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Whether small or big -- a new team member, a restructuring, or a major technology upgrade -- resistance to change often derails business improvement efforts before they even get started.
Even when the issues are not simple, the solutions are. Addressing resistance is a matter of doing what you do a little bit differently…so when the train leaves the station, everyone is on board:
1) Purpose. Why change? In 10 words or less, if you were selling it to a customer, what would you say? The more YOU believe in the change, the more everyone else will. But you have to communicate it! Developing a concise and compelling answer to “Why change? Why now?” speeds up buy-in. (Don’t forget to ask them what excites them about the opportunity). Want more commitment? Show yours. Repeat often.
2) Plan. No matter the size and scale, any change requires an emotional process. But analytical, scientific rationale has taken over in our business culture, and communication about change mostly airs on the intellectual channel – broadcasting “financial gains” and “efficiency” and “competitive advantage.” Want faster implementation? Scale up emotional buy-in – fast. Think “Deal or No Deal” – drama, empowerment through information, excitement. Have meetings where you blend fun activities for “letting go of the past” and “getting excited about the future.” (food is always a great addition). Make planning a dynamic process (not a dust-collector that means nothing a week later). When the right people set the right plan in motion, it’s magic.
3) Tell it Straight. “Sunlight is the best disinfectant” – famous wisdom from Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. (If it’s good enough for the Supreme Court, it’s good enough for you.) Tell people straight-up what’s going on. Let them talk about what worries them (it diffuses faster). If you don’t know the answer, tell them “We don’t know the answer.” Communicate decision channels up front – who decides, who is consulted, when updates will come. The most important question to answer on a regular basis? “What happens when things don’t follow the plan?” More candor is needed in every business. Start talking.
A few simple changes can help any leader energize people during a change – regardless of size, scale, or your formal authority.
If you get stuck, think “What makes me excited about a change?” Take it from there.
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
-Anne Frank
Just exhale.
Our country has been holding its breath for so many weeks we are quite blue (and that's not a political comment). Now that it's over, perhaps a new era of leadership can begin. At least we can hope.
Wherever you landed on the color wheel with this election (and however you are feeling today), please remember that you are a small voice in the collective consciousness of this country that wants CHANGE. You passion in this election is not about electing a President: It's a drop in the tsunami of demand for leadership in our world that will rain hard for generations to come. (And one that is blasting through our country's corporations, too). You can satisfy your craving for a return to pride and confidence in your own world, beginning today, just by how you lead in your own life and with those whom you influence.
But today is an invitation to our new President: A few tips from our trenches of working with hundreds of leaders on BOTH failed and successful efforts to lead in times that demand change:
1) Organizations don't change, people do. Look in the mirror every day. Choose your team accordingly. Surround yourself with leaders.
2) Be decisive. Be clear. Act fast. Remaining vague to please everyone is a slippery slope. You've won the election. Stop the politicking.
3) Ask the people. The internet is a powerful tool, and people WANT to be engaged in creating change. Take the time to build that dialogue around this country, and watch the magic happen.
4) Under-promise and over-deliver. Small, steady wins build trust. And heaven knows, we need a giant dose of trust in our government.
5) Keep us in sight of your vision. When the media and critics get on your back, and your decisions create a wave of backlash, remind us of your vision. We are a pretty tolerant and reasonable society, and we understand straight talk. Show up often. Fireside chat, anyone?
Change is not a political slogan -- it's life. There's no shortage of opportunity to create a better path forward, wherever you stand today.
But leadership is the real call to action. While we're waiting to see if it shows up in the highest seat in the United States, we invite you to do justice to it in your own world.
Jackson & Schdmit helps create innovative, adaptive executive teams.
To read about our latest work "Renewable Leadership: How to Lead Effectively in Fast-Changing Times" -- click here.
This blog is 380 words, takes 1.6 minutes to read (for the average reader).
Gerry spent last week leading a European Summit on innovation. Attendees ranged from corporate to small entrepreneurs....all with a common problem: “We need more innovation to grow – operational efficiency isn’t enough to succeed into the future.”
The common challenge? “We have lots of ideas but can’t get them done.”
The million dollar question: Why not?
Maybe you think getting your sales force fired up is the answer. Maybe it’s an acquisition, expanding into a new market, or putting out the latest evolution of your product faster. But making these things WORK are the real “innovations” you need. 90% of innovation is not at the iPod scale, it’s executing on clear goals .... not 20 or 30% of goals, but every person executing 100% of their goals. We have yet to see a business that does that in any given year.
Most efforts to grow your business aren’t stopped by ideas, technology, or strategy. Growth is killed in execution. People don’t deal with their “head trash” – thoughts and limiting beliefs that create unwillingness to change even when it is the best thing to do.
When you look for head trash you find it everywhere:
- "This wasn't my idea"
- "Don't distract me with the facts"
- "It has never been done this way"
- "It's working well enough"
- "I already know that"
- "I'm too busy"
- "What's in it for me?"
A university leader from the Summit related his story. “The only way we will be able to do research in our future is to secure investments from the customers who can commercialize it. Since the government is withdrawing most of its funding for research, we have motivation to change! But trying to build an alliance between our organization and our customers is very difficult. We face huge resistance. Even though we know it’s what we need to do, we’re afraid of change.”
What to do about it in your world? Ask your team for a detailed list of the mindsets and reasons for the last thing you failed at. Don’t stop at the surface answers – drill deep.
Maybe what’s in your head – not in your budget – is the real culprit stopping good ideas in their tracks.
You probably didn't realize until now, that Jackson & Schmidt has been out of contact since March.
On November 9, 2006, I (Lisa) received a phone call at 1 AM with the worst possible news: Earlier in the day, my father was murdered by a homeless man. In one split second, my life completely and forever changed.
If you have been in the classroom with death as a teacher (or even audited the class), you know the nature of this type of wake-up call. You are sailing smoothly through life, maybe not everything is grand, but on the whole it’s pretty good. One day, you or a loved one faces or meets mortality. Priorities immediately change. What seemed urgent yesterday becomes mundane. What you took for granted just vaulted into #1 position.
Death as a teacher has no lesson plan or curriculum. (I was thankful the last time I spoke to my dad a week before he died, the last words we said to each other were “I love you”.)
But if you’re paying attention, death challenges you with some powerful questions: “Am I at peace with myself and my relationships?” “Am I using my life well?” “Am I happy?” “Am I fulfilling a purpose and using my gifts?”
In addition to integrating the grief and shock of this event in my life, I have spent a lot of time this past year considering these questions.
As a result, what I do in the world (and with whom) is undergoing change.
Over the past 10 years, both Gerry and I have observed several trends in working with leaders and organizations:
Leaders have become a slave to urgency and activity – with little time for inspiration, vision, and strategic thinking. Most senior executives are surrounded by people who don't really tell them the truth We over-use email to avoid the "messiness" of relationships. Employees complain about managers, but over-rely on them for decisions and judgment. Everyone is scared to make mistakes. And far too many people are living an “accidental future” they didn’t mean to create.
These trends are not just our imagination: They are the result of many, many conversations with people who are living them. They are of great concern for two reasons: (1)They conflict with our innate values: To find purpose and meaning, to be in community, to make a difference; and (2) They are not sustainable practices for a healthy society or business.
Creating efficient and abundant marketplace value should not lead to greater isolation and unhappiness, agonizing choices between work and family, or running in place with diminishing returns.
We know it is possible to lead differently. To create great companies that serve a need, make money, and build a community of people who are accountable to each other and their marketplace. THIS is what we plan to influence and support in the next phase of our work. We have spent a great deal of the past year learning new tools and approaches to help businesses manage their workplaces to create real, tangible productivity gains and healthier people.
Thanks for taking the time to “catch up” with us. Your comments and feedback are welcome and appreciated.
So now, our blog will offer thoughts, ideas, and perspectives on how to grow your team, department, or company so you are leading it and it's not eating you ... to ensure the life you imagined is the life you live ... to delight your customers ... to add value to the world ... and to build a workplace that is energized, creative, and fun.
Because when your own death arrives -- whether it's next week or at age 95 surrounded by your grandkids ... isn't this what really matters?
Sincere regards,
Gerry and Lisa
Meet Joe.
Joe is the CEO of a software company and they're growing leaps and bounds -- projecting to top $52 million in sales in 2007, doubled from 2006. Joe has several hundred employees working for him now.
Joe has put in place sound management practices ... but he is noticing something about the business: He used to be able to manage the people by instinct. Communication was easy because everyone was in the same building; any person was a short walk away. Hierarchy didn't matter as much as getting things done.
Now, you have "channels" of communication. Rumblings of "morale" are seeping through the walls for the first time: Burnout, confusion about priorities, the dreaded "us vs. them" language being used by employees toward management.
Joe has been through this in the corporate world ... and vowed things would be different when he started his own company.
The "rules of engagement" are proven tactics and sound psychology to help Joe (and every manager facing fast growth) get a grip back on the cozy, family-like feeling of the early days:
Align to Strategy -- create one message that every single employee understands about your direction.
Collaborate to Create Ownership -- ensure all leaders are engaging in forums where they are talking to those close to the customer. Every week, every VP or C-level person should be in touch with a group of employees, no matter how many layers.
Communicate to Build Motivation -- a good story told consistently will energize people. Joe needs to create a compelling, short story that he tells everywhere he goes, about his vision for his company, and what it will do besides make money. The younger generations care about meaning more than money, so you have to make them feel part of something. Check out this article (from Small Business Trends) on how you boost morale when people are working harder: If hiring slows, how do you boost morale?
Bottom line: Good people practices are as important as management practices when growing your business. Make sure you've got both in place.
News flash:
The February 2007 Harvard Business Review article "Discovering Your Authentic Leadership" reports the key to great leadership IS authenticity. In the largest in-depth study of leadership development ever undertaken, the authors asked "How can people become and remain authentic leaders?" The answer?
The #1 trait of great leaders is "know thyself."
The payoff for self-aware leadership?
The study showed superior results over a sustained period of time is the ultimate mark of an authentic leader. How to get there?
According to the article (and our experience) these are what great authentic leaders do:
1) Know Thyself. Great leaders examine and craft their life story in a way others can relate to, to show how they have been tested, overcome adversity, and exercised courage (whether written or not, you have a life story). For a great example of life story, check out Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech, Stanford 2005. Great leaders also use these "setbacks" to identify their core values and principles, which they don't waver from when tested. They understand that a satisfying life is less about about the "rewards" on the outside and more about the character you cultivate on the inside. That takes an investment of time and effort, beyond simply knowing it's important.
2) Build a Support Team. Great leaders surround themselves with people who can do what they cannot. This emerges from self-awareness -- you have to know yourself and your strengths and weaknesses to know how to hire others who can fill in the gaps. Weak leaders hire people they like. Courageous leaders often hire people they don't like because they bring a different point of view. A strong team allows a leader to create a more balanced lifestyle with pursuits outside work.
3) Empowering Others. Great leaders focus on building an organization that brings forth the great leadership in others -- whether or not those people have direct reports. People all want to create and contribute to something great. But most organizational environments do not encourage this from their people. If you can do this one simple thing as a leader, performance will be a non-issue, and people will travel far beyond any strategy or vision you can dream up.
The Return on People equation for authentic leadership is simple, if not easy.
There's no way out but in.
Recently, we were having lunch with an executive at a technology company, who was agitated about a recent development at work: "How can I tell my boss he's off track with a new product line? His passion for the project is personal: The product uses a hot new technology in which one of his close friends had invested heavily, and he's not going to like bad news."
She went on: "What he doesn't know is his pet project is behind two competitors' products that are about to be launched. They have key features ours does not, yet he'd like to position ours with a premium price tag. This will make it almost impossible to gain the leg-up to compete."
Our friend -- a highly self-confident and respected leader -- was literally terrified of offending him by telling the truth. "It's a Career-Limiting Move. People get shot all the time by him."
Our next question to the executive: "What would you do if he were a peer?"
"Take him to lunch and tell him what I know." Within minutes she had stated a clear and simple business case for why the project was at risk. Not just instinct but substance -- she had the facts and the market intelligence to back it up.
Then we asked "What would your boss say if he were eavesdropping on this conversation right now?"
Without a second of hesitation she replied "He'd say 'Why didn't you tell me sooner?'"
We spent a few minutes talking about how to deliver bad news in a way people can hear it (testing with trusted confidants -- yours AND and your bosses', ask if he wants it before launching, be sure you have at least two options, get your facts straight, and perhaps most important: Pick a good time). We then brainstormed a few courses of action she believed would make the project more successful.
This story cuts to the core of authenticity in leadership: One of the toughest tests of authentic leadership is telling someone else -- especially someone with more authority -- a hard truth, with candor. Candor means being frank, open, sincere, and free of bias.
Fearlessness and candor are tempered in the fire of practice. Your leadership is never tested with easy decisions. Being prepared to tell a hard truth requires knowing what you believe, doing your homework, having diplomacy, and being unafraid of the "fallout." You master it in stages. You don't start with the really hard one, but practice it in safe environments first.
If you have a reputation for whining or playing devil's advocate without a solution ... you need to develop a style that has a better chance of influencing others. If you aren't practiced at being authentic, start now. When you follow the Ten Principles of Candor through being authentic, you will earn a reputation for respect. You'll also sleep better at night.
As for our executive? She built her case, told the truth, and was proud of her conviction and clarity. Her boss asked a lot of tough questions and dismissed her. Instead of feeling bad that he didn't immediately agree (most executives won't), she walked away satisfied he had the information to make the right decision. The rest was up to him.
And most satisfying, she learned the real Career-Limiting Move is staying silent when the truth needs to be said.
What truth are you hesitating to tell?
Once upon a time Adam-the-Shoemaker, after 10 years of toiling, built the perfect shoe: Comfortable, beautiful, and durable. Every person in the village wanted a pair. Soon, Adam found himself unable to fill the demand himself. He hired apprentices and carefully taught them to make the Must-Have Shoe.
As time passed, Adam grew excited. The workers were making good shoes, and this allowed him free time to design more cool shoes. He became a legend in the region of villages, and his empire grew. If you wanted shoes, Adam was your man.
One day, a diva in the village turned up with a pair of boots. They were not made by Adam's Shoe Company. He was stunned and enraged. How could this be? Who made these boots? He asked his most trusted advisor "How did this happen?" After a cat-and-mouse game of vague and evasive answers, he learned the truth: One of his employees had the idea for the boot line. She got it from a group of her friends in the village, who wished Adam had an option that was sturdier and warmer for the snow. When she tried to pass the idea through the layers of management, she hit a concrete wall -- Adam's turf was impenetrable. Everyone believed only Adam could have the ideas. He was the creative genius behind the empire. Input from a lowly employee? Too risky -- it might jeopardize his stature.
And so the defeated-but-determined employee resigned and started a competing shoe company.
Adam spent weeks reflecting on this lesson:
- How had he created an environment of fear between himself, his people, and his customers?
- Why was he surprised by the boots -- why didn't he know?
- Who decided that he was the only one who could have the ideas?
- How would his empire survive if he woke up one day without any more good ideas?
- And perhaps most important, what could he do differently to change it?
In the most successful organizations and teams, there is almost always a moment where the emperor is surprised when he finds himself naked. And this is the day he decides whether to become a leader.
The natural instinct of a kingdom is to protect the "queen bee" at all costs. That is a hard psychology to overcome in a workplace.
It takes persistence and care to avoid being the moral of this story. What's the secret?
1) Feedback. Great leaders are relentless seekers of other people's opinions. It starts with the willingness to be vulnerable. And not to always have the answer .. but be a curious miner of truth.
2) Two-way communication. Frequent communication that provides "meaning" is key. With employees. With customers. With high potentials. You can respect the hierarchy, but it is NOT made of concrete.
3) Become known. Revive that old "Management-By-Walking-Around" practice. People mistrust what they don't know. Becoming a familiar, authentic presence will win you more points in the trust game. Bonus: Who's personality do you want your culture to emulate?
4) Spread it around. If you want ideas that turn into profit, the workplace has to be a source of positive encouragement and reinforcement for ideas. Be patient, the profits will follow.
For more tips on creating open trust and communication ...or not being blind-sided by bad news, click here.
Another gem:
IBM’s 2006 global CEO study shows CEO’s believe competitive and market pressures will drive radical change within their companies in the next two years – and innovation in the business model (strategy, partnerships) tops the list of desired changes.
”The challenge CEO’s face is to manage the balance between short-term business goals and long-term innovation strategies … combined with change fatigue and cynicism [toward] the change process, “ says Ian Ball, IBM managing partner in Australia.
Where innovation has not taken hold in their companies, the report showed CEO’s blame internal inhibitors -- such as employees who are burned out on change -- versus external reasons. Remarkably, only 35% of respondents are willing to make it their responsibility to do something about it.
Hmmmm.
Time to condition for a tough survival test? In an increasingly level playing field, size, money, and reputation no longer guarantee you can outsmart and outperform the competition.
Real leaders, please step forward.
For the past several years, the chase for profits and competitive advantage has been about squeezing the last drop from the lemon. Innovation has been left to the oft-under-resourced and under-appreciated R&D or product development groups.
The long-term impact of relentlessly attacking costs and lean thinking? The lemon is running dry and leaders are waking up: "Something different" is needed to keep the lemonade stand healthy and productive. Innovation is back in vogue, and instead of the “squeeze-harder" mindset, we’re shifting to the “making lemonade” mindset.
The question on everyone’s mind is: “How can we shift people into greater creativity, new ideas, fresh thinking?” Not just the product people, but innovating in customer service, in strategic partnerships, in processes.
The answer to this question goes straight to organizational culture.
Leaders who are serious about re-claiming their innovation roots (versus simply re-naming lean initiatives “innovation”) need to start with an honest assessment of whether all this “operational efficiency” has created a drought in the innovation reservoir.
The mindsets, skills, structure, metrics, and ways of working (all culture) are significantly different than that of “lean-and-mean” cultures created by a cost-driven, productivity approach to business.
Is your culture ready, willing, and able to support innovation? Find out with our tool: “Developing an Innovation Mindset from the Top”.
Make lemonade or squeeze harder?
Take your pick.
Your lemonade stand is waiting.
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