Radio Show: This is Your Brain on Change

October 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

My guest today is Dr. Jackie Sherman, CEO of The Jackie Sherman Group, Inc., who has been an organization development consultant for 25 years. She became deeply interested in how the brain works and how that could inform her work with organizations and leaders. Today, we’ll find out what she learned and gain practical tips for incorporating the “science of the brain” into our own work.

Tune in to learn how the brain reacts to and incorporates change, and to hear some ways to facilitate change. To learn more, see this reference list of Jackie’s research.

Listen to the show here (30 minutes):

Jackie was previously a guest in Episode 21:  Creating the Energy for Change.

Be sure to visit the radio show page to listen to past episodes and subscribe to the show.

Filed Under: Influence

Six Roles of a Leader During Change

October 6, 2011 By 2 Comments

Successful organizational change depends on leaders – managers and bosses who have direct authority with people going through the change – to support and execute change in their span of influence. Effective leaders acknowledge that their support is crucial to success and commit to doing their part. The following are some of the roles leaders may play as they drive change in your organization.

The Sponsor

Leaders act as advocates for the change at their level in the organization. They are representatives who keep the change in front of their peers, the “higher-ups.” A Sponsor is the person who won’t let the change initiative die from lack of attention, and is willing to use their political capital to make the change happen. The Sponsor is the champion.

The Role Model

Leaders of change must be willing to go first. They demonstrate the behaviors and attitudes that are expected of everyone else. Employees watch leaders for consistency between words and actions to see if they should believe the change is really going to happen. The Role Model is self-aware and deliberate.

The Decision-Maker

As managers, leaders usually control resources such as people, budgets, and equipment, and thus have the authority to make decisions that affect the initiative. They have the ability to say “yes” or “no” to the project moving forward within the span of their control. During change, leaders must leverage their decision-making authority and choose the options that will support the initiative. The Decision-Maker is decisive and sets priorities that support change.

The Voice

Leaders are the face and the voice of change. They communicate often to share information, keep people updated and offer encouragement. When employees hear multiple messages in the organization, the one they listen to the most is their immediate boss. Leaders balance interpreting the change message to be relevant for their reports while still matching the overall message. The Voice is transparent and consistent.

The Motivator

Leaders provide the motivation to change. They create a sense of urgency and importance about the change, and show commitment and passion about getting things done. They offer recognition to those who are participating and doing well. Leaders realize that change can be difficult, and understand the need for people to be motivated to step out of their comfort zone. The Motivator is energetic and empathetic.

The Enforcer

With their authority, leaders hold people in the organization accountable for the change. They uphold agreements and make sure others do the same. They don’t let people get away with not changing, and work to understand the underlying reasons so they can remove obstacles. Leaders follow through on delivering consequences when people don’t do their part. The Enforcer is exacting and fair.

Effective leaders recognize that change cannot happen unless they fulfill the roles that only those in authority can. Enlist their support and clarify the roles you need them to fill in their areas and in different situations. Help leaders in your organization see the importance of the unique part they play in change.

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Filed Under: Organizational Change

20 Different Things You Can Communicate About Change

September 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Here is a list of all the things you can communicate during change (at least all I could think of). Each of these serves a unique purpose. And we wonder why communication is complicated and underdone…

  1. Vision
  2. Strategy
  3. Urgency
  4. Change story
  5. Cases and examples
  6. Updates on progress
  7. Rewards and celebrations
  8. Reminders
  9. Announcements
  10. Invitations
  11. Recognition
  12. Feedback
  13. Education
  14. Encouragement
  15. Instructions
  16. Ideas
  17. Priorities
  18. Apologies
  19. Goals and deadlines
  20. Expectations

What did I miss? Please add more in the comments below.

Filed Under: Influence

Radio Show: The Art and Science of Corporate Storytelling

September 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Today’s guest, Richie Cullom, is Senior IT Manager at Genuine Parts Corporation. An avid writer, he is also a storyteller at heart. He has merged these two areas to bring corporate storytelling to life as he manages high performance teams that develop and deliver strategic product updates.

Listen in to hear why we need stories in organizations, and learn the components of a compelling narrative. Then, try it for yourself!

Listen to the show here (30 minutes):

Be sure to visit the radio show page to listen to past episodes and subscribe to the show.

Filed Under: Change Agents

Three Conversations Change Agents Must Master

September 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Organizational change ultimately occurs one person at a time. Out of necessity to be efficient, we rely on change tools that reach multiple people at once, like meetings, training, and a host of communication methods. However, the most effective means of influencing individuals is in one-on-one conversations.

Of course, you can’t have one-on-one conversations with everyone in the organization. How do you decide who to talk to? Consider this: the most important conversations are usually the ones you would rather avoid having. If you are having a repeated conversation with someone else inside your head, then it’s time to make the effort to have the talk out loud. Engaging in difficult conversations is one of the crucial skills a change agent must have to be a successful influencer.

The following are three conversations that you must be willing to start and become skilled at navigating if you want to boost your personal influence:

1. Gaining support

To implement your change initiative throughout the organization, you need the support of leaders at all levels. Starting with their initial buy-in and then their ongoing commitment and action, leaders will help drive the change in their parts of the organization.

The conversation to gain support can be daunting when you expect to have to persuade someone to get on board. You need leaders to not only believe that the change itself is worth pursuing, but also to agree that their active support is necessary to achieve the change, which can be a tall order. Adding discomfort is the fact that, as a change agent, usually you have either indirect or no authority with the leaders whose support you need.

To gain support, be clear about what their support really means – don’t settle for a nod of agreement if you need them to actually do something. Align the change with their best interests. Address any concerns and show how you will help them be successful. If necessary, share stories to demonstrate the value of leadership support to change efforts.

2.  Understanding resistance

When people in the organization push back, procrastinate, lay low, and do other things that seem to slow down change, we tend to experience it as resistance.

As a change agent, it can seem like resistance is something that is done to you personally. You can physically feel the drag like you are swimming upstream. It is not easy to stay neutral in a conversation when it feels like someone is pushing against you, and it can be difficult to not become defensive about the change.

When dealing with resistance, it is important to not push harder – it will only result in them pushing harder in return. Instead, realize that you are the one experiencing resistance, and they are having a normal human reaction to change. In your conversation, be curious about their experience of the change, and uncover the real reasons for their hesitation. That way, you can work with them, and not against them, to move forward.

3.  Providing feedback

As people incorporate changes into their routines, you need to let them know what they are doing well and what needs improvement as they go. Feedback provides reinforcement of the change and also the opportunity for correction when necessary.

Positive feedback is usually not difficult, although it is often forgotten; negative feedback we tend to avoid giving, even when it is really needed. Not many people are comfortable sharing the news with someone that they are doing something wrong or performing ineffectively. And most people don’t like hearing it, either. When you are not the recipient’s boss, offering feedback can be especially difficult because it may seem like you don’t have the right to give it.

When providing feedback, start with the facts, and not your interpretation of the facts. Explain the impact of the individual’s behavior or performance. Listen to the reasons without allowing excuses. Show support throughout, and maintain an attitude that you are helping them be more successful and not accusing them of wrongdoing.

When you are implementing change, it is the time to neither drop subtle hints nor to rely on mass communication to address individual issues. If you are sitting around waiting for someone to get with the change program, chances are you should talk directly with that individual. Prepare in advance and then hold a deliberate conversation to help move your initiative forward. Although these experiences may never be entirely comfortable, with practice you can master the ability to influence individuals through conversations.

Filed Under: Influence

9.11.01

September 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

This is my small piece of the story that belongs to all of us who remember that day 10 years ago.

Tuesday, September 11, 2001 started like any other day. I was probably in the office at 7:00 a.m. Central time, the normal start time of my daily routine as an Industrial Engineering Manager for a manufacturer in the Chicago suburbs. I probably checked email and ran some reports showing production numbers from the day before. I don’t know for sure. My first clear memory from that day was stopping suddenly as I took my regular brisk walk past some cubicles on my way to our 8:30 a.m. production meeting.

My colleague Dave was listening to news radio louder than usual. Except he wasn’t just listening to it, he was staring at the radio.

I asked something along the lines of “What’s going on?”

He took his eyes off the radio. “Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center.”

“Two planes?” I remember saying, and then, after processing the statistical improbability, I added incredulously, “That’s not an accident.”

I dashed off to the meeting. Others were sharing the news with people who hadn’t heard. We went through the motions of the meeting, all kind of stupefied by the little we knew about what had happened in New York.

I don’t remember how I got there, but I remember shortly after that I was hovering in the doorway of the executive conference room. The room had the only TV in the building, still hooked up to a VHS player and using rabbit ears for reception. There were several people gathered around. The CEO, Gary, invited me to come on in. Disaster is a great equalizer.

We watched the video of the planes hitting the buildings over and over again. Then came the news of the Pentagon on fire. I vividly remember watching the South Tower collapse live. I thought, “All those people did was go to work today.”

And that’s when I finally lost it. The tears welled up and I dashed out of the conference room. It’s laughable now, but even in that awful moment I didn’t want to be seen crying at work, especially by the CEO.

After composing myself somewhat, I called my then-fiancé Dave. He was attending a conference in Denver, and the night before had mentioned that he might try to get an earlier flight out that day. “Whatever you do, don’t get on a plane,” I said. He hadn’t yet heard the news. A few days later he would be renting a car with a colleague and a female stranger to drive 1000 miles back to Chicago.

We worked a full day that day. I doubt much work got done.

I recall not being able to sleep that night, and going downstairs in the middle of the night to watch CNN of all things. Those images are indelible to me: the immense amount of paper floating down, the camera still filming while the cameraman is trying to find his way out of the suffocating ash and dust.

The empty blue skies in the days that followed were eerily silent and stark.

Grateful for an office with a door, I cried often in the weeks that followed. I didn’t know anyone who died that day. I didn’t have anyone specific to mourn for. I guess I cried for everyone, and for all of us.

My husband and I were married 25 days later. It was a happy day, although not unaffected; one of my aunts from California didn’t attend because she was afraid to get on an airplane. We woke up the next morning to learn that we were at war in Afghanistan. At the airport, it seemed like we were in a different country – National Guardsmen carried automatic rifles in the terminals. We went to Disney World for our honeymoon. It was mostly deserted (which I have to admit was nice for us), in part because people thought it might be a target for further attacks.

Yet, as a stark contrast to the events which unfolded at the hands of the worst of humanity, we also found the best in ourselves. The courage and valor of those who put their own lives at risk to save others. The flood of donations to support those who had lost loved ones. The unity we felt because, friend and stranger alike, we had all been the target.

In spite of the apparent success of that awful mission, in the end, it was really a failure. The events of that fateful Tuesday reminded us to take care of each other and love one another more. I can’t imagine a terrorist plan where that’s the desired end result.

Today, we remember those that were lost that day. We recall our personal where-were-you-when stories. And, I hope we also revive the feeling that we are all in this life together, and continue to share the best of ourselves long after the details fade back into our day-to-day lives.

Filed Under: Change Agents

How to respond to questions when you can’t provide the answer

August 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Last week, I hosted a Q&A session in which participants could ask any question they wanted about change and together we would come up with options for solutions.

One of the attendees, a manager for a large retail chain, is in the loop when it comes to changes coming down the pike, but has not been given the go ahead to provide the details. Employees know that changes are coming and are asking questions. The manager asked, “How should I respond to questions when I can’t provide the answer?”

She knew that saying, “I don’t know” would be a lie, and would hurt her integrity when it was found out that she knew all along what was happening. Telling the whole truth about the changes before getting the go-ahead from leadership would also be detrimental both to her integrity and her career, and wasn’t really considered an option.

It’s a tricky situation, having to simultaneously tell the truth and keep secrets. So what do you say when you know the answer but are not at liberty to share it to the person who is asking?

The consensus among attendees was that your response should contain three main ingredients:

  • The truth. Even if the only thing you can say is some variation of, “I know the answer to your question, but I’m not at liberty to tell you yet,” always tell the truth. Explain the real reason you can’t tell – for example, that the timing is important so the transition happens at the same time, or that the details are still being finalized.
  • Compassion. When there are gaps in people’s understanding of what is going on, they are going to imagine the answers themselves, and they will probably fill it with the worst case scenario. To the extent you can, quell their anxiety by telling what you know is not going to happen. Show that you understand their need for certainty, and appreciate the fact that they care enough to ask the question.
  • Support. Let them know that whatever happens, you will help them through it.

As change agents, we often find ourselves knowing or even planning something that can’t be shared until the right time. The ability to be honest while withholding confidential information is an important skill to have.

Filed Under: Change Agents

Five ways change is seen as a threat

August 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

This past weekend, I chaired a meeting of Organization Change Alliance, a local group of change practitioners which hosts presentations every month in Atlanta. The speaker was Jackie Sherman, and the topic was “Working With the Brain in Mind.”  (I also interviewed Jackie on The Change Agent’s Dilemma last year.)

One of the key takeaways was that our brains are wired to process threats automatically. When you feel threatened, your “flight, fight or freeze” response is triggered, and the thinking part of your brain ceases to work in that mode. Jackie listed 5 perceived threats that are especially related to change in the workplace, with the acronym “SCARF,” which she attributed to the work of David Rock.

S – Status – Anything that lowers our perceived status is a threat.
C – Certainty – We want to know what is going to happen. We automatically fill in the gaps with negative predictions.
A – Autonomy – We need to feel in control of what’s happening to us.
R – Relatedness – Feeling isolated or shunned is a threat. We also avoid people we don’t know well.
F – Fairness – Anything that increases our sense of unfairness feels threatening.

The implications to organizational change are enormous. Consider the stress induced by these common occurrences:

  • Being moved to a smaller office, having a co-worker promoted above you, or being asked to reduce your budget
  • Hearing about a new change without knowing how it will affect you personally
  • Being given a new process or system without having any input or choice
  • Being expected to act against peer pressure
  • Believing that others are held to different expectations or allowed to get away with things that you would not.

Consider the change you are implementing in your organization. In what ways is the change creating these threats or the perception of these threats? How might you minimize the threat or the perception?

Filed Under: Organizational Change

Behind the Mask of Resistance

August 18, 2011 By 3 Comments

Anyone who has implemented change in an organization has encountered it:  the feeling that you are dragging a heavy weight, or pushing a boulder uphill, or swimming upstream, or banging your head against the wall. The label we put on the sense of being slowed down or stuck is resistance.

Taking the resistance label at face value causes us to blame others for not immediately changing, and gives the impression that there are people in the organization who are either rising up or using subversive methods to stop the change initiative. If we treat resistance as something to be overcome by pushing harder, we end up getting more resistance in return. It is a dangerous mindset for a change agent to believe that the people in the organization are essentially the enemy, needing to be quashed.

The truth is resistance is not something to be overcome, but something to be uncovered. Resistance is in the eye of the beholder. In fact, what change agents experience as resistance when someone else does it seems rational and justified when we do it ourselves.

The following are behaviors commonly interpreted as resistance, plus the real story behind them.

Push Back

As a change agent, when someone speaks up against the change, giving reasons why it won’t work, it is easy to get defensive. If you brush it off as excuses that can be ignored, you are missing a great opportunity to gain buy-in. First of all, their warning might be a valid point that you had not considered, so it would be wise to pay attention. And, the more you listen to, understand, and address concerns, the more they will feel like a participant in the change instead of someone to be bowled over.

Procrastination

Someone keeps putting off tasks that you think they should have completed yesterday. When people seem to do everything else first before working on the change, it may be that their priorities are out of whack, or simply different from yours. They believe they will be most successful by focusing on other things. Or, it could be that they are avoiding the change out of fear, lack of skills, or confusion.

Malicious Compliance

Sometimes people say they agree with the change and go through the motions. They do exactly what is asked – to a fault. It seems they remove themselves from accountability by precisely following instructions, even if a better outcome would come from using their own ingenuity. The term “malicious compliance,” like resistance, indicates a sinister intent; however, it could be that the bare minimum is all they have time for, or that fear is preventing them from coloring outside the lines.

Laying Low

Others during change keep their head down, seeming to not want to get involved.  They might think they can outlast the change initiative if they just pretend it’s not happening.  Based on past experience or the messages they are getting from leadership, they believe that if they wait long enough, the change will just go away. Understanding why they are hiding in plain sight can reveal gaps in your implementation that are leaving people skeptical about leadership resolve.

Going Rogue

Sometimes a person, group or department will take the change and run with it – in a direction you may not have intended. Or they might tweak the process or the message in a way that diminishes alignment and consistency with the rest of the organization. To you it seems like they are not going with the program. But to the people going through the change, it feels like ownership. They are putting their own stamp on it to make it fit, and to feel a sense of control.

Resistance is what you feel after telling yourself a story to interpret others’ behaviors that seem to be working against the change.  Ask yourself:  What is an alternate story that might explain their behavior?  Work with the people going through the change to uncover what is really behind the mask of resistance.

Filed Under: Organizational Change

Radio Show: Lessons Learned From A Change Derailed

August 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

An experienced change leader, Supriya Desai landed an exciting new ‘dream’ job – implementing change across a global function undergoing major transformation – only to be gone less than 6 months later.  Listen to hear her story – plus the warning signs and lessons she learned so you can benefit from her experience.

Listen to the show here (30 minutes):

Be sure to visit the radio show page to listen to past episodes and subscribe to the show.

Filed Under: Change Agents
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