accelerate change - common sense practical tips

Simple and Effective Tips for Leading Change Accelerate Achievement of Desired Results

Change Leadership • Flawless Execution • Culture Shaping/Branding • Employee Engagement • Accountability • Leadership at all Levels

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Simpledoesnotequaleasy.Ifsuccessfullyleadingchangewereeasythe75%to80%ofallchangeeffortsthatfail,oratbestproduceonlymediocreresults,wouldbemuchlower.Inyearspast,togrowandcapturemarketshare,thebigwouldeatthesmall.Intodays‘commoditizationeconomy’thegamehaschangedsignificantly.Customershavemorechoicesthanever.Thebattletodifferentiateandstandoutfromthecompetitionwillonlyescalate.Weareinabrawlwithnorules,wherethefast,flexibleandagilewilleatandspitouttheslow,over-thinkingandcomplacent.So,whatarethekeystodevelopinganagileorganizationthatadaptsto,embracesandinstituteslastingkeychangestrategies?Lessonslearnedovertwentyfiveyearspointtofivesimpleandeffectivechangeleadershipprinciples.Acceleratedachievementofdesiredresultscanbeaccomplishedthroughconsistentfocusedattentionovertimeonafewpractical,pragmaticandmemorableprinciples.However,itisaprocessandassuchrequiresconstantpracticeandapplication.Thegoodnewsistheseprinciplesandskillscanbelearned,refinedandperfected.

Intentionalfocusontheseprincipleswilligniteextraordinaryresultswithinyourorganization.Decadesofresearchhaveidentifiedfiveprinciplesandpracticesthatpropelorganizationsforwardtoblastthroughthecommonbarriers,obstacles,challengesandinertiathatderailmostchangeefforts.Theseprinciplesarenotcomplicated—theydon’trequireanadvanceddegreeoranyspecializedtraining.Theyarestraightforwardandaccelerateachievementofdesiredchange–tohelpyouachievewhatmattersmost.Theyare:

1. LeadershipandManagement–TheCorrectRatioisCrucial2. BecomingaChangeLeader–InternalizeversusExternalize3. TrueUrgency–EngageaCriticalMass4. ThePowerofVolunteerism5. CreatingaWinnableGame

Frequencyandconsistencywiththesepracticesisthekey–nothowwellorskilledaleadermaybewitheachofthese.Asleadersbecomedeliberateandfocusedwiththeseprinciplestheystrengthentheirabilitytoleadandsustaincrucialchangeefforts.

LeadershipandManagement–TheCorrectRatioisCrucial

Theterm‘change-management’ismorecommonlyusedthan‘change-leadership’andforgoodreason.Theoriginofthetermchange-managementstemsfromthemannerinwhichmostchangeeffortshavehistoricallybeen‘project-managed’throughouttheyears.Managementisafundamentalandneededelementtoachievesuccessfulandlastingchange.However,leadershipisdemonstrablymoreimportant.Dr.JohnKotter(authorof18best-sellingbooks,including‘LeadingChange’)hasspentdecadesresearchingtransformationalchange.Thedatarevealsamajorcontributingfactorwhyamajorityoflarge-scaletransformationalchangeeffortsfail,orproduceonlymediocreresults.Theculprit?Managing,insteadofleadingchange.Successfulandlastingchangeinitiativesrequireaheavydoseofleadership–75%accordingtoKotter’sresearch.Managingthechangeisanecessarycomponentaswell,buttherationproventoproducesuccessfulchangeis75%leadingand25%managing.Inspiring,motivating,engaging,encouraging,energizing,galvanizing,aligningandcultivatingownershipandaccountabilityresultfromleadership.Withoutthesecriticalbeliefs,behaviorsandattitudes,successfullastingchangeisnearlyimpossibletoaccomplish.

“The problem with common sense is that it is not that common.”

-Mark Twain

Change Leadership • Flawless Execution • Culture Shaping/Branding • Employee Engagement • Accountability • Leadership at all Levels

Theterm‘change-management’itselfisanoxymoron.Managementisabouttheknown(budgets,planning,problemsolving,organizing,staffing,schedules,etc.)andchangeisabouttheunknown.Theunknowncannotbemanaged.Youmanagewhatyouknow;youleadwhereyouwanttogo.Topleadersunderstandthatleadershipisaboutinspiring,motivating,aligning,rewarding,recognizingandmostimportantlyestablishingavision.Changethatwillrequireshiftsinthewaythatemployeesthink,actandbehavecannotbedelegatedtoataskforceorchange-team.Seniorleadershipmustbeinvolvedthroughouttheentireeffort.Employeeswilltolerate

whattheirleaderssay;theywillultimatelyactonwhattheyseetheirleadersdo.Whenseniorleadershipcommunicatesanewvisionordesiredchange,andthendelegatesthatefforttoachangeteam,themessagesenttotherestoftheorganizationis‘thisisnotveryimportant.’Thenotionofseniorleadersdelegatingchange,notplayinganactivedailyroleandexpectingdesiredresultsevokesoneofmyfavoritefactoids–thehumanbeingistheonlylivingcreaturewiththecapacityandpropensityforself-deception.Stopkiddingyourselves.Taskforcesaretypicallyignoredandchangeteamshavelittletonoimpactwithoutseniorleaderstakinganactiverolethroughoutthechangeeffort.Whenseniorleadersarenotinvolvedchangeeffortsnearlyalwaysfail.Astrongfocuson‘leadingchange’ispivotaltoachievingsuccessfulandlastingchange.Leadersmustpaintaclearpictureofthefutureforallstakeholders.Apictureofsuccesscenteredontheopportunitiesand

possibilitiesthatwillbenefiteveryone.Onlystrongleadershipcanblastthroughtheinertiathatexistsinmanyorganizations.Thewhitewatersofchangeareheretostay.Intoday’scompetitivelandscapewehavemovedbeyondtheperiodofepisodicchangeandarenowandforeverforwardwillbefacedwithcontinuouschange.Organizationsthatwillthriveinthisnewworldofworkwillbethosethatareabletoachievebigboldchange.Incrementalnudgingsandcoaxings–ormanagingchange–willneverengageacriticalmass.Boldactionisrequired.Toengagethatcriticalmass,toachievewhatmattersmost,requiresleadership.

Changerequiresmuchmorethanexecution(ormanaging)ofthestrategy.Gaining,ownership,alignment,accountabilityandvoluntarycontributionsofdiscretionaryperformancefromemployeesdemandsmorethanaprojectplan.Projectmanagementisanimportantelementinthechangeprocess,buttrulytransformingentailsmore.BecomingaChangeLeader–InternalizeversusExternalizeLeadershipisachoice.Leadershipisnotaboutyourtitle,howmanypeoplereporttoyou,thesizeofyourofficeorwhatisonyourbusinesscard.Leadershipisthecongruencybetweenwhatyousayandwhatyoudo.Itisabouthowyouliveyourlifeandgoaboutyourjob.Leadershipismodelingthewayandwalkingthetalk.Beingfullycognizantthatyoureverymovement,everyword,andeveryactionisbeingthoroughlyscrutinized.Understandingthatthewayothersviewyou–your‘brand’–isaby-productoftheexperiencesyouhavecreatedforthosearoundyou.Everyactionyoutakeisanexperienceforthosewatchingyou.Moreimportantly,thoseexperiencesaredevelopingbeliefsaboutyou.Asaleader,areyoudevelopingbeliefswithinyouremployeesthatwillmoveyourorganizationforward,orareyoufosteringbeliefsthatwillimpedeprogress?

Change Task Force

Change Team

Change Leadership • Flawless Execution • Culture Shaping/Branding • Employee Engagement • Accountability • Leadership at all Levels

Howareyouviewedintheeyesofyourcolleagues?

Howareyouviewedintheeyesofyourboss?

Howdoyouremployeesseeyou?

Changebeginsoneleaderatatime,andleadersexistateverylevel.Itisessentialforleaderstomodelthechangeandthebehaviorsdesiredfromtherestoftheorganization.Itissillytothinkthatotherswillchangeifyouareunwillingtodosoyourself.Tolstoystated,“Everyonethinksofchangingtheworld,butnoonethingsofchanginghimself.”Donotexpectotherstochangeunlessyoudosofirst.OrasGandhisoeloquentlystated,“Bethechangeyouwishtoseeintheworld.”

Itisimperativetomodelthebehaviorsyouwishtoseeinothers.Youcannot‘make’someonechange.However,youcanmodelthewayandencourageothersto‘choose’tochange.

TrueUrgency–EngageaCriticalMass

Humanbeingsare‘wired’toclingtowhatisfamiliarandcomfortable.Yetchangeisinherentlyabouttheunknownandrequiresshiftsinbehaviors(andoftenhabit).Atthesametime,large-scalechangesendsabout80%ofyouremployeesintosomedegreeofdiscomfort,unease,anxiety,stress,fear,painordenial.Thisposesasignificantchallengeforleaders.

Aheightenedsenseofurgencyamongacriticalmassofemployeesaroundacommonopportunityorobjectiveisvitalpriortoanyattempttoimplementchange.Whenchangeis‘pushed’outonemployees,mostoftentheywillpushback.Thatishumannature.Whenemployeesdonotseethereasonorneedforchange,orunderstandthecompellingbusinesscase,theyoftenfearorresentchange.Evenworse,theymaydeliberatelysabotageorderailchangeefforts.

Oftenseniorleadersidentifyanewopportunity,goalorstrategythatwillpropeltheorganizationtothenextlevelagreatness.Asleaders,thisopportunityandthecompellingbusinesscaseastowhybecomescrystalclear.Oncethisdirectionorstrategyisidentified,inmostcasesmidlevelmanagersandsupervisorsaretaskedwithmakingthechangeareality.Thesemanagersbegintoimplementtacticsandstrategiestoadvanceprogresstowardthedesiredoutcomes.Whattheytypicallydiscoverispushback,cynicism,apathyandlackofengagementfromthosetheylead.

Inordertobreakthroughthisresistanceconsiderthisonesimpleprovennotion.Opportunitybeforestrategy.Byfirstcreatingurgencyandalignmentaroundtheopportunityorpossibilities,leaderswillfindtheyareabletoconnecttonotonlythehead(logic)ofthosetheylead,butmoreimportantlytotheheart(passion).Tacticsandstrategieswillneverengagetheheart.Lackofcreatingurgencyisanothermajorde-railersofchangeefforts.Itisvitalthatleadersgainbuy-inandengagement.Thatisonlyachievedbyengagingtheheart.Thisresultsinvoluntarycontributionsofdiscretionaryperformance.Employeeswilltapintotheirfullpotentialandgoaboveandbeyondwhentheyarefullyengaged.

Change Leadership • Flawless Execution • Culture Shaping/Branding • Employee Engagement • Accountability • Leadership at all Levels

Whenwespeakofcreatingurgencyamongacriticalmass,wearenotsuggestingtospendinganinordinateamountoftimegainingconsensusamongsteveryone.Leadersmustleveragethosethat‘seewhatwesee’asleaders(theopportunityandthepossibilities)toencourageotherstojoinus.Inotherwords,developandfostera‘want-to’cultureversusa‘have-to’culture.(Seegraphictoright)

AgreatexampleofthisisDr.MartinLutherKing’s“IHaveaDream”speech.Thatspeechcreatedtrueurgencyandengagedacriticalmass.Thecivilrightslegislationthatfollowedafewyearslaterprovidedthestrategyandthetacticstoaccomplishtheopportunity.DoyoufeelthingsmayhavebeendifferentthedayofthespeechifDr.Kingspentthetimeassigningtasks,assemblingchangeteams,andintroducingflowchartsandprocessesforchange?Thatspeechfocusedontheopportunity.Itwasthevisionofabettertomorrow.

Gettingacriticalmasstoseetheopportunitythatyouseeisnoteasy.Butthereareafewkeypracticesthatcanhelp.Thefirst–youcannevereverovercommunicatetheopportunityorvision.Thesecondis,youcannevereverovercommunicatetheopportunityorvision.Youmustresistthetemptationtojumpintoexecutionofstrategybeforeyouhavecreatedtrueurgency.

Takealookandreadtheparagraphintheblueboxtotheright.Nowgobacktoitandquickly(20secondsorless)withoutusingapenortouchingthepapercountthenumberofletterF’syousee.Havingfacilitatedthissimpleexercisehundredsoftimeswithgroupsrangingfromtentotwo-thousand,theresultisthatmostoften,onequarterofthegroupcounts3,onequartercounts4,onequartercounts5andonequartercounts6.Bytheway,therearesix.Whatarethelearningshere?

Thefirstlearningisthathumanbeingswillclingontotheirtruths.Itisdifficultforpeopletoletgoofwhattheybelievetobetrueintheirmind.Inotherwords,ifyouinitiallycounted4F’s,itisverydifficultforyourbraintoallowyoutoseeanythingotherthan4.Fourhasbecomeyourtruth–yourreality–andyouwillclingtoit.Thinkaboutthatasitrelatestothekeypointaboveregardingcommunicatingchange.Employeeswillclingtowhattheyknow–theirrealties.Ifthe‘truth’or‘reality’foryouremployeesisthatthereisnoneedtochange,whatimpactwillthathaveonyourefforts?Simplycommunicatingyourchangevisionorpictureofsuccesstolaunchandeffortwillnotprovidethethrustneededtoengageacriticalmassorcreateenoughurgencytoassuresuccess.Themessagemustbecommunicatedandreinforcedoftenandthroughavarietyofchannels.

ThePowerofVolunteerismChangerequiresalargeanddiversenumberofcommittedpersonnelandisnotachievedbyappointingmemberstoachangeteamortaskforce.Inclusion,trustandempowermentareessential.Changeoccursbestwhenpoweredbypassionandintrinsicmotivation.Changeissustainedwhenpeoplevolunteertohelp.A“want-to”culturetrumpsa“have-to”culture.Byengagingboththeheadandtheheart,employeesbegintoseehowthechangecanhelpthem,theirteam,theirdepartmentandtheorganization.Theyquicklymovefromunderstanding,tobelieving,tobuyinginandmostimportantlyengaging.

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE- SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF-

IC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF MANY YEARS.

Change Leadership • Flawless Execution • Culture Shaping/Branding • Employee Engagement • Accountability • Leadership at all Levels

Thesevolunteersbegintoidentifythetopopportunitiesandprojectsthatwilladvancethechangeeffort.Teamsbegintoformnaturallyandchoosetofocusonavarietyofeffortstoacceleratethedesiredchange.Oncetheseteamscompleteaprojectorbreakdownabarrier,theyselectthenextmostimportantprojecttoacceleratethechange.Employeesfromthepoolofvolunteersselecttheprojectsandinitiativestheyhavemostpassionfor,orwheretheybelievethatcanaddvalue.Nobodyisbeingtoldthattheyhavetodoanything.Thisprocessultimatelycreatesahighlyadaptableorganizationthatcomplementstheexistinghierarchicalstructure

Thisprocessmustbeginwithleaderscreatingavividpictureofopportunitiesaheadthatconnecttotheheadandtheheart.Exemplaryleadershipiscritical.

CreatingaWinnableGameDrivingastrategythatrequireschangeinhumanbehavioristhemostdifficultchallengealeaderwilleverface.FlawlessexecutionofbehavioralchangestrategiesrequiresFocus,Leverage,EmployeeEngagementandAccountability.Mostleadersunderstandtheseelementsarenecessary,yet80%ofallstrategiesthatrequirechangeinhumanbehaviorfail--oratbest,produceonlymediocreresults.Employeesareattheirbest,andmostengagedintheirworkwhentheybelievetheyareplayingawinnablegame.Averysimplepremise,butyetsooftenoverlookedbyleaders.Thehigheststandardaleadercanaspiretois,“amIcreatingawinnablegameforthoseIlead?”Areyourfolksplayingtowin,orplayingnottolose?Thisisnotasubtleissue.Areemployeescomingtoworkeverydaytryingtokeeptheirheadsabovewateroraretheyfocusedonwhatmattersmost?Dotheyknowtherulestothegame(howtowinandwhatsuccesslookslike)orisitcloudyandvague?

Communicationandclarityisjustoneofthekeyreasonsexecutionofstrategyoftenbreaksdownandwhyawinnablegameisnotcreated.Lackofclaritycreatesconfusion,misunderstandings,anxiety,lackofalignment,inabilitytotakeaccountability,frustration,stress,andmuchmore.Datacollectedoverthepast20plusyearsrevealsthat90%ofemployeesarenotcrystalclearonwhatisexpectedofthem,orofthemostimportantgoalsfortheirteamororganization.Thatgivesrisetoanimportantquestion.Howcananyonechoosetotakeaccountabilitytohelpyourteamororganizationachievearesulttheydidnotknowexisted?Ifyouweretoaskarandomgroupof100peopleinyourorganizationtostatethe'must-achievedesiredresults'yourteamororganizationmustrealize,whatpercentagewouldbeabletorecitethemexactly?Whatpercentagewouldknowhowyouaremeasuringthem?Whatpercentagewouldknowwhereyoustandtodayinrelationtothedesiredmetric(endresult)?Howmanywouldbeabletomakethelinkbetweenwhatthey'do'andhowitimpactsthedesiredresults?Experiencepointstofewerthan10%wouldbeabletoanswerthosequestionswithprecision.Employeescannot‘take’accountabilitytoachievewhatisnotclear,unknownorvague.Oneoftheprimaryobstaclesthatimpedesachievementofdesiredresultsandflawlessexecutionofvitalandimportantstrategiesisthedayjob.Thatis,thetsunamiofdailyactivitythatmustbeaddressedinordertokeepthebusinessoperating.Thattsunamiisurgentandmustbeacteduponnow.Mostoften,thenewstrategies

Change Leadership • Flawless Execution • Culture Shaping/Branding • Employee Engagement • Accountability • Leadership at all Levels

andgoalsareimportant,butoftengetsuffocatedbythedailywork.Whenurgencymeetsimportance,urgencyalmostalwayswins.Onesimplewaytohelpimprovefocusonthedesiredresultsandthenewandimportantgoalsistocreateamindsetthattheachievementofthedesiredresults‘isyourjob.’Oftenemployeeslimitwhattheydobasedupontheir'jobdescription.'Doingonlywhatwaswrittenintheirjobdescriptionororallyexplainedbytheirmanager.Therealityisthatweonlyhireemployeestohelpthecompanyachieveitsdesiredresults-notjusttofocusondailyactivity.So,their‘job’is‘achievingthedesiredresults.’Itcreatesamindsetthat‘myjobisbroaderthanwhatisonmyjobdescription.’Grandioseideas,intoxicatingpossibilitiesandbigopportunitiesdrawoutpassion,engagement,creativityandmorale.Employeesaremostengagedintheirworkwhentheyareinvolvedinmeaningfulworkandbelievetheyareplayingawinnablegame.Howeffectiveisyourleadershipteamatcreatingthatwinnablegame?

InSummary-TheFocusMustBe: More Less OpportunityFocus TacticsFocus DevelopaWantToMindset ForceoraHaveToMindset CultivateaPullandDesire PushingOutorThrustUpon Urgency–ChoosetoEngage JustDoIt-Demand SolutionsFocus ProblemsFocus Commitment Compliance FocusonResults FocusonmyJob KeepMovingMentality StoporWaitMindset

AboutTheAuthor:MikeEvansisManagingPartnerofQuestMark,with20+yearsofexpertiseintheareasofflawlessexecutionofstrategy,employeeengagement,culture-shaping,changeleadership,organizationalaccountability,andexemplaryleadership.Mike served in key senior leadership and consulting roles with Kotter International, Franklin-Covey, and Tom PetersCompany. Hehasworkedalongsideand learned fromadiversegroupof thought leaders including:Dr. JohnKotter,Dr.StephenCovey, TomPeters, JimKouzes,HyrumSmith, Steve Farber, ChrisMcChesneyandothers.Mikehasworkedwithorganizations in virtually every arena, from the tech sector to financial services,manufacturing, health care, hospitality,entertainment,retail,andtheUSGovernment.ClientsincludecompaniessuchasPNCBank,Intel,CapitalOne,Apple,FifthThird Bank, Pfizer, U.S. Navy, Fidelity Investments, Johnson& Johnson, Symantec, Astra Zeneca, Heinz USA, DuPont andNASA.mike.evans@questmarkcompany.com