organizational change management - Change Guides LLC - Guiding Organizations Through Change

Purpose during Change

September 7, 2010/0 Comments/in Leaders/by admin

I recieved this email today….

Subject: Dallas Business Journal article 9/3

Dear Kate ,

Your piece about leaders needing support in uncertainty is right on target. I especially enjoyed the sentence, “Those who define themselves as spouses, parents … do a much better job a maintaining their sense of purpose …” My leadership confidence comes from my God and family, not the work place. I would add that people who see work as a blessing and a means to provide for their family manage change better than others who cannot seem to separate their identity from their behavior, i.e., who they are versus what they do.

All the best,

Cole Whitney

—-

The article was about people’s need to maintain thier sense of purpose during times of change. Cole brought to light a source of purpose outside of work that I had not mentioned in the article. It was a really terrific catch. I had left it out… but it certainly is a biggie for many many people. Whatever your beliefs or your passions, look for ways to define yourself and your value beyond just want you do. It will build resiliency during times of change (and will probably make you a more fulfilled person overall!)

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.

Follow the Leader

July 8, 2010/0 Comments/in Leaders/by admin

There are more than a few leaders who expect different things of themselves than they do of those who follow them. To some extent, that makes sense – leaders are different… they may have more responsibilities competing for thier time, they are often over-booked and short on time, they have a level of experience that many don’t have. But, on the other hand, it can be problematic. In the end, leaders are part of the organization and what they do is seen by others as important, while what they don’t do somehow seems less important.

We have seen it often with eduction in organizations. Executives often aren’t exposed to the training that people get one level below them, creating a knowledge gap. Managers are told that certain training sessions are mandatory. But leaders often say “we already know how to do XYZ… we don’t need training on it.” Unfortunately, they don’t know what they don’t know.

That knowledge gap can lead to the demise of the learning that was intended. Without exposure to the same learning, sometimes leaders don’t ask the right questions to reinforce the learning, or they do things to undermine things that were taught – all unknowingly. And, without the interest and attention from leaders, many times the managers assume this must not be so important.

Leaders set the pace and the tone of an organization. Follow the leader was a game we all played in grade school… and to some extent, we still play it at work. If you are the boss, think about what you are doing and how those following will see it.

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.

Managing Change.. a Tough Job, But Someone’s Gotta do it

June 10, 2010/0 Comments/in Change Management, The Change Management 101 Model/by admin

Fox Business recently published one of Stacy’s articles about how much work it takes to manage change http://tinyurl.com/39ughpw. It is a great overview of some of the hard work that makes change happen.

Managing change doesn’t just happen… there is a LOT of hard work that goes into it. Developing the right strategies to overcome resistance, ensuring that leaders are saying and doing the things that make people care, communicating the right messages at the right times and in the right ways, developing and fostering the right skills in the right people, reinforcing and rewarding the right behaviors… and the list goes on.

Start with a Change Management Plan

June 2, 2010/0 Comments/in Change Management, The Change Management 101 Model/by admin

Would you build a house or redecorate a room without a plan? Then why on earth would you try to implement a change in your organization without a plan?

When organizations go about changing, the hardest work is almost always related to people. Getting people ready, willing and able to work differently is easier said than done. Defining a vision is important, but translating that vision into real change is an entirely different challenge that is where the rubber really meets the road.

Planning for change involves assessing the needs of individuals and the organization and then developing plans to help people change their behaviors. Good planning helps you identify poeple issues related to the proposed change before they trip you up.

Take it step-by-step. Proactively manage the change… just start with a plan.

So what is change management anyway?

May 17, 2010/0 Comments/in Change Management/by admin

It is the question we hear SO often… “What exactly is change management?” (We are not talking about the technical kind of change control/change management/version control… we are talking about organizational change management – ie. the poeple/fuzzy stuff!).

Change Management is, quite simply, getting people ready, willing and able to work in new ways.

Organizations are really just groups of people. And an organization changes when the people within that organization change. So if an organization hopes to change its outputs by changing the way the organization works, then fundamentally people need to make that change happen.

The challenge arises from the basic fact that change is not easy for people… it is just the way that human beings were engineered. But given the proper time and attention, people can survive and thrive in changing environments.

People are ready when they know what the change is, why it is happening, and how it will take place/the implications of it. They are willing when they make a conscious choice to be a part of the future state (not when they are forced! forcing people sucks productivity down the drain!). And they are able when they have the tools and skills necessary to work in new ways.

By being thoughtful and rigorous, we can give people the information, leadership, measures and rewards, training, and other things they need to be ready, willing and able to make a change reality.

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