| How to manage change - and at the speed of | | | | The "Do's" of ongoing turbulence |
| change? How to deal with the turbulence? This is | | | | - Be honest - more not less turmoil lies ahead |
| challenging and of all the current strategies for | | | | - Be concerned with whether people can successfully |
| managing change it's a perspective that is increasingly | | | | assimilate additional changes when new initiatives are |
| relevant in the current climate. | | | | being considered |
| Business guru Daryl Conner offers a fresh view on | | | | - Pay more attention to how you learn than to what |
| change management and says that given that people | | | | you learn |
| will resist change - and that resistance will be | | | | - Remember that it is everyone's job is to succeed in |
| articulated as "why?" - and he suggests [in his book | | | | unfamiliar environments |
| "Managing at the Speed of Change"] that senior | | | | - Increase your tolerance for ambiguity during periods |
| management prepare very thorough answers to the | | | | of uncertainty |
| following questions: | | | | - View some of today's disturbance as the potential |
| - What's so very wrong with the way that we've | | | | for tomorrow's new possibilities |
| been doing things up to now? | | | | - Translate "either/or" choices into "both/and" thinking |
| - Why were we doing them wrong before? | | | | - Take some of the mystery and mystique out of |
| - What will happen to me? | | | | change by learning to understand its patterns and |
| - When will happen to me? | | | | dynamics |
| - What if anything can I do about it | | | | - Experiment with all and everything that you can, but |
| - What then is expected of me? | | | | remember to maintain your core values so you have |
| - What does this mean for me in my day-to-day job? | | | | an internal reference point for making key decisions |
| - What will you the management or leadership do | | | | The "Don'ts" of ongoing turbulence |
| about it? | | | | - Don't wait for things to slow down |
| - If [or more likely when] I encounter problems, what do | | | | - Don't ever think your organisation is one step from |
| I do, to whom do I turn? | | | | tranquility |
| | | | - Stop feeling sorry for yourself that life has become |
| We need to stop assuming we are one project away | | | | so challenging |
| from things settling down | | | | - Stop feeling like a victim when you don't get what |
| The Daryl Conner model starts with the premise that | | | | you want |
| "Uninformed Optimism" is always followed by | | | | - Don't think that your people are entitled to always |
| "Informed Pessimism" and humans will choose the | | | | feel comfortable during change, or that you or your |
| comfort of familiarity over the anxiety that comes with | | | | organisation has failed if this doesn't happen |
| the unknown. | | | | - Stop being drawn to the excitement of initiating |
| He suggests that as we now live in an era of | | | | change bit bored or distracted with what it takes to |
| perpetual change and disturbance, we need to expect | | | | sustain it |
| more change: "we need to stop assuming we are one | | | | - Don't think that any one person or single group can |
| project away from things settling down." | | | | resolve the really important issues in isolation |
| He says that we focus an inordinate amount of time | | | | - Stop relying on your own knowledge, assumptions, |
| and energy into trying to make people feel | | | | and perceptions as the only valid basis of determining |
| comfortable during a major change - where as the | | | | what to do next |
| reality is they won't - dramatic change is | | | | In my opinion, this is a deeply pragmatic view that is |
| uncomfortable. | | | | well attuned to the current climate and one that |
| The leader's role in change is not to make people feel | | | | resonates deeply with and is totally consistent with the |
| happy about the change: it's helping them succeed | | | | holistic and wide view perspective of a programme |
| despite their discomfort. It is not necessary for people | | | | based approach to change management. |
| to like what has happened to them - it is necessary | | | | For more on this: " Tell Your People Why the Need |
| that they make the adjustments that will help them | | | | For Change " |
| succeed in the new environment. | | | | Equip yourself to avoid the 70% failure rate of all |
| In his book "Leading at the Edge of Chaos" [Wiley, | | | | change initiatives with the "Practitioners' Masterclass - |
| 1998] Conner suggests some practical dos and don'ts | | | | Leading your people through change, putting it all |
| for leading through turbulence. Here are a few | | | | together and managing the whole messy business. |
| examples: | | | | |