Successful change agents find windows of opportunity to drive changes to an environment. They focus on the most vital changes and get them done, rather than taking on too many changes and getting few accomplished. I have found through heartache and toil that there are three stages of change management. I did not come by this knowledge by conversing with a burning bush. It was derived from decades of projects in all different verticals.
On a side note, Professor Maynard, my Calculus Professor, would always say, “Don’t drink and derive.” No wonder I loathed differential calculus and change for a quarter-century before getting therapy. Anyhow, back to our regularly scheduled blogpost: these stages provide the necessary framework to manage change.Stage 1: preparing the environment. It is the first, and I believe, the most important stage. It should answer who, what, when, how, and why. A message that leaders must articulate is, “Why are we changing?” If you cannot come up with a reason, your proposed changes will probably fail. However, if you can give a clear, compelling story, engage stakeholders in the process and do the following:
You will have increased the odds change will take root. Next on the list is making the change sticky. For change to be sticky, leaders need commitment building. Employees own what they help create. It is critical to get buy-in and let people comment on the features of the plan, confirm their commitment, address their questions and concerns, then begin the implementation of the plan. Important Throughout all three stages, frequent and clear communication is incredibly important.
Anticipate the forces that will try to thwart change. You need to get a good sense of what people fear about the change and get in front of it as soon as possible. Obstacles come in a couple of flavors: friction and resistance. Friction is the natural tendency to cling to old practices or old ways of thought. They tend to smooth out over time with consistent reinforcement. Resistance is an outright rejection of proposed changes. It is more difficult to overcome than friction and will need a thoughtful spectrum of actions to counteract it. Actions include coaching resistors, more or less participation, using understandable terms, use of a carrot or a stick, However, sometimes resistance is a red flag, a signal that something is going wrong. Every time resistance occurs, it is time to carefully listen to find out what the trouble truly is and a careful exploration of the difficulty.
Stage 2: an implementation should be the second step. Curiously, some folks start with implementation without ever preparing the field for planting. If this is where you begin the change process, you could be in for a rough ride. Parents can get away with saying, “Because I said so!” Business leaders typically cannot. Unless you are in the military, leading 18-year olds that are legally obligated to obey orders. Education, training, planning, managing resistance, feedback, and creating change champions are key activities in Stage 2.
Change is best received when it is implemented in digestible chunks. Break the implementation into mini-projects that can be reviewed and adjusted along thejourney. Be a test pilot: have a cadre of employees test the change before it is implemented and embedded. This is a fabulous way to ensure buy-in to change, what is going to happen, and why.
A key catalyst to successful change is positive momentum. As mentioned in Jim Collins’ sublime classic, Good to Great, leaders must keep the flywheel moving and keep distractions at bay. Once the momentum is blunted, it is difficult to build it again and it will not happen a third time. Leaders must provide the energy and keep the momentum going.
Stage 3: transition is just as important as the implementation in Stage 2, yet many leaders fail to adequately transition any changes to the status quo. Change must have a planned integration and someone to grab the baton and keep running. Evaluation is critical; capturing the lessons observed, both good and bad, and turning them into lessons learned is necessary to transition. The transition to the new normal must be done well or the change will evaporate away. I believe this cannot be overemphasized. In fact, before considering Stage 1, a leader must have a solid champion in mind for the transition.
LTA believes in change in order to keep up with the beautiful chaos that is the current business climate. Like most things in life, the big ideas are easy to comprehend but difficult to implement. Turn the tables on failure by having a good reason to change, prepare the company, plan the change, and articulating a better future because of the change. Prestage the change with the people that you are going to change. Get their insights and defuse the landmines up front. Present the Situation and have valid reasons for change. Any change needs a Champion and will not succeed without one. LTA can help you with your changes with our experienced change warriors, our consultants that never drink and derive, as well as our insightful Business Process Reengineering sessions.