My one regret
September 8, 2009
If there is one regret I have from my years as an internal organizational change agent, it’s that I avoided having some of the tough one-on-one conversations that may have yielded large gains.
The reasons for avoidance were usually fear-based: fear of hurting someone’s feelings, fear of retaliation, fear that it would backfire and result in the opposite of my desired outcome. Sometimes the reasons were more political: it’s not my place to talk to certain leaders outside the chain of command or across boundaries. Political reasons are still based in fear – the fear of stepping out of place by saying the wrong thing to the wrong people.
It was easy to rely on subtle hints (or just plain hope) to get the message across that someone was hijacking the change initiative, or sending mixed signals, or not fully understanding the importance of implementing organizational change to achieve financial objectives. In some cases, I let others (higher-ups) field the important conversations for me. Unfortunately, avoidance is rarely an effective route for getting behavior change.
So I was delighted to find a book that gives practical step-by-step advice about how to have these important conversations: Crucial Conversations
According to the book, crucial conversations are those in which:
- Opinions vary – on the surface, you don’t agree.
- Stakes are high – the outcome and the relationship are important.
- Emotions run strong – including the aforementioned fear.
Who do you need to have a crucial conversation with?
If you enjoyed this post you may also like:
- How to deal with a clueless boss
- How to Get Beyond Leadership Buy-in
- Four Ways to Boost Your Organizational Power
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
The fear of implementing change
April 14, 2009
In the Beyond Buy-in workbook, one of the 5 steps to raising leadership support for your change initiative is to Diagnose the Gap between each leader’s current actions and behaviors and the ones you would like them to demonstrate to better support your change initiative. There are a number of places to look at what causes the gap, and one of them is fear.
Yes, not only do people in general “fear change,” but even leaders have fear of implementing change. Consider these common fears:
- Failure
- Looking stupid
- Being wrong
- Rejection
- Not being good enough
- Being judged
- Losing popularity
- Inferiority/Not as good as everyone else
- Helplessness
- Damaging relationships
- Letting people in
- Being challenged
- Being ignored
- Success!
Thank you to my Twitter friends for their contributions. Please add to the list using the comments below.
Inquiry: What fears do you have about implementing your initiative?
Stop convincing yourself of what may not be true
July 28, 2008
One of the common perceptions of organizational change is that you need to convince people to do something that they don’t want to do. Quite a bit of doubt can arise from this perspective: you may feel that you don’t have enough influence in the organization, or perhaps it feels like you are manipulating people. The common response: determine all of the arguments people might have against the recommended change and come up with responses for each one. Convince yourself first that the change is necessary, and that you have all the arguments you need to combat any resistance.
But even having a ready list of responses may not quell your own doubts and fears. I offer that there is another way to approach the situation. If you believe that transformation is necessary and would make the organization better, enough that you are willing to step out and do something about it, then it’s possible that others feel the same way. If you have doubts that people will do what you propose, then you may be making assumptions, either about yourself or others, that may not be true.
Inquiry: What have you convinced yourself of that may not be true?
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