Isobel Singh, Event Director: Are there projects driven purely by business strategy or value where the "what's in it for me" isn't immediately clear to frontline workers? How do you approach those?
Margarita Panzer: In those cases, having strong, active, and visible leadership sponsorship is critical. People take pride in following their leaders. If they understand that a project is something that will benefit the organization long term, they're more likely to follow suit. They may not experience a direct personal benefit, but they get to be part of a transformational journey in their careers, a unique opportunity not every employee gets.
Isobel Singh, Event Director: What characterizes that active and visible sponsorship?
Margarita Panzer: Seeing the leadership team aligned, speaking the same language, being encouraging, and acknowledging potential pain points is key. For example, if there's a lot of change saturation, a leader who says, "I'm going to see what we can pause because this really needs to land first," sends a powerful message of care and consideration. People want to know they're being thought of and included, not just told to do something that will change their day-to-day.
Isobel Singh, Event Director: How are you equipping the workforce with the necessary skills to thrive in this constantly evolving digital landscape, especially with technologies like AI maturing so quickly?
Margarita Panzer: Our comprehensive digital learning program started with a mandatory 40-minute foundations course covering 12 different technologies, along with crucial behaviors and mindsets. We then built out six different learning pathways, grouping technologies into longer, optional training modules (two-plus hours) based on our career development framework, offering three levels of self-serve learning. We also create six-minute video modules called "digital bytes" for quick learning. We conduct hackathons, and hold immersion days for our software engineers to keep their skills sharp. It's not just about the tech; it's about using insights ethically, aligning with core values, and fostering a growth mindset, agility, and continuous improvement.
Isobel Singh, Event Director: Do you implement a hybrid approach to learning, mixing digital e-learning with practical, in-person teaching?
Margarita Panzer: Yes, while we embrace e-learning and digital tools, some things can't be replaced. We incorporate knowledge checks with everything to track skill development. For example, after our foundations course, we saw a 65% increase in digital understanding. Gamification and leaderboards foster healthy competition and we celebrate progress – not just "wins" such as someone completing their first learning pathway. We also connect interested individuals with mentors on our digital teams to explore future career paths and gather new ideas.
Isobel Singh, Event Director: To wrap things up, what are you most looking forward to at the upcoming 16th Operational Excellence in Oil & Gas conference?
Margarita Panzer: Getting to be around industry peers, seeing what they're doing, and understanding effective techniques is incredibly valuable. Sharing and learning best practices from others is genuinely exciting for me.
