organizational change Archives - Page 8 of 9

When It Comes to Change, There Is No Immunity.

June 16, 2015 By Brian Gorman

Change: A Disruption in expectations. You think it’s going to be sunny, and get caught in a rain shower. You plan on retiring from the employer you have been with for twenty years, and find out they are closing their US operations. You are contacted by a recruiter who is asking you to apply for a position that would be a significant promotion.

Change…

What you see as a minor change may be significant to me. What I see as a positive change may be a negative change to you.

Change is an inherent part of life. There is no immunity. Whether it is a personal change or work-related, there are an almost infinite number of adjustments that are made just to maintain the status quo. You spend a little more than you had planned on your children’s back-to-school wardrobe, and cut back for a week or two on the grocery bill. Sales are up for the third quarter, and you treat your sales department to an unexpected night on the town. The old service delivery model is not working as well as it used to, but there is another tweak that can be made to help it last a bit longer. Sometimes the changes are that minor, and sometimes they are transformational.

Change…

Some people will tell you they avoid change as much as possible. Others will tell you that they embrace change.

I am one of the latter, so let me tell you what that really means to me. I look forward to the challenges of change. I look forward to the lessons that I will learn, the growth that I will experience, in going through my own change or guiding another through change. i look forward to the opportunity of sharing my forty years of change experience with others so that they can learn what I know, and I can continue to learn and grow.

Let me tell you what else it means. I look forward to change selectively…Not coming at me from every direction, not thrust on me unexpectedly by others. I look forward to enough change to keep me challenged, but not so much change that it overwhelms me. I look forward to change when I am able to balance it with stability and equanimity at the same time.

Change…

There is no immunity.

There are, however, inoculations that will help reduce its impact.

First, no matter who initiated the change, don’t allow yourself to be victimized by it. You may not be able to call for the hand to be re-dealt. You can control how you respond to the hand that you get.

Next, learn the patterns of human response to change. Knowing how you and those around you will be responding as you travel through the life cycle of a change gives you back some sense of control. You can be prepared for the response. Perhaps you can even be doing something to accelerate it if doing so will help move the change forward more quickly. Or, you can take steps to mitigate it, if the next step in the pattern (left unaddressed) will disrupt the forward momentum of the change.

As an example of the former, knowing that “experimentation” follows “positive perception” when you are building commitment to a change, you might develop a means for your early adapters to begin to experiment with the new tablets before you roll them out across the organization. As an example of the latter, knowing that resistance is inevitable in the case of major change, and knowing that resistance is driven by either willingness or ability, you may focus early on communicating what will be done to help people develop the skills they will need to succeed with the change.

The third way that you can reduce the disruption of change is to strengthen your own resilience, the resilience of those around you, and–for organizational change–the resilience of those throughout the organization.

Resilience is the ability to re-calibrate to disruptions with minimal impact on your productivity or the quality of the work that you do. In essence, what this means is that the more resilient a person is, the more quickly they can be back to 100%, and the less what they are doing will suffer in the interim.

We will be covering more about resilience in future posts. In the meantime, know that: while each of us starts with a baseline of resilience, there are ways that it can be strengthened; when working with other people, it is possible to build on the resilience strengths that each of you brings; and it is possible to hire for resilience. This is always a good idea, since whatever skills the individual is bringing to the job will most likely become obsolete sooner rather than later; you want people who are able to re-calibrate to your changing needs.

If you want to find out more about resilience before I post on it again, feel free to contact me directly. Also, check out Dr. Linda Hoopes’ radio blog and her website.

What are you doing to help reduce the disruptive impact of change? Comment below. Share your experiences.

Prepare For Your Journey.

June 8, 2015 By Brian Gorman

One of my favorite authors is Phil Cousineau. In The Art of Pilgrimage he writes, “If you don’t take the time to sit and reflect before you leave, you’ll surely be remembering what you’ve forgotten on the way to the airport or on the plane. By then its too late. This tends to be true for what goes into your bags as well as what goes into your heart about your journey.”

This quote came to mind earlier today as I sat down to categorize my blog posts. There are 40 of them now, so I felt it was time to give them some structure. I have had the framework in mind for some time now: 1) Create Your Change Story; 2) Plan the Journey; 3) Prepare for the Journey; 4) Take the Journey; 5) Return Home. I have not yet written anything on the return home. You can access each of the other four “chapters” using the menu to your left.

I knew when I began to categorize them that some of the posts were likely to fall into two or more categories. While I lift things out to talk about them in each post, they are really interwoven with one another, and often apply across a considerable distance in the change process.

What did catch me a bit off guard–though as I reflect on it is not that surprising–is how many posts are about preparing for the journey. Why is this?

Most of us approach change (personal and organizational) with some understanding of where it is taking us, and a belief that we know what to do do get there. There’s a strategy, a goal, or outcomes of some sort that we are seeking to achieve. And, there’s a plan to execute in order to achieve the desired end result. (In fact, as many of the posts in Create Your Change Story, Plan the Journey, and Take the Journey reveal, we’re not always well prepared in these areas either; but, we tend to think we are.)

Rarely, however, do we focus on fully preparing for the journey itself. We may make physical preparations (e.g. get a passport, purchase tickets, reserve lodging for travel; meet with a career coach, research certification options, register for classes for a career change). But that is not enough. “Being ready mentally, spiritually, and physically makes us lighter on our feet, more adroit at making decisions, and perhaps can even keep chaos at bay,” (Art of Pilgrimage).

Preparing for your journey means more than packing the bags, or selecting a path forward. The change journey itself is a “whole person” experience; no aspect of your being is left untouched by a difficult change. Fail to prepare any aspect of your being, and you are putting success at risk.

And, it’s not enough to prepare yourself for the journey. Those who are making it with you require preparation as well. Knowing where you are going, what the journey will be like, how you will be measuring progress, what is changing and what is not, what role each person will play in the change process, what will be done to help them be successful with the change…all these things and more give people a greater sense of stability and control. Each one contributes to the preparation.

Here are a few of the questions you will need to address. (Guidance on many of these is provided in the Prepare for the Journey section of the blog.)

Do you really have to make this change, or is it just a good (maybe really, really good) idea? (post)
How bad does it hurt to not make the change? (post)
Are you talking with the right people? (not)
What needs to change about how you and others think, both to make the journey and to maintain success once it is completed? (within multiple posts)
What needs to change about how you and others act, both to make the journey and to maintain success once it is completed? (within multiple posts)
What are your anchors, and how will your relationship with them have to change in order for the change to succeed? (post)
What do you need to do in order to be prepared for the resistance that will inevitably arise during the change journey? (post)
Where are your boundaries? (post)
What plateaus will you be visiting along the way, and how will you utilize your time on them? (post)
how are you going to maintain your balance? (post)
Do you have enough discipline to succeed? If not, what options are there for developing more, or for making the change less demanding? (posts)
Do you have the courage the change will require for success? If not, what options are there for developing more, or for making the change less demanding? (post)
Who do you need to enlist in the change? How and when will you do that? (post)
Are you prepared to effectively utilize both one-way and two-way communication…at the right times, in the right ways, with the right messages? (posts)
What are you going to stop and or slow down so that you have everything that is required (time, resources, change adaptation capacity, etc.) to succeed with this change? (post)
Who do you need to listen to in order to be successful? (post)
Are people–including you–prepared for the catharsis that is an inevitable part of big changes? (post)
Are you prepared to commit to outcomes, and not just actions? (post)
Do you know when to trust, and when to not trust, your intuition? (post)
Are you prepared to make mistakes, own up to and learn from them, and move on with the change?
Are you prepared to tell the change story? Is the change story prepared to be told? (posts)
And, at every step of the way, are you prepared for what comes next in the change process?

When you are planning the journey, don’t forget to plan for the preparation. Without it, you may travel somewhere. But it is unlikely you will reach the destination you set out to attain.

What do you do to prepare for difficult change? Share your story.

Communication Goes Both Ways.

March 3, 2015 By Brian Gorman

In our last post I wrote about the importance of one-way communication. This week, we will take a look at two-way communication. Once again I will address a few critical, and often overlooked, things to focus on.

It seems so obvious…but it’s not. Why are you having the conversation? All too often, the people engaged in a discussion go into it with different assumptions about the roles each are playing and what that means to the outcome.

The most common misunderstanding has to do with decision-making. Why does she ask our opinion? She never listens to us when it really matters! Chatter like this takes place thousands of times a day. It fosters resentment, raises resistance, and eats at credibility. It is also easily addressed on the front end. Be explicit about why you are engaging people in the conversation.

I want your advice on a change that I am considering making. I will listen, and will weigh your input carefully…but it is my decision to make.

I have decided that we are moving forward with this change. I know that you have concerns, and it is important that we get them out on the table. I will work with you to figure out how we address them.

Right now it seems that each of us has our own priorities. The result is that we are working against one another, instead of supporting one another. We need to agree as a team what the priorities are; if we cannot, then I will take your input and set the priorities for us.

In each of these examples, the purpose of the conversation is made clear. It may be to inform a decision, to help make a decision, or to explore what will get in the way of successfully executing a decision that has already been made. At the end of the day, there is no question, though. Participants understand the roles they are to play in the discussion.

The second topic I want to address is the role of two-way communication and resistance.

We have talked before about the fact that people resist change, whether they perceive it as negative or positive. And, we’ve discussed the fact that if you don’t see resistance, either the change is being executed at a superficial level, or the resistance is underground.

Two-way communication–when done in an open and trusting environment–is a means of both surfacing and addressing resistance. Again, you have to be explicit about the purpose of the conversation, e.g. There is no question that the change is being made. What I am seeking is your input on the best way to move it forward.

There are a few keys to successfully engaging people in this type of conversation. First, you need to be open to hearing what others have to say. If you do it for appearance-sake, you are undermining yourself and the change. Second, people need to be able to trust you if they are to be truthful with you; recognize and value–don’t shoot–the messenger. Third, you need to respond to what you hear, and the sooner, the better; when you respond, be as explicit as possible.

I hear your concern about the fact that you were not consulted on this decision. It was a highly personal one, and one that I had to make on my own. Now that it is made, I am open to working with you on how to carry it out.

I don’t yet know which of our locations we will be letting go of. That decision will be made within the next 45 days; as soon as it is, I will let you know.

I understand how much time it takes to complete that analysis each week, and agree that while the results are interesting, they don’t drive decisions. Effective immediately, let’s discontinue it.

If you are going to successfully move through a change, whether personal or organizational, maintain two-way communication with those who will be making the journey with you. It will help make the navigation a lot more sure.

Feel free to share your own insights and experiences.

Speaking of Communicating…

February 24, 2015 By Brian Gorman

In earlier posts we talked about how to create and tell your change story. Over the next few weeks we’ll take a broader look at communicating your change. In particular, I want to address: one-way communication; two-way communication; enlisting; and aligning words and actions. Each has its place when used effectively, and when used in balance. There are blogs, books, videos, guides, and research articles on all of these topics, so we aren’t going into any of them in depth… I am, however, going to provide a few key points on each one that can make a significant difference in the success of your change journey, whether personal or organizational.

In this week’s post we look at one-way communication. This one can be–and very often is–used way too much.

There is a time and a place for the “rally to the cause speech.” Certainly Martin Luther King knew this, as did President Kennedy when he launched the mission to “land a man on the moon and bring him safely home.” In many ways, each was telling their version of the change story. Perhaps you’ll be telling your story at a town hall meeting for an organizational change. For a personal change, you may do your telling at the dinner table, or gathered together in the living room. And, whether telling the story in a small gathering or large, it is important that you be fully present with your audience, that you interact with them, respond to them and the ways in which they are responding to you, even as you communicate to them.

Most often, one-way communication takes the form of directives. Sometimes they are straight-forward (Get everything on the punch list completed this week), and sometimes they are cloaked in more polite terms (I would really appreciate it if you would get everything on the punch list completed this week). In either case, there is no uncertainty about the expectation: complete the work on the punch list. Directives will often get you compliance; they don’t generally do much in terms of building commitment.

Whether you are the CEO of a Fortune 50, the owner of a small business, or driving your own personal transformational change, there is one critically important time when one-way communication–as a precursor to two-way communication–is essential.

Ultimately, in each of these circumstances, you are the person accountable for the success (or failure) of the change. You have listened to others, reflected on what is in your heart, and have made the decision to move forward. That decision has to be communicated clearly and unequivocally. This isn’t the time for I’ve been thinking about… or I was wondering, what if… It is time for, I have decided…

You may want to keep the door open for discussion on how to execute the change; in fact, this is something I would recommend and we will explore more in the next post. But, once the decision has been made, you don’t want to open it up to question and challenge.

Share you experience with one-way communication during change.

Stop!

February 17, 2015 By Brian Gorman

STOP!

It’s so easy to say. It’s so hard to do. During change it’s often missed, forgotten about, skipped over, avoided, or put on the back burner. Yet it’s so critical to succeeding at your change.

Why is “stop” so important? It’s simple. Nothing is infinite. Time. Money. Open-heartedness. Energy. Focus. Capacity to adapt to change. Everything has limits. And, unless you are in the unusual position of being blessed with everything that you need to achieve your change without putting anything else aside, you need to think about–and act on–STOP.

First, a brief history lesson.

One of the forefathers of change management was William Bridges. More than 35 years ago, Bridges published Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Changes. Among the topics he covered: “stops, starts, stays.”

Addressing what you are going to start doing is a topic we have discussed before in several posts. The same is true about your anchors, the “stays.” However, we have said little about the “stops” until now.

Without STOP, you may start, but it is unlikely you will achieve lasting success. So, how do you decide what to stop during change? This post focuses on personal change; the process for executing “stop” in organizations is quite similar. (If you are interested in learning more about this, let me know and I can walk you through it.)

First, it is important to know what you are going to need more of in order to succeed. For purposes of this blog, let’s say that your change is going to require time, focus, a financial investment, and ability to adapt to change. (Don’t forget this last one…it is vitally important!)

Quantify them: let’s say you will need 15 hours/week of absolute focus; virtually all of your adaptation capacity, given how big the change is; and to cut your discretionary spending by 25%.

Now you are going to have to decide where these things are going to come from. None is available in the hall closet or on the store shelf. So what do you stop to free them up?

Begin with the time-wasters; that’s an easy one. Most of us have things we do, whether in our work lives or on our own time, that waste time. Perhaps you take public transportation, and spend 4 hours a week playing Sudoko during your commute. If that is 4 hours that you can invest in your change–and playing Sudoko is not a mental or spiritual practice–you are a quarter of the way there; but if its you can’t invest the time in this change, keep Sudoko going. (You don’t need more change.)

If the change is very big, chances are the time-wasters are not going to free up the time, focus, and financial resources that are needed; and, they don’t free up any adaptation capacity. So, now you have to start looking at the important things that you are doing.

Begin by listing them all out. Perhaps you go out weekly with close friends. One of my clients refers to these people as his “heart friends;” they are the people who are there for him through thick and thin. You spend time every week reading; sometimes it is casual and relaxing, and at other times it is work-related. Then there is the weekly sports activity: softball in the summer, bowling fall through spring. Finally, there are the plans you have been developing to launch your own business. None of these are the big change you are preparing for as you consider your “stops,” yet each of them is important.

Again, look at each one in terms of the resources you need to set free. Some of them require time, but not adaptation capacity; planning to launch your business has been burning adaptation capacity as well as time.

You may find something, or things, to stop that will free up the resources that you need. Or, perhaps, you just slow something down; for example, you may decide to move to every other week dining with heart friends, and talk with them about rotating hosting the dinners rather than going out. In this way you are freeing up some of the time, and some of the financial resources.

You will also need to put your personal business plans on hold. Right now, they are eating up adaptation capacity, and you have determined that you will need all of this you can muster.

What happens if you have squeezed all of the adaptation capacity, time, focus, and discretionary dollars you can out of the important things in your life, and it’s still not enough?

Now it is time to get to the really tough choices. Do you make adjustments to the new change that you are trying to launch so that the resources you have freed up are enough? Do you cut back on the time that you spend with your family? Do you postpone the vacation that you have been promising the family (and for which you have been planning together) over the past nine months? Do you set aside your spiritual practice to free up that time? Do you turn down the promotion that you have been offered that will increase your income, but demand additional adaptation capacity, time and focus?

If it is imperative that you succeed at this change, all of the above need to be on the table. If you can’t find enough to stop in order to free up all of the things that you will need, then it is quite simple. Prepare to fail. You may get part of the way there; you may get most of the way. But, no matter how important the change, no matter how much you believe in it, no matter what success means, if you don’t have the resources and the adaptation capacity to succeed, success is not possible.

Don’t breathe too easily. If you have freed up what you need, you still can’t rest easy. STOP is not “once and done.”

Now it is important to maintain vigilance. Things creep in. Perhaps a family member comes to you with a request for piano lessons, or a gym membership. Maybe the office moves, adding to your commute time (and eating up some of the time you have freed up for this change). Your mechanic is recommending that you replace the car, rather than the transmission. None of these has anything to do with the change that is your imperative; each of them puts it at risk.

Set aside time on a regular basis to assess whether you need to reassess your”stop” decisions again, whether you need to rethink your change, or whether you are still on track.

Share what you have learned in your experience about STOP and its impact on your change efforts.

…And Then the Hard Drive Failed

February 12, 2015 By Brian Gorman

I try to post on Tuesdays. Sometimes I write and store online; sometimes, like this week, my work is kept on the desktop pc. Tuesday morning started like most of my days. The plan was to do a final read and edit of the blog, post it to the website and LinkedIn, and then move on to a client project that had a tight deadline. But, when I went to the computer, the screen was blank, except for a bit of text that included the words “No boot device available.” Translation…”The hard drive has failed.”

As I sit here writing a new post on Wednesday evening, I am working on the iPad. I know there are options for getting it from here up to the internet; I will figure it out when the time comes. Then I will need to figure out whether the drive can be saved, or whether I have lost it. The drive is backed up…I think. The backup program is scheduled to run every night, but I rarely check to confirm it has done its thing while I slumber.

I have backed up my work for years. But sometimes, that doesn’t help either. In addition to change mentoring, I am a photographer. I store my photos on a four-drive RAID 5 external drive. RAID 5 means that as soon as the photograph is sent to the computer, it is stored in two different locations on different drives. Safe.

Then, a couple years ago, failure! Not one of the drives, which would have meant that the photos were safe because of the redundancy. It was a software failure. There were still more than eighty thousand photographs, times two. But, there was no file structure. No folders. No file names. No ability to access anything.

It took me over eight months to recover almost everything. The recovery software could not rescue files over a certain size. I am sure that as I viewed images one by one I missed retrieving some of them. And, I lost most of the data that is part of my indexing system. But, bottom line, I recovered from the crash. And now the photographs are stored on a new four drive RAID 5 that is then backed up to another one. Someday something may not go according to plan again. Perhaps I am better prepared…or maybe not.

I bring up the failure of the drive not to provide an excuse for not posting, but because it is a fresh reminder for me of an essential lesson when facing change. There is an important place for planning when approaching and moving through change. But, things happen. As the saying goes, “Man plans and the gods laugh.”

The lesson is simple. Yes, plan. And then do it. Know that your plan is incomplete. Know that you will have to make some of it up as you go along. Know that you will make mistakes. Know that you can’t, as one of my clients puts it, “dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t.'” And even if you could find a way to do so, at some point it will go off course. if you are too dependent on the plan, you will too.

Plan, and then be prepared for the unexpected. It is inevitable. And, don’t wait for every line of your plan to be written. The opportunity that you are pursuing may pass you by; the course you are attempting to correct will veer even further astray. Move forward. Someday the hard drive may crash. Or, it may not.

What is your experience with planning? Has it helped you, failed you, propelled you forward, held you back? Feel free to comment and add your own story.