Change is really about the notion or idea of impermanence of things—Buddha.
Change invites reflection to review where we are and who we are. It invites us to drop deeper and see our shadow selves and what we are not comfortable with changing.
As individuals we are resistant to change. It helps to know or find out what's really underneath that resistance, as in where the resistance is coming from.
For leaders, it about the 'comfort zone' and change when they are looking at change management processes or initiatives. People like their comfort zones because they are in control of nearly every contingency they have and moving them out of that make them know and feel that there are more challenges coming up. That leads to the resistance of-- why do I have to change!
“One way to go about it is not to mention the word 'change' in the process, just focus on the destination and the behaviours that get you there.” (Twitter quote)
So how do you not mention the word change in a change management process or initiative?
There are 4 key questions that leaders need to answer with clarity:
1. Where do we want to go?
2. Where are we now?
3. What part do I play?
4. What's in it for me?
Giving answers to these four questions guarantees that the rest of the organization moves with the desired change management process. In fact, answering these four questions makes the entire change process much easier for those with resistance to accept and make the necessary move.
The best analogy is to take that of moving to a new house.
So first we are going to go from here, where we are now, to that house there. Move from point A to point B. The move is because the house, in point B is, say bigger or nicer and each family member gets their own room. That answers the what's in it for me. And individually as a family member involved my role is to pack and clean up the rooms and things under my responsibility and move them to the new house. But be ready for some to still have resistance and who would not want to leave.
In this example you would note that through the entire process at no point in time did anyone in the family suddenly just say "oh! we're going to change!".
For leaders it’s no different. They need to sell the idea of change without using the word change. By using the word change one creates resistance. On the other hand, by explaining the benefits of change, specially through the 'what's in it for me' bit and where the organization is headed, it makes it easier to get people on board.
This ability to communicate is impacted by the way leaders are affected by the environment they are in. It shapes their personality from what they feel is the expectation the company, the executives and the environment have from them. A sort of conditioning in terms of leadership behaviour seems to be present which suits the leaders.
Now when this behaviour changes it, initially, creates friction because the current state has changed, and a new behaviour is being demonstrated. This friction is actually pushback.
This pushback occurs on two counts:
1. The first person's usual behaviour has been replaced with a new behaviour. Therefore, a new stimulus to react to.
2. The what's in it for me needs to be clearly visible
When the changed behaviour is in play and all other dynamics are running on the old or previous conditioning and the new behaviour is not the expected behaviour it creates the friction.
For leaders it’s critical that they explain the change, that is taking place or is being spoken about, with clarity. Leaders need to be able to tell their executives why the change is happening and what exactly they are trying to do.
Let me share an example from my corporate life. This is many decades ago when empowerment wasn't...
