A Roadmap for Change Leadership

By Terry D. Everson

Everson Consulting, LLC

A Macro Change Look

My Change Champion’s Roadmap is an eight-phase model designed to get you thinking about how you plan, design, and implement your people/processes/technology changes. As opposed to being a true Roadmap, it simply lays out a path to follow, allowing you as an organization to work within your culture and climate. It is meant to be “food for thought”. The Roadmap is a mosaic of many Change theories and is meant to capture the best of the best tools/techniques/strategies to engage your people and enhance your organization’s capacity for success.

Research confirms that most change initiatives fail due to the human element in any Change process. With clear direction and strategic alignment, active engagement, and a passionate commitment to Change communication strategies, there is a significant rise in change implementation successes.

The concepts in this document can be used for large scale Change initiatives; although along the way we will introduce side trips for those department and team managers who are committed to maximizing their respective, smaller department/team-specific Change initiatives.

A Change Champion need not just sit in the Corporate Officers suite. Pioneers exist across your organization. They can serve as your Director of Change Leadership, as a process leader, a change project team member, an individual contributor, or as a change consultant. We will introduce the various formal roles that provide a solid change foundation, to include the Change Champions, the Change Coalition, the Change Advocates, and the Change Contributors.

The Roadmap is organized into the eight phases and details the Change Life Cycle.

Phase I- Burn the boat

When Viking warriors conquered a new land the first thing they did upon landing was burn the boat. Although it was meant as a symbolic gesture, it really epitomizes the mentality needed when addressing Change. There is no going back. We are here for the duration. When people believe that a Change is temporary, likely to fail, or not supported by the “troops”, those seeds of doubt can be planted across the Change team.

William Bridges talks about ending the present, before moving on to the challenging, neutral stage. For people to process that ending they need to see why the driving crisis or competitive realities are pushing the change. John Kotter talks about a “burning platform”, a sense of urgency. At an executive level the entire team needs to strategically align with the Corporate

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Vision/Mission/Values/Strategic Objectives, and completely understand and embrace why the change is necessary.

Another technique that graphically depicts the ending is a “funeral”. Just last week I attended the funeral of a dear friend. We were there to celebrate her life, her wonderful contributions as a woman, as a business professional, as a family member, and as a partner. There were laughs, there were tears, and there were memories. But in the end, we knew it was time to start letting go. As hard as it was, the funeral gave us permission to move on to the next step in the grieving process.

Let’s have a funeral

Next time you prepare to launch a change initiative, throw a “funeral”. Give people permission to grieve, to laugh, to express fear, and to better prepare for the coming change. It is more than a way to just “burn the boat”. It is a way for them to recognize selves as the Roadmap evolves.

Another tool that might help in the initial phase of the Change Life Cycle is a concept called TRIAGE. It stands for:

T- Take the pulse- How have changes been introduced and accepted in the past. Do a SWOT Analysis, both on the processes and on the people. Break down the analysis by the eight Phases and determine if there has been a common roadblock, or common success experiences. This is where the Change Readiness Survey comes in. Collect empirical date about the Change Culture so you can evaluate the impact of your change efforts throughout the Change lifecycle.

R- Realize Strengths- Be it people, processes, and/or technologies, determine where the Roadmap has worked in the past and pull from those strengths

I- Investigate “Opportunities” – If there have been failures in past change efforts diagnose root cause through deductive reasoning or determine possible people/process causes through Inductive, creative problem solving. You need to be able to move across these two problem solving techniques to fully address the varying problems faced by an organization.

A- Address in a prioritized manner- Using a Must/Wants approach, develop a systematic plan to address the needed changes and incorporate Project Management tools and techniques to manage the processes.

G- Get at it- Avoid the “paralysis by analysis” syndrome. You may find it refreshing to use the Ready/Fire/Aim strategy to break away from the Analysis overload.

E- Evaluate the effort- Use the Strategic Plan and Department Critical Success Factors (CSF’s) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) with corresponding SMARRT Goals to determine how things are going. You can carry this Strategic Planning model down to your Program and Projects’ levels.

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We mentioned earlier that some people can be the biggest speed bump to change. We assume people are willing to leave their comfort zone for the good of the cause. People usually resist change for a combination of three reasons: Habit, Fear, and Lack of Information. It is our responsibility to identify who is presenting what resistance and then to prescriptively address those issues from the Listeners Viewpoint (LVP). We will build that process into the Communication Phase.

Phase II- Form a Change Champion Team (CCT)

If you are going to commit to an organization-wide Change Strategy, why would you even consider team members/sponsors/champions that do not have the inherent motivation to get on board immediately?

Instead, try this out:

See Phase Descriptors below:

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Phase 2, Brazen-

A Necessary Evil, necessary evil

Phase 1, Bonding- Playing the dating game

Phase 3, Building- Moving from “They” to “We”

Phase 4, Beautiful- Start recruiting for the next phase 4,

The Four Phases of the Change Champion Team (CCT) Development Cycle

Establish the framework for success

Conflict makes the team stronger. They need to grow through it. Stronger. They

Now the real fun begins, if you turn just them loose.

Get ready for the next evolution and prepare your successor

The Leader’s Role at Each Stage in Change Champion Team (CCT) Development

Especially in a Change culture, the early stages of team development, the Bonding stage, requires people who are strategically aligned and can see outside the organizational chart. It is a wise move to throw out the org chart all together at this early stage. Scour the ranks for the members who will drive and support the change.

To help in that forming process, be sure to have all the necessary documentation in place, to include the Vision/Mission/Values/Strategic Objectives/Annual Organizational Metrics. Also identify those traits/characteristics/competencies that are critical to the change team. Develop a Competency Dictionary and then build Competency based interview questions to screen in the most likely change champions.

The role of the Change Champion leader manager will vary greatly depending on where the team lies in the CCT Developmental Cycle. During the Bonding stage, instead of just being a cheerleader, you need to ensure that the all the necessary management tools are in place, to include comprehensive planning models, clear reporting structure, a Change Champion team “playbook”, and strategically/operationally aligned Goals.

Here is a little, SMARRT twist on the goal setting process:

SpecificMeasurableAchievableRelevantReachTime focused

Program and Project managers also understand why it is so important to build in People Change Management tools like Change Management Plans, Assessment Strategies (to include Stakeholder Assessments, Change Readiness Surveys, and Job Impact Analyses), Change Management Communication Plans, and Change Management Staff Development methodologies, (to include Training, Coaching, and Mentoring).

The Bonding stage is not unlike the dating process. For the first several “dates”, especially with new team members, we are always on our best behavior. It doesn’t take long though, for our true selves to appear. That is exactly the evolution that teams go through as they move from the Bonding stage to the Brazen stage.

In the upcoming, second phase of Change Champion Team development, the evolving team can actually disintegrate without a strong leadership presence.

During the Brazen Stage the team enters a time of growing conflict, uncertainty, and angst. The members become more open with their conflict, their opinions and their selfishness. This can be a “make or break” period of team development. During this time the Change Champion

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needs to be on top of all behavior, even while the members believe that are more advanced as a team that they actually are.

Now is not the time for the organization to use the “sink or swim” mentality when deciding how to deal with the CCT. The leader/manager must take an active role in monitoring individual and team performance, their interactive dynamics, and be ready to address the debilitating, dysfunctional team behavior. Even with the best of the Pioneers, there will still be conflict and needs to be actively managed in a positive and productive manner.

Before we venture into the Building stage, a brief, yet critical note about departing stage 2. If teams are left to their own survival, without the necessary management/leadership support, they may actually be able to evolve to the Building stage, but beware; they will invariable recycle back into the Brazen stage because they don’t have the necessary boundaries and conflict resolution skills needed to make a permanent move to stage 3. If you have not provided a solid base in the Bonding stage the personal conflicts that surface in the Brazen stage are nothing more than a reflection of a team without boundaries.

Again, if a CCT has the proper foundation, the natural next step in the Cycle is Phase 3, the Building stage. Members better understand their respective individual, and team roles, how those roles interact and are dependent upon each other. In the end the individual members achieve their own team “ah ha’s”. It is here that they accept their responsibility to “cover each other’s back”. It does not mean that they willingly accept sub-standard performance. Quite the contrary, it is in this phase that the team begins taking over some of the Planning, Organizing and Controlling (POC) change activities related to team behavior.

That evolution may be subtle, but when championed by the leader/manager, and when modeled by the senior team members, new teammates can quickly adjust and accept their role in the big picture.

It is during this stage that some leader/managers just can’t deal with their own success. Instead of acting as a shepherd, watching their flock and enjoying the team performance, which often exceeds originally targeted goals, the leader/manager may want to continue to exert their managerial control. Not a wise move. Instead, turn them loose, while exercising the time-proven MBWA (Management by Walking Around) leadership role.

The final phase in the CCT is an interesting phenomenon. In Team Development sessions the participants’ identity the best team they have ever been a part of. Their descriptions are a working definition of the Beautiful Phase of the CCT. They share words like driven, focused, successful, seasoned, confident, competitive, collaborative, and winners. Think of the best team you have ever been a part of. I am sure you will come up with even more adjectives.

To accomplish this rare feat, to take a team from the Bonding Phase to the Beautiful Phase, requires a real combination of leader/manager talents. Perhaps the most important is the ability to be flexible in your Leadership Style. Please reference the Need Based Leadership model include at www.everson-consulting.com . In essence, the leader/manager is using the same

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four leadership styles, focused on the CCT. I will not go into great detail about the Beautiful stage, other than to say it may be very short-lived.

The sad truth is: When you have a new teammate join the group you all revert back to square one, right back to the Bonding Phase. The team chemistry will continue to permeate the organizational climate, but the players have changed. The Change Champion leaders/manager must be able to adapt to that change.

Phase III- Create a Vision

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and never has that been truer than in a Change culture. Most people need to see, touch, and feel the future, to fully grasp what is going on, before they begin to jump on board. You can spend all the time you want focusing on the processes and procedure surrounding the change but unless the people are actively engaged, good luck.

For these reasons the Change Champion culture needs to start presenting a structured game plan to the CCT. There is one guideline that needs to be incorporated into the Vision: KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID!!! Never has the acronym, K.I.S.S been more appropriate.

If you have your Strategic Plan in place, as mentioned in Phases I and II, you likely already have a business Vision Statement. This Vision, along with your Mission/Statement/Values’ Statement/Strategic Objectives serve as the perfect frame for your Road Map. First, paint the picture for the CCT. They will serve as your barometer for future “selling“ opportunities. While they may not be the toughest sell, they will usually be more than happy to share their concerns, if any are present. There needs to be a clear line of sight between your CCT and Change Vision; the stronger the connection the stronger the commitment. You are providing the “Guiding North Star” for all to follow and support.

Next, and this step is often overlooked, you need to put together a strategy plan that will help clarify the roles/responsibilities/deliverables/timeframes, and dependencies. In a nutshell, use a Project Management planning strategy, incorporating those tools that make the Project Management process the perfect model for the CCT, from a Project Charter to a Key Phase Diagram, from a Critical Path snapshot to Activity List detailing responsibilities, action items, deliverable dates, and key phase dependencies. To secure everyone’s commitment you need to fill in the blanks the best you can.

It really is an exercise in “paint by numbers”. When all the pieces are identified, when all the players are on board, when everyone looks at the Vision (the picture on the paint by numbers box), and the CCT is all on board, it is time to start the real work of Change. It is time to move on to Phase IV, the Communication Phase.

Phase IV- The Communication Phase

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In John Kotter’s Change model he recommends that early on in the CCT development, the team needs to evaluate the amount of communication that will be needed to move the Change culture along. He then recommends that you multiply that effort by a factor of 10; not double or triple, but ten times the original estimate.

This is easier said than done in most organizations. Especially in a time of Change there is a tendency for the Leadership to squirrel away in the corporate suite, hoping no one asks the tough questions, like, “what are we doing”, “why are we doing this”, and “how will it affect me and my team”. And now Kotter is telling everyone to up the ante by a factor of 10?

Who are the players in this initial round of communication planning? The chart below details the five categories of players and how they may contribute to the communication process:

In every organization you have Management members who are natural-born Pioneers, your Champions. But embedded in the team are also Management members who are much more like Settlers. These will hopefully be your Coalition. The same holds for you individual contributors. You have staff members who are Pioneers, your Advocates, and others who are

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Management Staff

Pioneers

Settlers

Champions Coalition

Contributors Advocates

WM

Settlers, your Contributors. You need a Wagon Master to serve as the contact point for these four disparate, yet interconnected roles. We will build this out shortly.

As we mentioned in Phase I, people are often the biggest road blocks to the Change Champion culture. It is not that they are purposely opposed to the change, but if they are not included in the process, and actively contributing to the planning activity, why should we be surprised when we experience resistance, especially from those who are naturally more comfortable in a stable business environment. One of the hardest things for these people to accept is that “Change” is now the “constant”.

Gone are the same ol’, same ol’ days when you came into work, performed basically the same job for 44 years, like my ex-father-in-law did, and then retired to the cabin until called to the big American Legion hall in the sky.

So how do we create an environment of “over-communication” because you can’t over-communicate during a time of change? If change is a constant, it looks like communication is going to play an even more critical role in making Championing Change a workable strategy.

In the model above, “selling” to the Pioneers, the Champion Management team, and the Coalition, the excited staff who are probably NT’s in the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, is a fairly easy process, but still super important because these two groups will provide the initial momentum for things to come. They make up the foundation for your evolving Change Champion team. The tougher “sells” are the Settlers in the crowd. In the Myers Briggs world these people are often your SJ’s. They inherently prefer stability and consistency in their operating procedures, and if given the chance, would just as soon continue to contribute to “building the fort”.

It is amazing to watch these two groups interact on a daily basis. Pioneers truly frighten the Settlers, and Settlers truly bore the Pioneers. Your Change Championing effort to increases the communication to and between these two groups. If only Pioneers are included, chaos will ultimately reign, as nothing will get done, while they jump from one revision to the next. If only Settlers are included everything will be planned, organized, controlled, policied/procedured, but nothing will change.

Someone needs to serve as the connecting point to merge the two energies, the lightening rod that can harness the energy of these two opposing forces. Enter the Wagon Master (WM). This person need not be a formal leader/manager but their communication skills put them at the critical communication crossroad for the teams. This person serves as an organizational barometer. They are energized by the Pioneers and identify with the fears and habits of the Settlers. They can move comfortably between Management and Staff. The Wagon Master develops a comprehensive Change Champion Communication Matrix that details who needs to be communicated to, what communication techniques will be most effective, and the frequency of each planned and informal communication effort.

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The following Change Champion Communication Matrix is an example of an abbreviated, simplistic template that you can adapt to your own target audience and available communication strategies.

1. Identify Your Communicating “Publics:”

Superior(s) Team Members Functional peers Staff Customers Suppliers Other Change Champion Team (CCT) Members

2. Design Your Communicating “System” . . . Assemble a “Communications Matrix:”

Who Status Reports Meetings Presentations Informal Dialogue

Superior(s)Trend and Exception Reports

Weekly, Monthly and Quarterly

Key MilestoneDates

Accomplishments

Anticipated Problems

Team Members WeeklyWeekly and Semi-monthly

Kick-offKey Milestones

Very Frequently

Functional Peers

Weekly, Biweekly and Monthly

As NeededStart-upProblems

At Least Biweekly

StaffMonthly or as Agreed

Start-upKey Dates Problems

Key Milestones

Specification Changes

Follow-up to Formal Status Reports

Customers As Required As RequiredStart-upMilestones

As Required

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Again, as a guideline, develop this as a starting point. Then do the math, X10. Thank you, John Kotter. And note that we have not included any of the modern electronic communication tools like email, Twitter, Facebook, etc. You get to develop this added impact based on the technology now available within your organization.

Despite all the positives related to change, there are more than a few issues that Management has to deal with.

Managers/executives rarely admit that change is disruptive and threatening

Managing loss/grieving effectively means owning responsibility for the damage done to people in the process

Managers: - Press people forward aggressively toward ambitious goals- Are often compelled to keep the momentum going at any cost- Often sweep distress under the rug

Phase V- Power to the People

Change is a very personal experience for everyone involved in the Change Champion process. In the previous phase we discussed the importance of getting the right people on the “Change Bus” and seated in the right seats on that bus. No matter how great that change is, in theory, unless the people buy-in the likelihood of success is greatly diminished.

You also have to be committed to seeking out and attacking processes that impede the Change Champion culture. Philip Crosby once commented that “if you take really dedicated employees and put them into a flawed process, the process wins every time”.

The people that can best attack those dysfunctional processes are the very people who work within them on a daily basis. They know what works and what doesn’t, and given the opportunity to be a part of the change, they can actually be the cavalry to attack the flawed process. Pioneers will most likely be the first on board, followed by those Settlers who have been “sold” on the new wave.

It would be great if our jobs were isolated, unrelated activities that we controlled, even in a time of change, with little influence from the outside. In reality, our job duties are often a small part of a much larger “process” of interconnected functions, often covering several departments. A process is defined as “a series of actions, changes, or functions bringing about a result”. Taken further, a process is “a series of operations performed in the making or treatment of a product”.

As a point of reference, in the early ‘80’s American business was swept into the Process Improvement/ Statistical Process Improvement (SPC) phenomenon. This Roadmap includes

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many of those very successful tools and techniques, but not under a single Process Improvement banner. As a Change Champion it is important for each organization to evaluate all the available tools in the Process Improvement toolbox. Some of the tools for this process are detailed below:

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These tools are only as powerful as the commitment of the people using them. Hopefully we are making a clear case for getting the people on board and active in the process.

One caveat to the “Power to the People” centers on those powerful and influential managers and staff who actively or passively resist the Change Champion culture. The old adage, “Tigers don’t change their stripes” applies here. If you have people across the organization who historically have thrown speed bumps up in front of the bus, why are you surprised when they do the same thing over and over again? Here is where you may need to make the tough call. A simple Choices/Consequences scenario is the best approach.

“We need you on the bus and in your seat” confirms your commitment to the individual. If they make the choice that things don’t align for them, wish them the best and send them on their way.

Tough love? “You bet!” Necessary? Even a bigger “You Bet!!”

Phase VI- Planning for and Achieving Short-term Goals

If your Change Champion culture conversion is projected to last 3-5 years, don’t wait until the end to announce “Mission Accomplished”. We are creatures of reinforcement and positive reinforcement has the longest lasting result. When you are early into the Change Champion process, be sure that you have projected and announced the criteria that will be used to determine the impact of each key phase in the Life Cycle of Change. Give people ongoing feedback as to early progress, much like the large graphs used to celebrate the annual United Way goals. Build in early wins so people can see positive progress. Bring in the SMARRT Goal Setting process mentioned in Phase II, but watch out. Don’t announce “Mission Accomplished “before your metrics confirm success. We all now know what a fiasco that can cause.

During this time it is important to design and communicate the visible performance metrics and ensure that you are recognizing and rewarding employees contributing to the performance goals.

Again, Project Management and Championing Change go hand in hand. Get everyone up to speed on the principles of Project Management and use the tools throughout the Lifecycle of Change. You can’t leave short term goals to chance. Their success will lay the foundation for all future change efforts. You have to earn you Change Champion credibility.

One final thought on short term goal achievement. Don’t overlook the chance to celebrate success. Make it small, make it personal, but make it focused on the attained goal. You can’t risk losing key players simply because you forgot to tell them that things are moving ahead as planned, with a positive impact on the organization. In a time of change the ones most likely to

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leave in a poorly design change initiative are your most important and talented people. If they walk out the door, guess who is left to lead the Change effort? If that happens, good luck!!

Phase VII- Consolidate Improvements and Lay the Foundation for Future Changes

Every organization, every team, every individual, and every process goes through a natural lifecycle of change. Change Champions understand this lifecycle; they relate to how various people interact and react. Without going into an extensive primer on the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, the following Change Champion Life Cycle will help explain who does what when, and why:

You will notice that the kickoff is headed up by the Change Champion, whoever that may be. Early in the evolution, momentum is slow to take off, awaiting the Change Champion Team, (CCT), made up primarily of Pioneers, the MBTI’s NT’s. As time progresses and small wins appear, the Settlers, the SJ’s, begin to jump on board. As success continues to grow there becomes a point where the Pioneers are ready to launch the next wave of change, even while the original change is proving its worth. While the Settlers ride the first wave the Pioneers are already stoking up the next wave. The circles indicate a time of maximum strife. If there is ever time to maximize the Communication Matrix, those are the times. The Wagon Master needs to be reassuring the Settlers that their present process will be valuable for a period of time, while the Pioneers are encouraged to continue their entrepreneurial spirit.

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Phase VIII- Making Change the Way We Do Things

What originally starts out as a grassroots movement, led by a select group of Change Champion Team members, now grows to a point where everyone across the organization not only understands their processes, but accepts the respective roles in the Change Champion movement. It appears to be a natural progression, from Phase 1-8, but if any of the phases are overlooked, or worse yet, jettisoned because it will take extra effort, the entire house of cards can crumble.

Communication continues to be the key. Tie new behavior to the new successes. Create Leadership Development and Succession Plans in line with the new direction. Continue to bring in new initiatives and the people who can champion them.

Old corporate cultures die hard, and there will remain hidden pockets that will try to resurrect the “old” culture. As mentioned earlier, here is where a strong “Choices/Consequences” position will prove invaluable.

Watch out for a common problem. Some organizations, after initial successes, believe that the Change Champion mentality will permeated all aspects of the business. Be attentive to the signals. Listen, get out of the office and “stroll the grounds”. It is not enough to post banners and fliers touting the Change Champion culture. You need to live it through your people, your processes, and your technologies.

A Micro Change Look

In our Macro look at Change we detailed a comprehensive Change Champion strategy. This approach applies when a major culture change is needed.

On a much smaller scale, Managers daily face the challenge of getting their respective teams to buy into a new process, a new technology, or a new procedure. While smaller in scope, the resistance can be comparable to that in major change efforts.

Micro Change follows a similar pattern but on a much more limited scale. The timeframe is usually much shorter, the impact focuses primarily on department operations, and the people involved usually have direct reporting channels to the leader/manager in charge.

Kurt Lewin’s Unfreezing/Neutral/ Refreezing principles and Kubler-Ross’ Grieving Cycle appear to serve as the foundation for Bridges more modern Endings/Neutral/Beginnings model. This abbreviated format makes for easy understanding and application. Let’s add a unique twist related to the Leader/Manger’s role as a Change communicator.

In essence, the Leader/Manager needs to be willing to step up and serve not just as the boss but as a “salesperson”. The boss is the person who will “sway” the team/department to the

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change, based on the benefits of the “new wave”, the step by step communication that they provide, and the training they implement to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Here is a streamline, three step Change Process for your consideration:

The lower left hand corner of the graph is not a cruel hoax. As mentioned in the Macro Phase I, it is time to let go of the old culture. So too, people, teams, and departments need to have permission to bring an end to the old processes/procedures/technology before they willingly move on to the Transition Phase. The impact often has close personal ties to the affected parties. The Ending marks an end to the old and a first step toward The Future.

People, like organizations, need to know that “we are not turning back”. Like children who hope divorced parents will somehow get back together, employees who live in the comfort zone of “tradition” believe in their heart of hearts that the change will fall apart and everything will smoothly go back to “normal”. Little do they realize that change is the new ”normal”.

The Ending can also be marked by subtle and not so subtle sabotage by those not supportive of the Change. Much like families going through this initial grieving process, dysfunction and confusion is common. Think of your own experiences during a time of loss and remember the challenges you faced. The Funeral is just another step in the process, one that needs to occur so people can move on.

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The Funeral

The Transition

The Future

Leading Change

The second phase in this Micro Change initiative is much less defined than The Ending, the Funeral. It is a natural next phase in the recovery Micro Change process. This could almost be called the “limbo” stage”. It is a time of confusion, uncertainty, and Transition. It is a time when Change Leaders must ramp up their departmental and organizational communication strategies. Here’s where that “X-Ten” communication plan is absolutely critical, for without ongoing direction, insight, and support for the department/team/individual, many of the “Settlers” will slip back into The Ending, hoping all this trouble will just disappear.

During this timeframe the Change Champion needs to assume the role of “salesperson”. They need to get out of the office, walk the halls, gaining a pulse for the environment, and addressing negative feedback in a positive and proactive manner. If left to fester, this phase can degrade into passive/aggressive discord that can put the entire change effort at risk. “Management by Walking Around”, (MBWA) is the rule of the day, again.

It is a very personal time when the Change Champion consciously looks for resistance and treats that resistance not as a negative but instead as a positive, a time to address the Habit/Fear/Lack of Information obstacles.

If “we have always done it this way” is the response, most likely you are facing Habit. To move people with the Habit resistance, stress the personal benefits they can garner from the change. The more personal the benefits, the more closely aligned will be the tie to the change. Be sure to include the team/department/organizational benefits but realize the more distant the benefit, the less likely the acceptance.

The “Fear” factor is a completely different animal. When people are afraid of a change you can promise them the world and it will not be enough to overcome the paralysis from the fear. Many leader/managers believe that promising a smoother operation or an “opportunity” for growth will turn the tide. Not so.

Quite simply, when faced with the “Fear Factor”, the only way to overcome that fear is to educate the people to the process that is going to be used and to take them step by step through that process, realizing that as you move along there will be resistance and concern. Similar to the Marco process of Change, it is critical to over-communicate during the time of change, laying out clear and definable steps, the interdependence of each of the phases, and the importance of cooperation from all involved.

Leader/managers must also make a concerted effort to be visible and present during this time of Change. As Change Champions they are seen as the role models in the Change process.

Unlike the evolution from Endings to Transition, the movement from Transitions to the Future may not be a finite, visible event, but becomes more a time of momentum and small success, leading to a feeling of energy and positive support from the ranks. It may be nothing more than a series of accepting comments, an energy of support and trust, a belief and trust in what is happening. Again, if the Neutral Phase is less defined, resisters may have a tendency to want to return to the previous way of doing things.

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That’s why it is so important for the leader/manager to signal that it is time to move on so everyone understands that there is no going back.

The Future is not just a catchy phrase or a series of posters hung on the wall defining the new way. It becomes a way of life, a corporate value that is ingrained in all staff and leadership, a mantra of business practice. It is the partnership between your Pioneers and Settlers, a merging of energies between your Champions and Coalition, across your Advocates and Contributors, with everyone pulling in the same strategic direction, with the Customer central to the theme.

One final thought:

It is my hope that this summary piques your interest in the Change process and pushes you to further investigate the many Change Leadership Models that are now available. Change is going to happen; it is the nature of the beast. It is our challenge to embrace it, nurture it, and lead its growth.

All the best in your efforts.

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