People Don't Hate Change, They Hate How You're Trying to Change Them...

[Michael Kanazawa]

Do you see this as a core problem with corporate change efforts? The ChangeThis manifesto, of the same title as this post, just went into the top 100 posts and has had over 8000 people read it. They had asked me a few months ago to write about experiences with strategic change and transformation and this ebook/manifesto was the result. Let me know what your experiences have been.

http://www.changethis.com/48.01.CorporateChange

[Nick McCormick]

People change if there is enough impetus to do so. Most corporate change initiatives fail because of lack of communication and lack of commitment. Management is unable to articulate the value and importance of the change and the benefits to the individuals. In most cases the management team doesn't even buy-in. Managers kill change initiatives better and faster than anyone on the front lines.

[Guy Farmer]

Great topic Michael. In my experience people are more likely to welcome change when they are part of creating it and there is participation at every level. It also helps to practice the new way of doing things over time and with consistency until it becomes the new pattern.

Take care,

Guy
Helping People Change Together

[Ben Simonton]

Michael,

It is the core problem and the most negative one. I like the cut of your jib, Michael, and you are spot on.

I managed people for over 30 years and over time got away from the traditional top-down approach to managing people. In the process, I developed, tested and proved a set of rules and methods for unleashing each employee's full potential of creativity, innovation, productivity, motivation, and commitment. Employees literally loved to come to work and blew away the competition. In this state, they are over 300% more productive than if poorly motivated and unengaged.

I am soon to publish the chronological history of my own development and invite you to read the first 20 pages.

http://www.bensimonton.com/Mach%205%20Leadership,%20Introduction%20...

Best regards, Ben

[Michael Kanazawa]

Thanks for the feedback and discussion about this topic. Nick, your ponit that not even the management team buys in is an interesting one that I've seen play out for sure. Guy and Ben, your additions about being a part of the change and avoiding top-down forcing of change agendas are both right in line with what seems to be the best practices in strategic change.

Thanks,

Mike

[David Zinger]

Michael,

I love the title. I think we are living much more in a time of invitation than a time of imposition...even with the fearful economic cuts. I spent a few days in Europe listening to employee engagement survey work. Much of it was designed in consultation with large consultancies who designed elaborate measures and reporting mechanisms. What was not so apparent was the voice of the employee...not in completing the survey but in constructing the very surveys they were a part of. We have a long way to go to build authentic community that participates in change rather than organizations that dole out change.

David

[Doug Shaw]

Michael - you got that right. My research shows this is one of the single biggest reasons why change fails. Our people told me:

We don’t finish what we start
We don’t engage, we tend to dictate
We are not specific enough
We don’t communicate change effectively

Unsurprisingly the flip is one of the big success criteria. What else? Our people told me:

Understanding the business benefits that we will enjoy from change
Honesty, it builds trust, it's powerful. Why is it so rare?
Personal involvement in change
Senior management engagement, stress its importance, senior people endorsing the programme encouraging people's ideas and suggestions
People talking excitedly rather than cynically about change
Include the voice of the customer
Faster, clearer sign-off
Evidence of success and recognition - of the "How"

Be good to get a few more views and maybe distill this list down to a powerful, passionate, purposeful, profitable essence that we can bottle and sell eh?

[David Marklew]

Michael, building on the points made by Guy, Ben, David and Doug, I too have found that involvement is the key ingredient in any successful change programme. To involve is to engage.

I have facilitated change programmes in organisations by bringing together 'broad church' groups and been staggered at how surprised and honoured people are that someone has bothered to seek their input.

"I've worked for this company for 15 years and this is the first time anybody's asked for my opinion" was the response from a senior store store manager in one organisation.

The communication challenge is to find an engaging way of making sure everyone in the organisation understands that throughout the process they have been fully represented, their views have been heard and that their opinions have counted.

[Michael Kanazawa]

David,

Thanks for the additions. You are right on point with the last sentence. We have been exploring new web 2.0 technologies for generating the kind of engagement and exchange of ideas that has traditionally needed to be done through workshop meetings. With teams so widely dispersed around the globe today it seems that technology is really the only solution for full organizational engagement. Have you tired using any technology tools that have been successful in this area?

Best,

Mike

[David Marklew]

Mike, web 2.0 technologies present great opportunities but I have not personally been involved. I have used film in a creative fly on the wall setting to demonstrate the change process and the people representation. This has without a doubt speeded up both heightened engagement ans speeded up the the process.

I would be very interested to hear of any good web 2.o technologies case studies.

David

[Michael Kanazawa]

Doug,

Those quotes sound EXACTLY like the ones I've heard so many times as well. And it is astounding that something so powerful is so rare! We've tried to bottle up the learnings across companies between myself and my business partner/mentor/co-author Dr. Robert Miles in BIG Ideas to BIG Results (FT Press/Pearson).

There are likely many paths to the solution. Bob Miles and I feel we have a unique history because our process was founded through a program that Bob led at the Harvard Business School and then worked with Jack Welch at GE and several other corporations to fine tune the process. We met in the mid 1990s and have been refining the process and building up a track record of transformations since. The process is called ACT (Accelerated Corporate Transfomration).

However, the process is vastly under-represented in general business today. If you think it may have market potential as something to bottle up and sell, that is the course we are on today with ACT. I'd be interested in any ideas or suggestions on how to accelerate what we've begun.

Sounds like we find ourselves in very similar situations...

Cheers,

Mike

[Jacquie Nagy]

I hear this all the time. At one recent networking event another trainer told me that I should not even use the word change in my language as it causes most people to run. At one time I might have taken her advice. But this time, when I took a step back and read between the lines of what she meant I realized it wasn't the word 'change' that was the problem.

When a person indicates they want a new direction there is a quick and effective response that can help. First, what I pay attention to is not always the words they use to 'indicate' their intentions. What I have learned is that many people will express what they want - for example change, not with the words they use but what their body language is telling.

So.. with that in mind, when someone does indicate they want a new direction but that something, someone or some other reason is getting in their way, the question I ask is "What's stopping you?" This question creates a neurological shift allowing the person to go on a search for the answer - generally stored within the unconscious mind. Where else would it be if not at the unconscious level - otherwise the answer would already be in their language. For example if someone said they did not want to (........ fill in the blank with any number of things) and they followed that statement with... because I have done that before and it did not work for me. Then the answer is conscious and they have a reason for not wanting to change.

All great leaders know how to communicate using not only their words but by also using their senses. And all great leaders have learned that developing the fine art of listening off the top and between the words of what their employees are saying and by using sensory based communication skills, they can become even better leaders. And when employees feel they have been really heard - I mean really... heard.... they are more likely to be open to the discussion of change. After all, isn't it the employees that bear the brunt of change in an organization? And when employees embrace the opportunity to continue communicating with the leaders of the organization in a manner in which they are truly heard, they will more readily embrace each new step on the way to creating the changes they and the corporations desire.

[Michael Kanazawa]

Jacquie - You're so right. Especially when changes are taking place due to tough market conditions, it can be really hard to take the time to truly listen and to engage properly with employees. Thanks for the additional thoguhts on this topic.