ciChange is grateful to Jack Hallewell for this story…
A True Story
Not so very long ago on another Island I was in a client
meeting when a team made up of Management and Union Representatives said that
the problem with the new boss was that she kept referring to the new vision as
a ‘game changer’.
The boss says things like “..this is a whole new ball
game…it used to be football but now it is snooker..” I listened to the concerns
of the Management and Union Representatives and understood what their concern
was and have it effected their attitude toward change.
If you amend the rule of football you can get to rugby and
there is a pretty good chance that the skills you have for one can be used and
developed for the other. Over a period of time the games may look and feel
completely different but there is a basis for one to become the other.
If you amend football so radically that it becomes
snooker then there are unlikely to be skills transfer and the game is not
sufficiently similar to expect people to readily adopt it . Indeed people are
more likely to dig in, resist change and continue to play the old game, possibly
subversively when the boss isn’t looking.
The Management and Union Representatives said that they
felt rubbished, their history ignored and their values trampled upon. They
could see that the boss had a new vision and was passionate about it, but they
simply didn’t share the same enthusiasm for a new vision for which they felt
unequipped and unready. What was wrong with what they are presently doing and
are expert in?
So how do we
manage game changing?
William Bridges came up with the Transitions Model based
on his retirement experience and the no-choice move from employment to
retirement. He quickly found that this model for change equally applied to
businesses and other types of personal change.
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Step1 – Starting the Journey and setting the course.
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Step3 – Moving through change and navigating the
issues.
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Step3 – Celebrating arrival and rewarding success and
maintaining the drive.
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DO
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Celebrate the past, the people and be ready to move on
– this creates a positive frame of mind for the next steps
Explain the why and how of change. What are the
reasons, the alternatives and the implications?
Build coalitions and use teams, groups and peers to
mobilise change and make people feel part of a movement, a community, a team.
Make sure everyone has a role, a voice, part to play and a feeling of being
important and valued to the process.
As much as possible engage people face to face, even if
that is via video. Pictures are as important as words (arguably more so).
People are trained by TV, YouTube, Adverts etc. , to expect sound-bites,
short messages and headlines. Few people read lots of data.
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Communicate using every channel as much as possible to
engage different people, in different ways with a consistent message. Even
boring news is better than no news.
Make sure there are the support mechanisms of guides,
templates, mentors, coaches, training to help people make the necessary
changes.
Encourage critical thinking, new ideas, suggestions
which help people take control of change, and own it and make it their own.
Think not just about WIIFM (what’s in it for me) which
may be cash, kudos, training, but also think about WDTMFE (what does this
mean for me) which may be new childcare arrangements, working late, re-learning
or new shifts or locations. Make sure these factors are understood and that
there are mechanisms to support.
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Celebrate, recognise and publicise every small step in
the right direction. Create an appetite and a culture which rewards the right
changes.
Use measures to quantify and validate success. Create
momentum, excitement and enthusiasm by careful use of data. (Think of this in
terms of football scores or a league table)
Merge HR, Marketing, Sales and Brand communications so
that you have consistent internal and external branding and messages.
Manage the stories, myths, gossip, news. Become like a
newspaper editor (with a team of journalists) and listen and respond to your
audience offering information and addressing speculation.
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DONT
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Do not denigrate or ridicule the past or the people –
this creates defensiveness and resistance to next steps
Do not say ‘do it or else’ or offer other types of
ultimatum which may be regarded as a declaration of war.
Do not personalise change so that it is personality
driven and individual dependant since to do so puts a lot of risk and
responsibility on one person and means that it is their goal, not a shared
goal.
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Do not suppose that a quarterly newsletter or intranet
announcement will satisfy the appetite for information or fill the vacuum which
is otherwise filled with uncertainty and speculation.
Do not simply bark “faster, cheaper, better” or expect
that cash incentives or bonuses will motivate change.
Do not be too prescriptive about how change is implemented.
Different people achieve change in different ways and at different pace, try
to be as accommodating as possible.
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Do not bully, victimise or ridicule those that struggle
with change because martyrs have followers who can become saboteurs.
Do not use negative data to try and create positive
behaviour. If it works at all it will be short lived.
Do not allow inconsistencies between what you say and
what is seen to be done to go unchecked or without explanation.
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Jack Hallewell
April 2013
If you have a story, model, insight or ideas that you’d
like to share with the ciChange audience please feel free to contact me.
Tim Rogers
Founder ciChange
timrogers@ciChange.org
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CI-Change-4301853
ciChange seminar and networking events for 2013 sponsored
by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/
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