Jul
23
Three Principles of Change
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Photo by howlinhill
Dick Richards of the blog Come Gather Round provides the following three principles that assist in the leadership of change:
- In the realm of human activity, things change only after they are accepted for what they are. This principle is a slight variation of The Paradoxical Theory of Change. At a very simple level, the principle was illustrated when my wife and I decided to change our kitchen countertop only after we accepted the fact that the countertop that was in our home when we moved in was ugly and getting uglier….. That things change in the realm of human activity only after they are accepted for what they are is the reason that customer and employee satisfaction surveys are important. It is the reason that W. Edwards Deming insisted that fear be driven from the workplace: where there is fear there is likely to be denial or avoidance of what is. It is the reason that a recovering addict must say, “I am an addict.” It is the reason that honest feedback is essential to the growth of a person.
- Change occurs as a function of distress, vision, capacity for change, and achievable first steps. This principle was elucidated by Richard Beckhard as the Formula of Change Equation, which has several variations. My own favorite version is this: D x V x C x F > R. The equation shows that change can only occur when the product of distress, D, vision, V, capacity for change, C, and achievable first steps, F, is greater than resistance to change, R. Notice that if any of the four variables on the left of the equation is zero, change is not possible.
- People are more likely to act on their own conclusions than on someone else’s. This is one reason that organizational visions, missions, values, and strategies often fall far short in implemention: people are asked to act on someone else’s conclusion. It is why really good coaches and counselors guide clients to their own decisions rather than offer advice. It provides underpinning for permission marketing, quality initiatives, and religious institutions that are based on facilitating inquiry rather than providing answers.
These three principles are powerful in guiding change. I have often seem change efforts fail when one of these principles are violated, when we fail to accept reality as it is, when we fail to build dissatisfaction with the status quo, when we force our views onto others and when we move too far too fast and those around us don’t have the time reflect and to act on their own conclusions.
Technorati Tags: Change, Communication, Buy-in, Vision, Involvement, Execution, Management, Leadership, Business, Acceptance, Reality
Jul
22
Change fails when employees don’t grasp the rationale for the change
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Research by ROI Communication on change and communication found that change programmes fail if employees don’t grasp the rationale for the change. Roger D’Aprix, vice president of ROI Communications found that:
“the only way you can rationalize the change is by reference to the marketplace and the forces that are driving the organization…”
It’s important when communicating the rationale for change employees need to know:
- Who is our competition?
- What is the competition doing?
- What choices does the customer have in dealing with us as an organization?
- What are the customer’s needs and demands?
- What about our shareholders and the financial community — what are their needs and expectations?
- What technological forces are affecting our organization, our products and our services?
These questions create a powerful context that make the change meaningful. This helps employees understand that the organisation is not changing for the sake of change and that the change is not about driving a managers personal agenda.
In addition to a clear rationale for change, leadership is of utmost importance. During times of change leaders need to be more visible, more transparent, open and to keep the focus on the vision. D’Aprix puts it this way.
“Leadership at a time like this has to be extremely visible and doing lots of face-to-face communication… the good, solid leaderships do this fairly naturally. The bad ones keep it all secret and quiet, and they pretend that everything is fine. That’s a recipe for disaster.”
Communicating and leading change is a difficult task, however if you spend the time to answer the why the how takes care of itself. If the why is compelling, the how is emerges from the passion, participation and wisdom of those engaged in the journey.
Technorati Tags: Change, Communication, Vision, Business, Leadership, Research, Management
Jul
18
The leadership practice of being fully present and in the moment is one of the most powerful and difficult leadership practices we can master. This state of being is captured by Lao-Tzu as follows:
Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?
The Master doesn’t seek fulfillment.
Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present, and can welcome all things.
The practice of being present and mindful in our leadership is an important discipline. Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee discuss this topic in the article ”In a Bad Spot? Try Mindfulness” have shed some light of this critical leadership skill.
When navigating through uncertainty, especially during times to rapid change, crisis or when facing novel situations the ability to be fully present is critical. This is because in these types of situations, “When faced with this kind of turbulence, mindfulness becomes even more important. You need more, rather than less, information, and it is generally more difficult to get. You need to leverage your strengths and find those people who are succeeding despite the disruptions. You need to stay calm.“
Their advice?
“In high-pressure situations….. many people point outward: They find reasons for their problems outside of themselves. They blame others or the situation and they look for excuses. Good leaders point inward: They take personal responsibility for what is happening and what needs to be done, even when circumstances play a definitive role. Dan Sontag routinely asks himself, ‘What is my part in creating this situation and what do I, personally, need to do about it?’….. In high-pressure situations . . . most people point outward: They find reasons for their problems outside of themselves.”
The ability to be fully present and to respond appropriately to the situation unfolding before you requires self-mastery. One wrong step and the situation can spiral out of control. To help remain mindful the authors point out that one needs to be self-aware and have an understanding of your environment and the people around you.
Self-Awareness
“Knowing yourself enables you to make choices about how you respond to people and situations. Deep knowledge about yourself enables you to be consistent, to present yourself authentically, as you are. We trust—and follow—people who are real, who are consistent, whose behavior, values, and beliefs are aligned. We trust people whom we do not constantly have to second-guess…. Honing the skills of mindful attention to oneself enables us to make better choices because we recognize and deal with our internal state — thoughts, physical sensations, and emotions. We are then better able to make sense of people and situations around us. Our perceptions are clear, not clouded by our own filters, biases, and unexplored or unacknowledged feelings. Through purposeful, conscious direction of our attention, we are able to see things that might normally pass right by us, giving us access to deeper insight, wisdom, and choices.”
Environment and People Awareness
“For a leader, each conversation and exchange is an opportunity to gather valuable information about people, groups, and cultures, while building relationships and resonance. Attending carefully to our human environment and our relationships enables us to see details we may have missed and generate more accurate ideas about what is really going on. We notice subtle patterns in people’s behavior, group dynamics, organizational processes, and even worldwide events. When we are mindful, we are more in control of ourselves and situations simply because we see reality more clearly. … paying attention to the dance between people and groups. By listening to their conversations, watching how they interacted, and noting what they hinted about one another in one-on-one discussions with her, she saw subtle signs of competition and mistrust among the members of the group. She also noticed the opposing side’s quiet satisfaction in the face of this situation.”
The ability for us to be fully present, mindful of our internal state and the environment allows us to respond as true leaders. This practice is especially required when managing organisational change and crisis situations. The more we practice being present the better we are able to influence, guide and lead.
Technorati Tags: Mindfulness, Being Present, Change, Crisis, Practice, Leadership, Management, Business, Self-Awareness
Jul
15
Are you traveling without a map?
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Photo by Julalo
Jeffrey Phillips of Innovate on Purpose wrote an interesting post traveling without a map, in the post he talks about innovation and the importance of knowing where you’re going two topics that are central to leadership…
“… it is sort of like traveling without a map. If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there. Management teams have not been specific enough about their expectations for differentiation, growth and change in their organizations. Look at the most “innovative” firms. They have either charismatic leadership (Apple) or exceptionally clear guidelines for growth and differentiation (3M, P&G). The words and directions from these management teams filter down and create an understanding within the product teams and business units that focus the team on the right topics and help to drive out good ideas. Without good communications, clear goals and alignment to strategy, an innovation team or process will struggle - not because they don’t understand the process, but because the range of options and considerations is simply too large. Innovation teams and initiatives need clearly defined scope and outrageous expectations to help them focus on the right ideas to bring to market as new products and services…… The challenge most of these teams face isn’t structural or process per se, but the fact they deal in a significant amount of uncertainty due to poor goal setting and communication from their senior management teams as to what is important and how to prioritize the opportunities and challenges they face…”
If you don’t know where you’re going any map will take you there! It’s astounding how many teams and organisations lack clarity as to where they’re headed.
- Is your team or organisation traveling without a map?
- Is your map clear?
- Is it specific?
- Is it communicated on a regular basis?
- Do you use your map to guide your decision making?
Technorati Tags: Vision, Communication, Map, Leadership, Management, Business, Change, Innovation
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