Communication - Change Guides LLC - Guiding Organizations Through Change

A Simple Word – “Thanks”

November 23, 2010/0 Comments/in Communication, Leaders/by admin

When many of us in the US are getting ready to hunker down with family and friends to enjoy our Thanksgiving holiday, it is a great time to think about giving thanks at work.

It’s so easy to forget to say thanks. We are all busy. There are a million things going on. We expect people to do their job and get on with it. But just showing someone a little appreciation now and then can mean the difference between a “punch the clock” mentality and a committed and engaged co-worker.

Leaders are often trying to figure out the best ways to incent people to do their best. Of course they talk a lot about money. And money is certainly nice. But when leaders just take the time to show some true and honest appreciation for the work people do, the sacrifices they make, and the extra effort they spend…. they are always surprised by what a difference it makes in the outputs they see.

And saying thanks is not just on the shoulders of the boss. We should all thank our peers for their support, their ideas, and their companionship. And we should even thank our boss for what they do.

You likely spend more waking hours with your co-workers than you do with your family and friends. These people are like your family. Like it or not, you are in this together. You are a team. You are there to catch each other if someone falls. You are there to catapult each other over the wall. If any one person in your organization fails, the entire organization suffers.

Be grateful for each other. And tell each other “thanks”. People will appreciate it. And so will you when they thanks back.

Just Treat People with Respect

November 9, 2010/0 Comments/in Communication, Leaders/by admin

I was in a situation this week with a client where I witnessed a “higher up” treating someone who worked for him in a way that was completely and totally appalling. He was rude, he was condescending, he was just down-right nasty. Sadly, this is not totally new behavior for this guy. I have seen it a few times – this was just the time that it really seemed “over the top.”

This guy doesn’t walk around exuding “mean”. In fact, he very adeptly hides his nastiness with a veil of a “fun guy” persona. He is always quick with a witty story, a funny joke, or comfortable banter about weekend plans. But when push comes to shove, he can just be mean.

As the nastiness was unfolding before my shocked eyes, it was clear that the root of this guys bad behavior was firmly planted in his own transition through this change. While he is a leader of the change we are working on, he is also affected by it.

If I look at his behavior through the lens of an observer of organizational change, I see a person who is struggling to maintain control and a sense of purpose… not just a rude guy.

He is not a project management guy, but he was put in a project management role… a highly visible project management role. He is trying to control the you-know-what out of every element of this change. Unfortunately, his efforts are backfiring. Every time he clamps down and treats someone like doo-doo, his team members check out even more (several are already looking for the exits). “Why should I bust my hump putting together a 20 page strategy or a detailed plan if I know you are going to dump all over it and basically start from scratch anyway?” They have a point.

It must also occur to him on occasion that there is not job “waiting” for him when this project is over. If this project goes well and happens quickly, there might not be a place for him. And if it goes poorly, there might not be a place for him either! Not an enviable situation. But he is not doing himself any favors by chasing team members away and behaving poorly. A highly visible role is a double edged sword… the executives he is interfacing with are not dense. They see the nastiness and are not digging it.

I don’t believe he is a bad guy. But there are lots of other people who experience change and uncertainly without getting mean about it. All he needs to do is treat people with a little respect. It’s not that complicated. I hope he makes it.

The Dalai Lama on…. Organizational Change?

October 21, 2010/0 Comments/in Change Management, Communication, Leaders/by admin

I had the honor and priveledge to hear the 14th Dalai Lama speak yesterday as he was receiving the 2010 International Freedom Conductor Award. As you can imagine, he had lots of interesting things to say.

At one point, he was talking about censorship in China and spoke about how a lack of transparency has led to an absense of trust between China and other countries, as well as within Chinese society.

It struck me how this same dynamic happens within organizations during change. We have been advising leaders for years to open up, tell people what is going on, and be transparent… during business as usual and especially during major change. Keeping secrets and guarding information degrades trust and inhibits the ability to build trust in the future. It’s like pouring poison on the ground – it kills what is there, and keeps anything from growing there in the near future.

Can Gossip at Work Really be Good?

October 11, 2010/0 Comments/in Change Management, Communication, Culture/by admin

A recent study from University of Kentucky indicates that gossip in the workplace might actually be good for people and for the workplace.

http://uknow.uky.edu/content/uk-study-shows-gossip-work-not-all-bad

The September 2010 Harvard Business Review does a good job of challenging the researchers to defend thier findings.

http://hbr.org/2010/09/defend-your-research-its-not-unprofessional-to-gossip-at-work/ar/1

What do you think?

Change is not Death… So Long D-A-B-D-A

September 21, 2010/0 Comments/in Change Management, Communication, Leaders, The Change Management 101 Model/by admin

Many say that when people experience change, they experience it like they experience a death. But what if what people have said for years about how we experience a death was no longer accepted to be true? The “stages of grief” originally born in Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s book On Death and Dying might actually not be as clear cut as some people believe.

Most consultants and many business people can recite the originally postulated stages… Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance (DABDA). I can’t even count the number of people talking about organizational change who have thrown out these stages as a way to get the ball rolling.

Sadly, most of that conversation is misguided. There are questions about the findings of the original research, there are questions about whether “stages” actually exist, and there are certainly questions about whether a change at work is equal to a death.

What we know for sure is that people experience a broad range of emotions when faced with change in their workplace. Some are excited, some are angry, some are sad, some are happy, some are anxious, some are combative, and the list goes on and on. Most of the time, there is really no way of knowing who will react in what way.

So much of how an individual actually feels about a change is based on things that a manager at work is oblivious to. How are things going in the employee’s marriage? (look at the hitachi magic wand review for couples) How is their child doing at school? Did they experience something like this in a former job that went horribly or wonderfully? Have they always wanted to move on to another opportunity that this change might afford them? Did they hope that this might happen so that they could move up/out/around?

When we work with organizations who are implementing change, we know that people in the organization will react emotionally as well as rationally. They do that because they are human. And that is perfectly fine. But those emotions are not neatly packaged into stages that we can watch pass before our eyes. As Forrest Gump would say – it’s like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’re gonna’ get.

To Inform or Change Behavior?

September 16, 2010/0 Comments/in Change Management, Communication/by admin

Communication is a powerful tool in organizations both to inform and to change behavior.

Our client is moving thousands of employees in different divisions to a common set of HR policies and systems. There is a lot that will be different for a lot of people. One of our first challenges was to figure out, of all of the things that are going to be changing, what will require people to change their behavior versus what is just something they need to know about?

For example, the fact that people will need to report their time on a new system in a new way will require that people change their behavior… they need to know about the change, they need to have the skills to use the new system, they need be motivated to pay attention and actually use the system correctly, etc… For this kind of change, communication is an important part of a broader change management plan that includes skill building, leadership activities, organizational infrastructure adjustments, and more.

On the other hand, the fact that their paychecks will now look different is not going to require them to do anything different… it is just something they need to be aware of so that they don’t freak out when they see their stub. For this kind of change, a well planned and executed communication plan can get the job done.

Getting the best results starts with knowing whether we need to change behavior or just inform.

Outsourcing Means Big Changes for People Within an Organization

August 26, 2010/0 Comments/in Change Management, Change Readiness, Communication, Culture, Leaders, The Change Management 101 Model/by admin

Sure, go ahead and outsource. It makes good business sense sometimes to focus on your core competency and let someone else handle some of the necessary business functions (HR, IT, data entry services, etc…) that just have to get done. Hire dimensional signage printing company to make sure you will be at the forefront of people’s minds if they ever need one of the elements your company provides.

If you are considering outsourcing, then read the guidelines for outsourcing payroll first and don’t underestimate what it will take from the people within your organization.

We have a client who has been trying to work with an outsourced HR service provider for over a year. So far, the move has been a gigantic failure because the client completely underestimated the changes in mindset, attitude and behavior that would be necessary to make it work. When considering to hire a serviced to ease your job we recommend to consider look for the reviews of this payroll check solutions which now used by many big and small business.

We also have a client who outsourced most of their information technology work to an offshore provider. They knew they would have to lay people off, but they didn’t realize how much work would be involved with shifting the way they worked to match new processes and changing roles and structure to work in the new way.

If you decide to outsource work or hire UK human resources services, go in with your eyes wide open. Don’t forget about the people. Proactively manage the change to help people become ready, willing, and able to succeed in the new way of working.

Plan, Do, Sustain

August 13, 2010/0 Comments/in Communication, Leaders, The Change Management 101 Model/by admin

So how do you actually manage change? We see so many clients who talk about the difficulties of change and recognize that they have issues with awareness, adoption, or internalization of new work behaviors. But lots get stumped when it comes to actually doing anything about it. “It is the soft and fuzzy stuff”, “you can’t really change behavior”, “the people stuff will just work itself out”, or “a good leader is what we need to fix it all.”

But there is actually work that can be done to make the behavior changes happen. A simple model can take you step by step through the activities to manage business change: “Plan, Do, Sustain.” Each phase includes two specific stages necessary to the change process. As you move from one stage to the next, just take it step by step – gather information, establish milestones, measure progress.

Try it… you’ll like it. It doesn’t have to be rocket science to work.

Social Media as a Tool for Managing Change

July 19, 2010/0 Comments/in Communication/by admin

Social media… whether you love it or hate it, it is here to stay. While some of our clients think “tweeting” and blogging is ridiculous, many spend a good portion of their time every week reading and sharing ideas through blogs, discussion groups, and Twitter.

Social media and Socialboosting has proven to be powerful tools in managing change. Sharing ideas, engaging people in change efforts, and gathering feedback to help refine change plans are all critical to managing change effectively. And social media is a great tool for doing all three of those things. If a group impacted by the change you are driving really likes this social media stuff, then use it to your advantage! Choose Instagram, as its engagement rate is very high.

Leaders can interact with staff in ways that were never possible before blogs and message boards. People can get information precisely when they want and need it. And groups can share ideas real time. We have only just begun to see our clients using this stuff, but it is definitely on the rise.

I remember 10 years ago we used a tool with a client called a “graffiti wall”. It was a place where people could go write down whatever they thought about a question or comment posted at the top of the wall. You’d be amazed at how many comments would go up in the course of a day in an old manufacturing environment! Those folks had opinions they wanted to share! Well, many of these tools is just a jazzed up version of the same!

Face to face interactions still form the basis of a working relationship, but new social media can be a powerful addition.

Changing Behavior Starts with Connecting the Dots

June 29, 2010/0 Comments/in Communication, Leaders, Uncategorized/by admin

“People need to play bigger!” This was something a leader announced to his organization about how they could transform their business. He had conviction and passion… but he also had everyone is his organization utterly confused. Play bigger? What did that mean? How on earth were several thousand people going to put such a vague directive into action?

When people are asked to change, we need to be specific about what is expected. Sometimes it might seem like we are stating the obvious and not giving people enough credit to think for themselves. But people need the dots connected for them when they are asked to change… and they need the dots drawn very close together and connected with a big fat marker.

What is expected of me? What should I do? It may seem obvious to leaders, but it is often times not to the people who need to shift the way they work.

Getting more specific eliminates confusion and misdirected efforts. Knowing very clearly what actions they should take helps people focus on conquering small concrete goals to build their confidence. And pride in even small accomplishments helps accelerate a person’s ability to absorb the change.

Once people pick up the behaviors, they will internalize them and make them their own. They will start to build on the new behaviors and improve on them. They will come up with ideas for how they can be even more accountable without being asked because this will be their new standard of behavior.