We understand your perspective that your team or organizational change situation is different (we’ve heard it many times before). So we decided to share some of the types of change we most often get a push-back on and help you see how the change components and principles still apply.
When the Change Is Thrust on You (or Your Team)
How can you use these change components when the corporate office (or accounting, marketing, the federal government, and so on—insert your own favorite scapegoat) has already decided on the change for you? In this case you might feel as though you have no choice. How do you work through the idea of choosing change if there seems to be no choice available to you?
When you are in this situation, you must always remember two things:
1. You still have a choice.
2. All change has an emotional component.
When we say that you always have a choice, we mean that you can always choose to leave the situation or job (or whatever else). If the change being thrust upon you is in conflict with your values or morals, or if, for some other reason, it is untenable for you, you have the option to leave. Just reminding ourselves that we have a choice, even if the alternative of leaving is worse than staying, can improve our outlook. Having said that, once you decide to stay, you must work to understand, accept, and abide by the change. (Remember what we said about disagreeing in private and then agreeing in public in Chapter Seven?)
This is the point where your emotions come into play. You must get past the emotions of feeling stuck, feeling forced, and feeling that this change is not a good thing. As long as you feel that way, you can’t accept, abide by, or work successfully in the changed situation.
If you choose to stay and work with the changed situation, then the best way to understand the situation and the fastest way to
work through your emotions is through the use of the four change components. Here is one example.
❍ ‘‘But I’m satisfied with the status quo.’’
Perhaps this is true; after all, you didn’t initiate this change.
But it is likely that there were at least a few small things about the status quo that you didn’t like, that bugged you, or that caused you frustration. Remember these points, perhaps even write them down. Focus on these points rather than your points of disagreement. The point here is that when we are forced to change (yes, this point includes us as well), we generally get artificially happier about the way things were, we wax nostalgic, and we forget the things that bugged us before. If the change is coming (or here) anyway, recognizing how things weren’t perfect before will raise your hopes for something better and open your mind to the possibilities. This may not be a huge lever for you, but as long as you can get your dissatisfaction with the way it was above zero, you are heading in the right direction.
romanticizing the past
In June of 1984, Guy left sunny, warm North Carolina for Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. When he arrived, he was greeted by a number of people he had never met before who spent several hours telling him how worthless he was as a human being and that he was lucky the Navy had given him the opportunity to redeem himself. As he entered his cold, damp ‘‘space’’
for the night, he looked out the window to see snow falling.
Sitting on the edge of his bunk, he thought: ‘‘Four years, 364 days to go.’’
He finished Officer Candidate School, Nuclear Power Training, Submarine School, and qualification on a sub- marine. He enjoyed both the opportunity and what he learned while serving as a nuclear-trained officer, and he never lost sight of his eventual goal to leave the Navy, get married, and pursue a civilian career. He was willing to serve, and he wanted to learn. He did not want to make the Navy a career.
w h y a l l c h a n g e i s n ’ t c r e a t e d e q ua l 93 In May of 1989, he received his discharge orders. On the day that he checked out of his submarine for the last time, he made his rounds to say good-bye, and he left the boat. Walking down the pier toward the gate, he stopped short and turned to face the submarine that had been his home for the last three years. Looking at his old boat, he thought: ‘‘Wow, I’ll never be on a submarine again.’’ And he was overcome with sadness about what he was losing.
His thoughts and feelings are really funny when you consider that he had just spent the last nine months doing the paperwork and completing the steps necessary to resign his commission and that he didn’t reallywant to be on a submarine again.
You see, even when we make a change happen, we can romanticize and focus on the past despite our desire for a better future. How real is this tendency when the change is forced upon us?
❍‘‘I don’t see the vision of the future.’’
Often when change is thrust on us, we haven’t been given a picture of the future, or aren’t looking at it because we are so frustrated with the fact that we are being forced to change. The best antidote here is to focus on the desired future as seen by those promoting or implementing the change. How do you do that? Ask them, with an open mind, to help you see the ‘‘why’’
for the change and the planned end state. Once you see both the reason and the goal, you can begin to mentally create how that future can be better for you or how it can help you in some way or both. In the worst case, knowing the real end goal of the change will help you see that ‘‘it won’t bethatbad.’’
❍‘‘But how are we going to get there?’’
Again, when change is thrust upon us, we often shut down mentally and emotionally. Make sure you understand the steps in the change that have been outlined. If a change has been forced on you for you to implement, beginning to develop the first steps will help you improve your attitude about the change, and it will help you get moving.
❍ ‘‘What about the costs and risks?’’
You are likely to see many risks and much cost—in fact this may be where you are spending all of your mental and emotional energy. As you work to better understand and work through the other three components, the impact of the costs may begin to lessen.
Is it ever a perfect situation when change is forced on you? Probably not! Imperfect changes will continue to happen to you in your career (and life), and understanding how to handle these situations is far more important once you are a leader than it was before you became a leader.
Remember, there may be times when you are the one instituting changes on others. When this is the case, being able to help others apply these lessons will accelerate the timeline toward successfully implementing the change.
When the Change Is Unexpected
Sometimes change just happens! Maybe the economy changed, the regulations in your industry changed, your competitor introduced a new product, you name it; changes can come externally and unex- pectedly. In this case, how we feel about these kinds of changes is much like how we feel when the change is thrust on us. If you are in this situation, reread the section above, as it will provide you with the roadmap you need. And there is one additional important consideration.
When it is unexpected, you must allow yourself to view the change as real. Too often, people resist and delay action around an unexpected change because they are in denial. As a leader, you must see the landscape clearly. If an unexpected change is real, you must help your team move forward. This is both your responsibility and your opportunity!
Your Now Steps
If you are dealing with any of these situations 1. Apply the ideas from above to your situation.
2. Consider talking the situation through with a trusted advisor, rather than trying to do it mentally.
w h y a l l c h a n g e i s n ’ t c r e a t e d e q ua l 95 3. Write down your thoughts, insights, and next steps in your learning
journal.
If your team is, or individuals on your team are, dealing with any of these situations:
1. Share the change components with them.
2. Open up a conversation about their concerns and challenges.
3. Help them determine some next step actions they can take to move forward regarding that change situation.
H O W T O C O M M U N I C AT E C H A N G E M O S T E F F E C T I V E LY
Though change affects all parts of your life, when you become a leader you are often the mouthpiece for change or the instigator of it.
These are two of the most important reasons that change is one of the major sections of this book and why we have spent time to help you understand the components of it. Everything we have talked about up until now is vitally important—but from a leadership perspective the real bottom line often comes down to this: How well can you communicate the change to those you wish to influence?
This question combines two of the six major parts of this book:
change and communication. To address this important concern, we’ve developed ten specific steps to help you. These steps can be a lesson plan for your growth in these areas, but more immediately they can be a checklist to help you with a specific situation of communicating about change.
To make this chapter most useful for you, think about a change you are now trying to communicate or anticipate communicating in the near future. Here are the steps:
❍ ‘‘Sell’’ individuals.
❍ Help people take ownership.
❍ Let people in on your process.
❍ Call it a journey.
❍ Ask questions.
❍ Sell small—build a new status quo.
❍ Ask questions.
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❍Give it words.
❍Celebrate progress.
❍Take responsibility.
Now let’s look at each step in this list in more detail.