Brian Gorman, Author at TransformingLives.Coach

Rembrandt Didn’t Paint By Numbers: Mastering the Art and Science of Change.

December 16, 2014 By Brian Gorman

Whether you are a professional change practitioner, or an individual attempting to more successfully navigate the changes in your life, it is important to understand both the science and the art of change. Rembrandt offers us a valuable role model in this regard. Known as one of the best artists ever, he was a master of his craft.

At the age of fourteen, Rembrandt van Rijn (Rembrandt of the Rhine) entered The University of Leiden. Nine months later he left the university to apprentice with a master painter, Jacob Isaacsz Van Swanenburgh. In his book How Rembrandt Reveals Your Beautiful Imperfect Self, Roger Housden writes that in the 1620’s, “(an artist’s) standing, despite the general popularity of painting, was not high. In general, he was still considered more of a master craftsman than someone with a unique artistic talent.”[1]

Swanenburgh was no great artist, but he would have taught Rembrandt to prepare a canvas and grind colors; he would have shown him the elementary principles of drawing, perspective, and anatomy. Pigments were ground with linseed oil on a large, flat stone—the grindstone—to make the paint. Rembrandt would have made white paint from white lead and chalk, blue from ground glass, and lacquers from insects or plants.

Rembrandt began his formal education by learning the science of his craft.

By the age of nineteen, with two apprenticeships behind him, Rembrandt set up his own studio, which he shared with another painter. Here he began to experiment, including his early work in etching, an artistic technique that was just beginning to emerge. For more than forty years, Rembrandt continued to seek mastery of his craft, learning—and often defining—the science of it as he developed in his artistry.

Rembrandt didn’t paint by numbers.

This brief introduction to Rembrandt provides several lessons for those of us who practice the craft of change execution. First, just as Rembrandt learned about canvas and colors, perspective and anatomy, we need a firm grounding in our science. The science of change is about applying a uniform set of things (patterns, risk, tools, etc.) in a standard way, each intended to consistently accomplish a very narrow range of outcomes. It involves staying within defined boundaries, preserving prescribed meaning, and leveraging known solutions. The benefit of the science of change is that it allows for “stability.” When addressing challenges that are highly complex, volatile, and ambiguous, it is important to have access to means you can trust to create similar results most of the time. Applying the science of change also greatly simplifies the execution of less difficult changes.

Rembrandt became a master of his science. This provided him with a firm foundation, and one that he continued to develop and refine over his lifetime. However, it wasn’t this mastery alone that led to the renown he claims today. Rembrandt also became a master artist. He experimented, creating self-portraits that reflected anger, worry, and laughter. “He was able to see the realities of the three-dimensional world, and was true to what he saw; but he could also see what the ordinary eye cannot: the spirit, the life of a person, or indeed of a landscape. With one eye, Rembrandt saw every physical detail; with the other, he saw with the eye of imagination.”[2] Rembrandt was a student of light and shadow—what is visible, and what is not. Wherever he went, he was observing, making sketches, capturing and expressing the visible and the invisible. It is these things that imbue his work with life, that raise his art from being technically superior to the level of masterpieces.

Likewise, we can be skilled technicians, masters of our science. As such, we may be successful in the implementation of many changes. However, strong—even masterful—technical ability is not enough to ensure success. We, too, need to be artists. Just as Rembrandt, we need to study human mindsets and behaviors. We need to keep one eye on “the realities of the three dimensional world,” and one on the spirit that is driving those realities. We need to be students of the light and the dark, the visible and the invisible. The art of change is about applying “creativity and intuitive judgment” to unique circumstances where multiple scenarios of success are likely to surface. It involves exploring new horizons, generating meaning in the moment, and fostering innovative responses. Science informs us, while art shapes our viewpoint. Both aspects are essential to properly address today’s level of transformational challenge. The science is needed to establish a steady platform from which we can operate—providing trustworthy understanding, skill, tools, and so forth to select and deploy. The art is necessary so the items we select can be tailored (in substance and/or presentation) to meet the particular demands of each contingency.

While Rembrandt proudly claimed his space in the history of art, it is also clear that he was a student of those who came before him. He was a collector of art, and art books. You can see his homage to past masters in the dress and poses of many of his self-portraits. In practicing our craft, we too, need to be mindful of those who have come before us, of the science—and the art—that they have left for us, and from which we can learn.

Rembrandt’s struggles are legend. Three of his five children died in infancy, and a fourth died in his twenties. Rembrandt lost two wives. He suffered bankruptcy, losing his home and virtually all of his possessions. He suffered from melancholy, what we would now term depression. Yet through all of this, he prevailed. Through all of this, he grew in his science and art of his craft. His passion for making art never seemed to waiver. “All through his life, he was ‘making himself’ through the work of his art. Not deliberately, not self-consciously; but through a continual and dedicated working over and over of the same furrow he was given to plow, the furrow of art. Just so, we ‘make ourselves’ with our own form of dedication to a lifelong task, a relationship, or faith.”[3] Hopefully, none of us will experience the suffering of Rembrandt as we seek to “make ourselves” as change practitioners. Nonetheless, we need to draw from his lesson of passion, commitment and relentless pursuit to the work if we are going to move toward mastery of our craft.

The execution of change is not a casual craft. Rembrandt didn’t paint by numbers and if we are to truly practice our craft, we cannot either. We cannot ensure success by relying on unconscious competence; nor will success be routinely achieved by blindly applying a fixed change methodology, no matter how rigorous it is. If we are to consistently succeed, whether with organizational change or with the changes in our own lives, we require a balance of the science and art of change.

What are your thoughts on the science, and the art, of successfully navigating change? Add your comments below.

[1] How Rembrandt Reveals Your Beautiful, Imperfect Self: Life Lessons from the Master. Roger Housden; Random House, 2005; page 17.

[2] Ibid, pp. 33-34.

[3] Ibid, p. 156.

Intuition? You can’t always trust it!

December 9, 2014 By Brian Gorman

Do you rely on your intuition? For those of us who do, the reason is simple… Most of the time it serves us well.

However, if you are facing (or in the midst of) a really big change, intuition is one of those things that can all too easily lead you astray.

In this post I will briefly describe some of the ways in which difficult change calls for counter-intuitive action.

If you have a “Type A” approach to life, you may well find yourself in a leadership position when faced with change, whether at the personal or organizational level. Among the characteristics often seen in Type A’s are: rigidly organized, impatient, and avoidance of mistakes (or at least an avoidance of admitting to them). Day-to-day, these characteristics might serve you well; if the change you are facing is highly disruptive they can do just the opposite.

By definition, the really big changes we face come with surprises, unexpected twists and turns, unanticipated challenges. Yes, being organized helps prepare you, and allows you to move through the change in a more certain way. The caveat is “a more certain way,” not a certain way. Being too rigidly organized, having an expectation that things will all go the way they are planned planned, will test your patience…certainly not healthy if you are impatient to start with.

Impatience, the swift move from decision to action, is a risk from the outset of large-scale change. Remember “uninformed optimism” [see What’s Your Story? (Part 1)]. Impatience can easily get you on the wrong path forward if you have not clearly articulated your story. In addition, it will put distance between you and others whose understanding, commitment, and alignment are essential to the success of the change.

As for mistakes…they are part of the territory. You will make them. if you don’t acknowledge and own them, you are not going to be able to correct them, make the needed adjustments, and get back on the path to success.

“Don’t worry. Be happy!”

This may be a useful lens for seeing things during relative calm. Whether at home or at work, lower stress and satisfaction lead to higher productivity and a better quality of life. But, the disruption of change brings with it worry; frowns are liable to replace the smiles at times. If you want to keep people happy, lessen the change. if you want the change to deliver on its promise, find ways to help them be successful despite their discomfort. (And remember, the same holds true for you as you move through the change… you won’t always be comfortable; you can be successful.)

Big change requires decisive leadership!

There are times when building consensus is important. When engaging in a major change, however, consensus is not going to determine the path forward. Some people are less comfortable with change than others; some are more secure in trusting fate or sticking with the status quo. Some people will see the future through a lens closely aligned to your own; others will have a widely divergent view.

Listen to those voices that are important to hear. Encourage them to challenge you, to disagree, to offer alternative perspectives. But be clear as to how (and by whom) decisions will be made. When the time comes for decisions to be made, if you are the decision maker, make and own the decisions.

There are many other ways the intuition and other “steady state” ways of doing things can trip you up during major change. What has your experience taught you? Please post it below.

All Change Is Different. All Change Is the Same.

December 2, 2014 By Brian Gorman

Change is an optical illusion. Each of us looks at it and sees it through a different lens. For one person, moving the office coffee pot is a major change; for another it is only a minor disruption, adapted to before the end of the day. For one person, starting a new job is an exciting–perhaps even appealing–challenge. For another, it is life’s worst nightmare.

Why is it that all change is different? And if that is the case, how can it be that all change is the same?

As I wrote in an earlier blog, I use Daryl Conner’s definition of change as “a disruption in expectations.” Let’s apply this to the example of starting a new job. Personally, I have held at least 18 different positions doing at least a dozen different types of work in 8 different industries. Clearly, for me, starting a new job is exciting. It gives me the opportunity to take all that I have learned and apply it in a new context; to face new challenges; to learn new things; to develop new skills; and to meet new people. And, as I look at my decision to leave jobs, it has been when I have accomplished what I set out to do, when I have moved from addressing the challenges for which I was hired to maintaining the status quo.

At the other end of the continuum is a man I met a few years ago. “Bill” went to work for an employer directly out of college. Decades later he retired from the same employer, in the same department as he started. Within two years, unable to adapt to retirement, he became a consultant. You guessed it; he consults to his former employer.

Clearly, for Bill and me, the act of starting a new job has very different meaning; it is a very different change.

If that is the case, how can all changes be the same?

What those of us who have immersed ourselves in the field of change have learned is this. While the nature of the disruptions to expectations may be countless, the patterns of human response are consistent and they are predictable. It doesn’t matter whether the change is inconsequential or transformational. It doesn’t matter whether the change is perceived as positive or as negative. It doesn’t matter whether the change is at the deeply personal level, is a change at work, or is societal in nature. It doesn’t matter whether you are in Tampa, or Topeka, or Tokyo. All of these factors may affect the nature of the change, and even the outward reaction to it. What they do not affect is the predictability of the response patterns.

This deep understanding of change provides strong guidance on how to successfully navigate any change. Let me just highlight a few.

Understand how difficult the change journey will be as seen through the eyes of those who have to travel it. is it a major or minor disruption? Do they perceive it is a positive or negative change? Does it require changes in behavior, or does it go deeper, requiring different ways of thinking as well? Understanding the difficulty will allow you to appropriately calibrate the response.
Prepare for change. Learn the patterns. Know, for example, that even if the change is seen as positive, if it is a major change, the time will come when strong resistance will surface. (Just think of the journey from dating, to commitment, to marriage, to building and sustaining a long-term relationship.) If you understand that then you will recognize that your doubts, your questioning, those very specific problems you encounter are not signs of something being wrong, but are a part of the inevitable cycle of change. With that understanding, you are able to respond differently.
Knowing the patterns allows you to also prepare for–and thus execute–any specific change differently. Given that change is driven by a loss of control, for example, how, when, and to what degree are you able to return a sense of control for those who are being disrupted?

Underlying each of my Change Mentor posts is the application of this understanding. It guides how I approach each aspect of each disruptive change in my life. It doesn’t turn “change” into “unchange;” it is still disruptive. But knowing what to expect does lessen the level of disruption and provides clear guidance on shaping the path forward. It helps me never feel like a victim of change, even when it comes from the outside and I see it as negative.

Change is inevitable. Every change is different. Every change is the same.

Join the conversation… Share one of your biggest “Aha’s” or lessons learned about change. Do you think that there are underlying patterns in our response to change, regardless of the nature of the change? Add your comments below.

Telling Your Organization’s Change Story…

November 25, 2014 By Brian Gorman

It seems self-evident, but is so often forgotten. And, the larger your organization, the easier it is to forget… Organizations don’t change; change occurs through shifts in the way that people think and behave. Your organization–large or small, public or private, for profit or nonprofit–succeeds, or fails, through the people inside of it and their interactions with both one another and with those you intend to serve. This is why writing your change story is fundamentally no different for your organization than it would be for a personal change. Depending on the nature of your change and of your organization, you may need the press releases, the media announcements, the calls with investors. You do need your organization’s change story. It is the story of people changing. It is a personal story for everyone in the organization.

Not unlike last week’s post (Telling Your Personal Change Story), the first person you need to tell your organization’s change story to is yourself. Quite simply, if you don’t feel it and believe it, neither will anyone else. If you are not going to take the change to heart, neither will anyone else. If you believe “they have to change,” or “the organization has to change,” but you don’t, you–and your change–will fail. If this is a really big change for the organization, it means it is a big change for you as well.

Whether you are the person who is ultimately responsible for the change, have a position of authority elsewhere in the organization, or are someone with informal influence, you next need to tell the story to those who are in a position to drive the story throughout the organization. This will include, but should not be limited to, your direct reports. It should also include others who are highly influential even though they may not be part of the formal hierarchy.

Each of these people needs to feel and believe the story as fully as you do. They need to make it their own, and to tell it in their own words. And, they need to keep it whole. All of the guidelines for writing the story (What’s Your Story? Parts 1 and 2) hold equally true in its telling. Let’s take a look at the guidelines as they apply to telling your organization’s change story.

Start with your “why.” Why the change is important to the organization should be a constant, regardless of who is telling the story. But it is also important to tell why it is important to you. As Simon Sinek tells us, your why is in your heart. With this is mind, don’t try to tell others why it is important to them. Each person needs to determine that for himself or herself.
Write from the future. Tell the story from the future.
Identify how you will know when you have arrived at your destination. What are the indicators that tell you that progress is being made, not just in putting things in place, but in actually shifting the thinking and behaviors that need to change? The story identifies indicators at the organizational level; you need to tell people what these indicators mean to them.
Establish your time frame. The time frame in the story is the time frame. However, it will also be important to tell people (when it is known) what the time frame means for them.
Create a “sparkline.” Nancy Duarte describes the sparkline as the constant flow in the story between “what is” and “what could be.” The story has a sparkline, and it is there for a purpose. Use it. The sparkline helps people let go of the current state, and find hope in the future.
Determine who the participants in your story will be, and their roles. You may not know who will elect to make the journey, and who will opt out. You may not know the job titles, or the names, of those who will complete the journey. When you know these things, they should be addressed. In the meantime, you do know the attributes of those who will succeed in the future state. Be clear in articulating them as part of the story. For example, Today we celebrate individual achievement. As we move into the future, our focus is shifting to acknowledge how much we need every person to achieve, and how much we are dependent on one another. This time next year, the individual who positions himself or herself as the star will be the outlier. Those teams that are strong contributors to our success are the ones we will be acknowledging.
Honor the past. There is an organizational past to be honored. And, there is a personal past, both for you, and for those to whom you are telling the story.
Respect and believe in yourself. As you tell the story, if you do not respect and believe in yourself, those who are listening won’t respect and believe in you.

During change people need to hear what it means to the organization. They may need the data, the number of projects or initiatives, the revenue projections, and all of those things that are a part of “the rationale” for initiating such a major initiative. The “big announcement,” whatever form it may take, will be enough to excite some (or even many) to begin the change journey.

But if the journey is long, if it is difficult, they need more. They need a consistent story across the organization, but not the same story. They need to know what the journey means to them, and what is required for them to succeed in the future that your organization is creating. They need to know that you believe in that future, not just in your head, but in your heart as well. They need to hear the story and make it their own.

Telling Your Personal Change Story…

November 18, 2014 By Brian Gorman

For the past three weeks we have been focusing on your change story, why it is important, and guidelines for writing it. While those posts apply to both personal and organizational change, today’s post is different; it is only about your personal change story. In my next post I will focus on telling the story of an organizational change.

If your story is about a personal change, who do you tell it to?

Look in the mirror. You are your first audience. And, you will be your most frequent audience going forward. Why? Quoting Henry Ford, “If you think you can do a thing, or you think you can’t, you are right.” Wherever your thinking is today, it will shift. Some days you will have a greater belief in your ability to succeed than you do today. Other days, you will have less. That is why you write your story from the future. It speaks to having succeeded, to achieving what you have set out to attain. You need to believe that it can–and will–happen, or you will never get there. The larger, more disruptive the change is, the truer this is.

A few years ago I was on a spiritual retreat. One of my personal stories surfaced in a group session. It was a painful one, but one that I believed was true. The facilitator worked with me to write a new story, one filled with promise and positive outcomes. That was the easy part!

He then brought me in front of a full-length mirror, and had me look myself in the eye. He asked me to tell myself the new story. Hesitantly, with uncertainty, I struggled through it. For weeks after, every morning in front of the mirror I struggled to tell myself my new story. Sometimes I was eye-to-eye with me; sometimes my eyes were averted. Then, one day, I stood there, told my story, and started smiling. A laugh erupted. It was clear that I believed the story, and was on my journey to achieving it.

That story is still alive today. It is becoming more and more fully realized. And, each morning I stand in front of the mirror, and I tell myself the story once again, from my heart.

Tell it to your personal anchors who are, or will be, taking the journey with you. Perhaps they helped to write the story. Perhaps they will help you to edit it as you move forward, to adjust to the shifting environment, the unexpected obstacles, the unanticipated encounters. What you want most is for them to anchor you in the story; to hold you accountable for living into it.

In my “Anchors, Aweigh” post I also talked about the anchors that you need to let go of, and those which will require a different relationship in the future if you are to succeed. Those anchors, if they are people in your life, need to hear the story as well. Ideally, they should hear it directly from you.

Stand in front of the mirror, story in hand,
Look yourself in the eye, and
Start telling yourself of your future life, and how you will get there.
As you talk, also listen, and feel it in your heart.

WHAT’S YOUR STORY? (PART 3, GUIDELINES 6-8 FOR WRITING YOUR STORY)

November 11, 2014 By Brian Gorman

In my last post I introduced the first five guidelines for writing your story.

Start with your why.
Write from the future.
Identify how you will know when you reach your destination.
Establish your time frame.
Create a “sparkline.”

In this post I will describe the final three guidelines. Keep in mind, while the examples may be written in terms of either organizational or personal change, the underlying principles remain the same for both.

6. Determine who the participants in your story will be, and the roles they will play.

This is not an easy one! And, you may not be able to fully answer it at the outset. Nonetheless, it is important that you give significant thought to who the participants in your story will be, and the roles that they will play.

In an earlier post (Anchors, Aweigh) I wrote about anchors. I have found it easiest for people to determine the participants in the story by beginning with some anchor questions.

1. Who are the people that are anchoring you now? 2. What is the nature of the anchor each plays? 3. What is the relationship that exists between the two of you? Now, reflect on each of these relationships again, applying the same “from the future” lens as we discussed last post. 4. Will each of these people still play an anchoring role in the future? 5. If so, will it be the same as it is now, or how will it be different?

Let me give you an example.

My client (let’s call him Frank) had been brought in to head up a manufacturing facility that was one of several in a global organization. The facility had been built to produce a product that had been designed by his predecessor, Steve. Steve was a hero not just at the facility, but throughout the organization. And, he was an extremely weak leader. Here is how Frank thought through these questions regarding Steve.

Steve has to be a participant in this story.
Steve is anchoring this facility in two ways right now. On the positive, he is seen as a guru, the reason the facility is here. If anyone has any questions about the product, thoughts on improvement, etc., they go to Steve. On the negative, under Steve’s leadership the facility has developed a poor performance record. There are major quality and productivity issues that Frank has been brought in to address.
In discussions with Steve before he accepted the assignment, it became clear to Frank that Steve had never wanted to lead a facility, and was glad to be able to step out of that role. At the same time, Steve felt threatened; if he left his current position he felt that he would lose prestige, and might well lose any relationship he enjoyed with the facility and its people.
Frank had negotiated the right to terminate Steve. He also knew that doing so would be extremely disruptive and undermine his credibility. Not only was Steve highly revered; he was the “source of knowledge” regarding all aspects of their only product. As we talked things through, Frank decided that, if at all possible, the future story had to include Steve in a position that would allow him to continue to bring value to the facility.
A new position was created for Steve. He became “Product Guru.” Frank and Steve worked together to define his responsibilities so that it was clear to everyone that Frank was in charge; Steve (gladly) stepped out of any operating responsibility. A program was set up that allowed Steve to develop a pool of employees who had a deep understanding of the product. Finally, the Board of Directors renamed the facility in honor of Steve; it became the only facility in the company that was known by the name of a person, rather than its location.

At the outset, Frank could not know how the story might end… He did know that Steve needed to be a part of it.

One more step is required to fully complete the participant list for your story. That is to identify those who have not been participants in the past, but are needed to bring your story to fruition in the future. If your story has you comfortably enjoying your retirement, it may require a financial planner. In the example I just laid out, Frank knew that he needed the guidance of someone who understood the patterns of change.

What are the answers to the anchor questions above for your story?

Who are the new participants that you will need to write into your story?

7. Honor the past.

Looking at the example above, you will see that one of the things that Frank did was to honor the past, to recognize and value what Steve had made possible.

All too often when planning or in the midst of change, the past gets rewritten. The mindset seems to be, “If they had done things differently, we wouldn’t be in this situation today.” The truth is, no matter what has been done in the past, change is inevitable. And, sometimes, big, highly disruptive change will happen.

Look at the past for what it has made possible. It has brought you to this point. It has given you (and/or your organization) the knowledge and the resources that are now available to help successfully navigate to the future. It has helped to shape the thinking that will allow that future to be defined.

Breaking with that past is always difficult; that difficulty is made worse when those who created and sustained what is in place are the ones who will have to now dismantle it. Sometimes the unconscious (or even conscious) decision is made to disparage the past as a way of making it easier to let go. (How many times, for example, have you seen someone who regularly has talked about enjoying their job in the past, suddenly begin to bad-mouth everything about it as they prepare to leave for a new job elsewhere?)

In my own experience and that of my clients, the truth is, if we can find a way to honor and respect what has come before, to acknowledge what it has made possible and where it has brought us, it is much easier to stand on that and step forward into the future.

How will you honor the past in your story?

8. Respect and believe in yourself.

Frequently I will have a client say to me, “Why did I wait so long to…(decide to change careers, decide to start my own business, redirect our organizational strategy, decide to come out, etc.)?” All too often this will be followed by some form of negative self-judgment. This only undermines your belief in yourself, and in your ability to create the future that is your why.

How will you demonstrate respect for, and belief in, yourself in your story?

Those are the eight guidelines that I use with my clients, whether organizations or individuals, as I work with them to write their stories.

If you have a change story you are telling yourself (and/or others), how well does it line up with these guidelines?

If you have not yet written your story, it is important that you do so. It won’t happen in one sitting; but you should start it today. And remember, start with your why!

Do you have a change story you want to share with readers of Change Mentor? Email me at brian@briangorman.net.