“There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.”
Niccolo Machiavelli
Last week an old friend asked to meet for a coffee to get some advice on change management. Around 12 years ago, I had the opportunity to lead the merger of two organisations. One I was leading already and had been growing and was healthy. The other was an organisation that was struggling to survive despite having great people and a healthy balance sheet. We merged the two, and although I’m no longer leading the organisation, it continues and is healthy. My friend wanted to learn from our experience as he went through his own opportunity to lead change. It caused me to think about the success and failures of my experience and change in general. Here are my thoughts.
Leading change isn’t easy, but it is an essential part of leadership. Whether it is a merger of organisations, setting your strategic direction or releasing a new product, leading change is both an art and science. The following five things should hopefully help you start well.
1. Create a sense of urgency and anticipation
You need a clear why. What are the strategic drivers for change? What are the benefits? What will a better future look like? You need to create an inspiring vision of the future that aligns people and sets a clear direction. Expect trouble along the journey if you can’t answer the why behind the change, including a strong case for it and an aligned vision of the future.
If you don’t know the why, here’s what could happen:
Discord - if people haven’t bought into the need for it, they may question, doubt and ultimately resist it. They may even directly or indirectly sabotage the project. Factions could be established, leadership could be challenged, and success not realised. Your why should unify.
Distraction - If you don’t have clarity on the why behind the change and the future ahead, you may head off on a path to nowhere. Heed the warning if you’re a shiny-objects kind of leader. Your why will anchor you.
Disinterest - understanding the drivers for change and imagining a better future will give purpose and motivation to people. Without it, people may wander off track or move on. Your why should bring focus.
2. Manage expectations
I’m an eternal optimist, and if you’re like me, we risk over-estimating what might be possible.
You need to ensure that what you are setting out to do is realistic. By all means, dream big and dream bold, but make sure you manage the expectations you have on yourself and others. The old quote, “under predict and over-perform”, may be helpful here.
Create clarity on what you intend to do and what success will look like. Develop a plan to execute the change and ensure it includes the milestones you need to achieve and know you are on track.
I guessed that the change process would take two years with the above merger example. That would give enough time for the honeymoon period to pass, for underlying issues and tensions in culture to surface (which they did), and give enough time for people to breathe and come on the journey.
Create short-term wins that build momentum and be honest with yourself and your team when things are not progressing as planned with room to move and, forgive the buzzword, pivot.
Know your non-negotiables early and clearly articulate them.
Before you start, you may want to conduct a cost-benefit analysis, go/no-go plan, and/or SWOT to anticipate the issues that will need to be considered so that expectations can be thought about and ultimately leave you with a realistic plan of attack. If your change is significant, have a clear change management methodology on hand to help guide the process. Google it or reach out to us here to discuss.
I remember a church in the ’90s that was set on achieving ambitious growth; they were a church of a few hundred, and the leader created a massive banner that was erected at the back of the church auditorium that read, 2000 by 2000, which meant 2000 people in the church by the year 2000. I feel for the leader who, in late 1999, had to get out the ladder and take down the banner as they not only didn’t hit the target but had actually declined in numbers. Be careful of banners.
3. Identify the obstacles early and mitigate.
What will get in the way of leading effective change, and how will you remove the obstacle? If you don’t know the answer, ask those the change will affect. They will tell you. Limit the opportunities for you to think, “I didn’t see it coming!”
As mentioned already, I’m an eternal optimist. The building around me could be collapsing, people screaming, and I would think, “Wow, look at the way the light is reflecting off that pane of glass heading straight for my heart! Absolutely stunning” My positivity is usually a strength until it’s not, and I’m left gazing at the stars thinking, “Geez, that’s a bit rough.”
I’ve learned the importance, often the hard way, of taking off my De bono’s yellow thinking hat and putting on the black hat to consider the risks and obstacles that will negatively impact a plan. I wouldn’t say I like thinking that way for too long, but it is critical if you want to lead change well.
Anticipate the obstacles and risks early, map out your counterattack - should it be needed (contingency planning) and make sure you’re not the only one contributing to the conversation. Here are some questions to get you started:
- If this is going to go wrong, where will it go wrong?
- What haven’t we considered or thought of yet?
- Who are the people that could resist the change and why?
- Do we have the systems and processes in place to do this?
- What would someone outside our company say about this?
- Does this change align with what our staff, clients, and stakeholders expect of us?
- What are we missing here?
- Who has done this before, and how can we learn from their efforts?
Once you have asked and answered the questions, jot down what you have learnt and what obstacles may exist if you proceed. Next, knowing what you know, outline how you will respond to each if they happen.
Put your hand on your heart and ask, “if we respond how we say we would, will that risk be mitigated, will that obstacle be removed?”
You may need to go back to step two and rethink your expectations.
4. Be consensus orientated
It’s important to take people on the journey. The last place you want to find yourself is charging the hill of change to find yourself alone, with everyone else either five miles behind you or running in the opposite direction.
Engage people's hearts with your why. Answer the “what’s in it for me?” question and give your people the time to adjust to what is being presented. You have likely been processing the opportunity for months ahead before you communicate it to others, so don’t be frustrated if it takes time for people to catch up.
Everett Rogers, in the 1960s, captured some great thinking around change called the Diffusion of Innovations. It’s where we get the change adoption bell curve below and is a great tool to help lead change. The model classifies people into five categories as they approach change.
The innovators - These people probably flagged with you that the change was needed and will be your greatest advocates for change.
Early adopters - This group probably loves change and sees the immediate benefit of the opportunity and won’t need much convincing to get on board.
Early majority - This group will be with you charging the hill if you give them the right information.
Late majority - This group will need the information and time to process it. They may not understand the need for the change immediately and need some convincing.
Laggards - These people suck! Just kidding, but sort of. They will resist change, often on principle, and despite all your efforts, beautifully crafted and inspiring messages, and thoroughly detailed plans, they will struggle with the change. You may never get these people on board.
Knowing the above and that your people will fall into one of the five groups helps you plan for change and attempt to build consensus. When working with clients on a significant change project, I have drawn up the bell curve on the whiteboard and mapped out where leaders think people will sit.
Most of the time, we put all our efforts into the laggards. What a word, laggard; it reminds me of some sloth creature because they move so slow and lag behind the pack. The problem with giving the majority of your time to laggards is that they may never get on board, and we don’t provide the time for the group that needs it most, the late majority. Now, I’m not saying you don’t try to get a laggard on board; give it a crack because if you can do that successfully, you may get them all. They’re a smelly bunch that typically hang out together, but they might all move if someone moves! Epic!
Also, keep in mind what laggards may be helpful for when engaged - identifying obstacles. They will be full of all the reasons why your idea is stupid and won’t work, and there may be some gold in their smelly advice. Have a chat and hear them out, gather your feedback, shower, grab some coffee for the innovators and recharge yourself.
I am aware that consensus may not be achievable across the whole organisation. The more people you have, the more difficult it will be. But where possible, aim for it, especially with your leadership team, who will carry the lion's share of the change efforts. Consensus also takes time, which you may not have, so make sure you’re efficient with your efforts.
Celebrations or commiserations will be for all to share if you can achieve consensus!
5. Over-communicate
As good as the idea of change may be, it will fail or at least struggle if you don’t communicate effectively. What do you need to communicate? Everything. The why, the vision, the risks, the expectations, the milestones, the why again, progress updates, changes to the change, the why one more time. When people start rolling their eyes because you are over-communicating, you might be getting close.
Be creative and resourceful with your communication. Create spreadsheets for those with attention to detail and data, Canva presentations for the more visual learners, and contemporary dances 😜 or videos for the creatives. Know your audience and adopt a communication medium to suit.
Important: ensure you have the resources available to back up what you’re communicating and promoting. Don’t promise a Lexus and rock up with a beat-up, rusted-out Torana.
Last thought. You can approach change as a process, but you can also approach it as a culture. Peter Senge penned the phrase, the learning organisation and encouraged organisations to develop a culture of problem-solving and change. It is much easier to lead change when built on the value of change and innovation. If you’re not used to change as an organisation, then point two – managing expectations, is even more critical. For a great read on the mechanics of a learning organisation, read Senge’s book - The Fifth Discipline.
We are always here to help and love facilitating and executing strategic change. It may be around a big project on the horizon, developing your change methodology or becoming a learning organisation. Reach out here if you think we can help.
Cheers,
