By Eliska Smith Padilla
Photo by Ross Findon @ unsplash.com
It’s true. Not all things need changing. Not every new idea turns out to be any better than the “the way we’ve always done it.” Change for change’s sake is not good. But, when you have an urgent need to change or a vision for new growth, leading organizations through change can be, well, a game changer.
Casting a vision
We like Marshall Goldsmith’s, “What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There” as a road map for change because it gives guidelines for making transitions. There are times in an organization’s lifespan when change is necessary, even urgent. As a leader you may have a vision for what needs to change in order to “get us there”, but if you want that change to stick and become real, you’ll need some key elements in place. It is the role of the leader to cast a vision for what the new state would look like. But then what? Next are some steps to managing change in your organization.
Weigh-in and Buy-in
Once you are convinced as a leader of the need for change, it’s important to allow teammates to weigh-in in order to achieve their buy-in. Gather a cross section of your team together and share your vision. Allow them to weigh-in, identifying the gaps that exist between the present state and the desired future state. Together, reach an understanding of what things you presently do that the organization must stop doing in order to reach the desired future. What new activities should replace those actions, and what must the team do more of? This would be a great time to identify leaders who can be responsible for various aspects of the change, some writing standard operating procedures, some retooling staff, some communicating victories, some measuring success, and some celebrating milestones.
First by giving the team opportunity for weigh-in and then giving leaders specific roles in the change process, you gain buy-in. After all, no leader can turn a ship alone, it takes an entire crew working together to change an organization’s trajectory. And once you have buy-in, the crew will work tirelessly to change course.
Embedding change within the culture
In the midst of change, people may freeze from fear or from simply being overwhelmed. This is when it is important that executive and mid-level leaders coordinate to embed change within the culture. This can be done in several ways. The first is by quite simply modeling the way. Leadership should model the desired new behaviors. This is not the time to do as I say, not as I do. To keep people motivated and inspired to change, they need to be able to look to their leaders as an example.
Leaders should also make it one of their top priorities to be aware of behaviors around them that will or will not lead to transitional success. Identifying and reinforcing desired behaviors, and redirecting undesirable behaviors is key to help people make the shift from the old to the new ways of doing things.
A last step is to embed new behaviors and expectations into people systems. You can’t keep hiring, promoting, training, firing, and disciplining in the same way as before the change. Hire for the values and behaviors that you need “to take you there.” Create reward systems that recognize desired behaviors, and ensure training redirects old behaviors and reinforces new behaviors. Finally, review why you promote and fire people and ensure the organization is transitioning to promoting and firing for the right reasons.
Review progress and analyze results
Before your organization freezes at its new desired state, it’s key that leadership establishes a cyclical routine to review progress and analyze results. Then make adjustments to ensure the organization successfully transitions to the new desired state.
Change is not always easy, and it’s often more difficult to steer the ship and rebuild it at the same time. That’s where Balanced Culture Consulting comes in. We can help your leadership team stay the course providing executive coaching, strategic alignment, leadership development, and helping to systematize processes in support of the change. You don’t have to go it alone. We can work alongside your leadership team as they execute the plans to achieve organizational success. You can reach us at info@balancedcultureconsulting.com.