Pinpoint Communication Clinic

August 27, 2009

Do you feel like your change communication is:

Clinic Pricing:
The investment for the 2-session clinic is $149 per person, which also includes the Pinpoint Communication Workbook and companion PowerPoint templates.

Early Bird Special:

Attendees who register by Friday, September 4, 2009 pay $119 per person.

Previous webinar attendees on the Pinpoint Communication process said:

The Dance of Change

August 24, 2009

I’ve been thinking about how despite our better intentions, changing organizations is never predictable, and doesn’t perfectly fit into a nice theoretical model the way we wish it would.

As change agents, we frequently Dance in the Moment (a term I learned a few years ago in the CTI coaching program).  While we work toward an envisioned future, we can only handle what is right in front of us, which is constantly shifting based on the reactions to the strategies we’re using to try to influence change.

If you think of the process of change as a dance, you realize it’s a partnership between two entities.  Even if you haven’t taken ballroom dancing classes (or watched Dancing With the Stars), you probably know that each person in the duo has a specific role:  leader and follower.

A few of the moves that the leader does to show the follower where to go are overt gestures that can be observed from the audience.  However, most of the time the follower just seems like she knows what to do next, even if the dance is not choreographed.  For the most part, the dance is a series of subtle nudges by the leader:  a tug of the hand, a slight pressure at the waist that indicate the steps and the direction to go next.

The follower, for her part, responds to the nudges with what she interprets as appropriate movements, and adds her own flair to the dance.  Sometimes the corresponding movements are what the leader intended, and sometimes they aren’t. Depending on the leader’s ability to react quickly, the result can be a seamless transition, or it could be a disastrous fall.  Either way, it is the role of the leader to make the follower look good.

It’s important to note that the dance doesn’t work at all without a third element:  the music.  The nudges by the leader mean nothing to the follower if there is no context, no framework that they share. The music tells the dancers if they are doing the Waltz or the Mambo.  They won’t get very far without stepping on toes if they are performing one of each.  The music also keeps them in step, moving together at the same time.

The analogies of the dance’s leader and follower to the subject of organizational change are obvious.  But the music might be a lot of things.  What do you think?

What role does music play in the dance of change?

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The Change Agent’s Dilemma: Podcast now available on iTunes

August 18, 2009

I’m pleased to announce that The Change Agent’s Dilemma radio show on BlogTalkRadio is now also available as a podcast on iTunes.  The subscription, like the radio show, is free.

View The Change Agent’s Dilemma in the iTunes store.

The show is dedicated to answering the question:  How do you influence change without authority?  Every two weeks my guests and I explore the topic for 30 minutes.

The next show is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. ET.  Set reminders, review past shows and listen live at www.blogtalkradio.com/influencechange.

Thanks for listening!

Guest Blog Post: Infallibility

August 10, 2009

By Robert Gold

Everyone makes mistakes – we often say that ‘to err is human, to forgive divine.’ And despite occasional assertions to the contrary, our leaders are in fact human. So our leaders have made mistakes, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

The consequences of our leaders’ mistakes are usually greater than the mistakes of those led; through their decisions and actions, leaders cause many others to do things. This is the definition of leadership. In meritocracies, individuals rise to leadership roles because they are viewed as capable and skillful, and are therefore expected to make good decisions for the organizations they lead. But we also say that ‘mistakes will happen.’

About a week ago, U.S. President Barack Obama made a comment at a press conference (about the racially-charged arrest of a noted college professor) that exploded into a firestorm of popular and media criticism. In an unscheduled press appearance a few days later, he somewhat clumsily acknowledged his error, and has since arranged to sit down for a beer with the professor and police officer involved. His admission was kind of a refreshing moment. In his remarks, Obama said that he hoped the episode would become a ‘teachable moment,’ presumably on the topic of race at the center of the incident. Perhaps it can be a teachable moment here, as well.

We properly hold our leaders to a higher standard when it comes to their errors; we want errors to happen infrequently, we want leaders to be motivated to avoid errors, we want errors to be quickly rectified. We want confidence that our leaders’ directions will lead to good outcomes for ourselves. Leaders with too many errors don’t always get to keep their jobs, especially when financial performance and stock price reflect the consequences of those errors.

Leaders face a dilemma when they err – to avoid the appearance of fallibility so as to sustain a perception of error-free performance, or to acknowledge their error and risk losing the support and trust of those they lead. All too often, leaders find it more attractive to try to be seen as error-free.

Many of the organizations I’ve worked with have become dysfunctional over time because of this approach to error. Their leaders are willing (sometimes even relieved) to unburden themselves of their misdeeds behind closed doors, but are simply unable to do so in a public setting. The members of these organizations are aware of the mistakes, but fear retribution from raising any public discussion of the errors. Thus, leaders and the led enable each other to sustain a fictional parallel universe in which everything is (and will continue to be) hunky-dory. It is unsurprising when these leaders finally do go away, and only a short time before a new parallel universe is constructed around the next regime.

But other organizations have a healthier culture in which errors are expected and handled as part of normal routine. Leaders freely admit their mistakes and are open to criticism. Willingness to quickly identify problems and to focus on corrective action rather than blame means that the impact of errors is lessened. Contrary to intuition, employees trust and are loyal to their fallible leaders more than those who attempt to appear infallible.

Strategy is about setting a direction for an uncertain future. Errors will be made. Hypotheses will be more quickly proven or disproven when leaders expect to be wrong, and course corrections can easily be made. But how often have you heard your leader say, “I made a mistake, and I was wrong. Let’s move on.” ? Have there been teachable moments in your organization? Please share your comments below.

Guest Blog Author: Robert Gold

Robert S. Gold brings over three decades of professional experience to his role as founder and thought leader of Tenacious Tortoise, LLC.

This post was originally published at the Tenacious Tortoise blog. Reprinted with permission.

Does your change initiative need a reboot?

August 6, 2009

Perhaps it needs a Flash Point!

I’m excited to introduce the Flash Point Program, an in-depth exploration and evaluation of your change initiative in which you and I will co-design your next steps toward successful implementation.

What do you mean, “co-design?”

Fact: you know your organization better than I ever will. Chances are, you know what stands in the way of successful implementation, but perhaps you haven’t set aside the time to focus on discovering it, or no one has asked the right questions. It’s my job to ask the questions and keep you focused. If you don’t have the answers, we’ll figure out how to get them. And then together we’ll design what to do next.

It’s also a co-design because this is your job. You are not delegating your responsibilities to me. I’m not going to swoop in and do it for you. The equation looks something like this:

How does it work?

The Flash Point Program includes six (6) 1-hour intensive conversations between you (the change agent) and me (the coach), roughly scheduled as follows:

• 1 online change readiness assessment and debrief;
• 3 hours of in depth exploration of the requirements to achieve your change initiative, and your organization’s capacity to perform them; and
• 2 personal coaching sessions for you, to discover your unique strengths and challenges as a change agent.

The sessions occur in 1-hour phone calls, once a week, for 6 weeks. This is flexible depending on how quickly you want your Flash Point to occur!

What do I get?

First of all, here’s an idea of what you will discover and learn:

• Clarity about what you are trying to accomplish;
• Greater understanding of how change works and how best to fulfill the role of change agent;
• An assessment of the factors present in your organization that will help or hinder your change initiative; and
• What to do about it.

What you physically (or digitally, really) get to take with you are:

• The results from the change readiness assessment
• Recordings of our phone conversations (for reference)
• A report of the next steps we co-design.

Prerequisites:

There are a couple of things I need you to do before you sign up:

• Review the Is This You page and make sure it sounds like you.
• Download and complete the Change Starts Here workbook. It’s free when you subscribe to my newsletter, or if you really don’t want to subscribe, you can purchase the workbook here.

Program Fee:

The total investment for The Flash Point Program is $1,540.

The deposit for the first session is $295. If for any reason, after completing the change readiness assessment and attending the first session, you do not want to continue The Flash Point Program, you can end the process there with just your change readiness assessment results. To continue the program, the remainder of the fee will be due prior to the second session.

Ready get started?

Next Steps:

1. Complete the prerequisites (Is This You and Change Starts Here).
2. Click the button at the bottom to pay the $295 deposit so we can get started on the change readiness assessment.
3. I’ll send you an e-mail with links to the change readiness assessment and Flash Point registration form to tell me a little bit about yourself, your organization, and your change initiative.
4. We’ll set up a quick call to schedule our sessions, and answer any questions you may have.
5. We’ll start The Flash Point Program!
   

By clicking the button below, you affirm that you have completed the prerequisites. You agree to begin the Flash Point Program by completing the change readiness assessment and the registration form. Your credit card will be charged a $295 deposit.

Have additional questions? Please contact me. I’ll be happy answer them.

How to get Beyond Leadership Buy-in

August 4, 2009

It almost goes without saying that an organizational change initiative without proper levels of leadership support is doomed to fail.  Perhaps the project will be paid lip service, but it will ultimately either be ignored into oblivion or cut short of its potential with one drop of the axe.

Not only do organizational leaders have the power to make or break your project on their own, but it is impossible to bypass them to change the organization below.  Individuals experiencing change will look to those in power for confirmation that they are committed to the new way of doing things.  It is under intense scrutiny that leaders are watched to see if their actions match their intentions.  If not, the change initiative will be dismissed as “flavor of the month” and not taken seriously.

Amid all this doom and gloom, there is a bright side.  You don’t have to settle for the level of leadership support you currently have.  As fellow human beings, leaders are capable of being informed and influenced.

Take the following steps to determine how to best garner the support of the most influential people in your organization. Read more

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