Strategy Perspective

Using Levers of Change Together

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:16:24 +0000

This blog post, continues the exploration of the seven levers of change. It looks in a bit more depth the three levers of change. These three are designed to help leaders cultivate an environment that supports the change. Specifically it looks at how much more powerful they are when used together. Each lever is more effective when the other two are present, and investment in one leads to greater return on investment from all three.

Read the full blog post at TrainingIndustry.com

An Introduction to the Seven Levers of Change

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:27:14 +0000

Seven levers of change set employee engagement in motion and give an organizational change momentum. The levers are not meant to be a formula, but represent seven aspects that require attention and planning for successful change management. Two levers deal with making sure everyone knows about the change, two deal with handling resistance and gaining expertise, and three deal with fostering an environment that supports your organizational change. The seven levers of change are covered in detail in Creating Contagious Commitment, and there is a good overview at TrainingIndustry.com. These levers also form the basis for the acclaimed Change, Dialogue, and Action workshop.

Leading by Example

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:49:21 +0000

Walk the talk evokes images of change leaders who are involved with the change and who lead by example. It means applying the same skills that managers bring to their areas of expertise to organizational change. Good practice, like making the case for change clear, evaluating what is needed, monitoring progress, making course corrections, and rewarding success, go a long way toward leading change.

Read more on my blog at TrainingIndustry.com. Please comment here or there.

The Change, Dialogue, and Action: Applying the Tipping Point to Organizational Change workshop gives participants a chance to experience the importance of leading by example. Teams compete using the interactive computer simulation, the Tipping Point, to create effective change. They learn from one another as they devise a change strategy and from the simulation by seeing their results unfold over time.

Knowing Where We Are Going

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:40:12 +0000

A clear vision of where a change initiative is taking the organization can motivate employees and prevent scope creep. Read more about the importance of vision and of communicating it my blog on TrainingIndustry.com. Please comment either here or there.

Teambuilding for Bob

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:01:57 +0000

Thanks to George Smart (www.strategicdevelopment.com) for this guest blog.

My favorite business article of all time is by Steven Kerr. In 1975 he wrote a short, powerful piece entitled “On the Folly of Rewarding A while Hoping for B. Google it! Kerr succinctly captured one of corporate America’s most annoying and expensive behaviors – the continued avoidance of addressing uncomfortable issues by rewarding different or generalized behavior – all the while hoping the original problem gets fixed.

As Michael Crawford commented 20 years later, “Kerr’s central point is that we can expect people to rationally do (or pretend to do) the things that are rewarded rather than the things we say they should do. As has been said, “Put your money on self-interest. At least you know the jockey is trying.”

A few times each year, I get invited to do corporate teambuilding. Their 5^th-level admin has a list of consultants, no budget figures, and no real agenda. The mandate from the admin’s boss is, basically, “call these people and see how much they charge for a day of teambuilding.”

From here the story is pretty much the same, just the names change. After much beating around the bush, the person will confess quietly that the real reason for this request is Bob, whose incompetence is destroying teamwork and setting people against each other. The boss is uncomfortable or unsuccessful or unwilling to address the issues with Bob, so the boss decides to drag the other 30 poor souls out for a day of teambuilding – and hopes maybe Bob will get the message. When I figure this out, and suggest the problem lies outside of Bob, the caller gets uncomfortable, won’t let me speak with the boss, and calls the next consultant on the list. Thank God. At least I dodged the bullet of a badly conceived intervention. Those 30 people won’t be so lucky. And Bob, bless his little dysfunctional heart, will get a lovely catered day off from work.

It’s clear this is not a team issue. Teambuilding is totally the wrong solution. This is a personnel issue that is not being appropriately handled by the boss. Bob isn’t going to change one bit because of this day, even if I trot out the best teambuilding exercises. All the company has for its money and 240+ hours of labor time is slightly more pissed group people who missed a day of real work.

The Tipping Point simulation, which my company has used with clients for about a decade, is refreshingly on point and still to this day remarkably innovative. It teaches people to think about outcomes before they go down some silly fork in the road hoping for unrealistic change. By knowing how you’ll get the desired idea – any idea – to stick, companies improve the problem definition to match the fix and get much more focused and relevant. Those who experience The Tipping Point’s insights into starting and sustaining relevant change learn that most knee-jerk attempts like Teambuilding for Bob are expensive, time-consuming, and doomed from inception.

Communicating an Organizational Change

admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:20:37 +0000

Effective communication is always a “two-way street,” and communicating about change is no exception. Delivering a clear message is a good start. Taking time to understand how employees hear the message and ideas or concerns they have turns a clear message into communication.

Read more on my blog at TrainingIndustry.com. Please comment, either here or on TrainingIndustry.com.

Beyond Compliance to Commitment and Alignment

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:33:38 +0000

It is tempting to believe that the forcing employees to comply with the demands of a new change initiative is an efficient tactic. Enforced with “do it, or else!” is unlikely to create enthusiasm for a change. Managing change by leveraging employees’ who are committed to the initiative while aligning tools, processes, rewards and leadership to the change is more effective and engages employees. Read more at on my blog on TrainingIndustry.com including an example of applying these ideas to a Six Sigma program at Xerox Corporation.

Please comment, either here or on TrainingIndustry.com.

Using Systems Thinking to Break a Vicious Cycle

admin — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 02:13:00 +0000

Well-meaning decision makers have been known to look for the fastest, cheapest fix to a pressing problem. While a quick fix may treat the symptoms, it seldom addresses the underlying problem. Please check out my latest blog on TrainingIndustry.com to read how the systems thinking archetype, “Shifting the Burden” can break the cycle of overusing quick fixes.

The blog has a an example of a manufacturing company that broke through this cycle to a successful change.

Please comment, either here or on TrainingIndustry.com.

Is Resistance Futile?

admin — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 20:14:46 +0000

Listening and to resisters’ constructive concerns about a change initiative can make a big difference in implementation. It requires articulate explanations and honest and open attention from change leaders. Read more on covert and overt resistance and an example where listening to a resister had a positive result on TrainingIndustry.com. Please read and comment either here or there.

There is more dealing with resistance to change in Creating Contagious Commitment.

Support Peer-to-Peer Advocates for Effective Change

admin — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 21:56:42 +0000

Recommendations from respected co-workers can be powerful because colleagues understand how work gets done in our organization. When these recommendations are backed by unambiguous, supportive leadership, it becomes a recipe for successful change management. There is more on my blog at TrainingIndustry.com.

The Change, Dialogue, and Action workshop provides a framework for leveraging Peer-to-Peer Advocates to implement change.