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Have you every done the kid safety drill? You know, the one where you get down on the ground and crawl around looking for potential danger? Of course, kid that I am at heart, I rolled, slid and somersaulted too… The world is entirely different down there. That, for awhile anyway, is the world of a toddler.
Middle of the organization change tends to draw clients and consultants into an exercise in creating "engagement". If somebody likes to run they run. Good luck "engaging" someone who does not. The core problem is that most organizations do not truly have OCM (Organizational Change Management) built into their corporate strategy. So "change engagement" tends to spend time addressing symptoms rather than root causes. "Un-engagement", lack of sponsorship and hit and miss buy-in are the cough, the sneeze and the runny nose. Each layer of growth in a firm typically adds a layer of titles; each new title has the potential to create a new silo. Eventually it becomes difficult to move the organization fast enough to grow again. If from the first stage of growth someone is responsible for horizontal connections (collaboration, communication, training across functions, diagonal mentoring etc) your culture will build around working together on the companies business objectives. Empathy (just in case you missed that)
At the End State lies the alignment of vision, process and people/behavior change to business objectives. There you will find a Pot of Gold full of capital for the next initiative-if you can navigate the change path. It is winding, meandering and typically only the first leg is clear. To smooth out the journey it helps to visualize the last leg of the trip and to be clear about the end state. Like a stream down a hill the path will then appear.
What is the End State? You do have one?
Placing an external change management resource high in an organization is incredibly powerful. Leveraging that power in a way that is honest and effective is an approach few C-level executives choose to use. I will make the assumption that this is a tool at the bottom of the box that you did not know you had. This is what has happened when I have lived this role for a client- The employees are shocked and surprised like a kid who gets two pieces of candy at the store instead of one. Tampering with tradition, common practice and “we have always done things this way” is fraught with complications. Unwillingness to delve into that difficult area is a recipe for change “failure”. How then as the executive owner do you place yourself into the fire?
Change is so loaded with energy you can almost smell the flame. What will you, along with your change practitioner need to do to start, contain, fuel and manage that fire? Start- Change can begin spontaneously from hidden sparks of energy, It can be the result of an external environmental influence, like a lightning bolt in nature. Or it can be a perfectly built campfire ready for a match to begin the controlled burn. Be aware of how change can, will and could start in your organization and take the steps to have resources and process to deal with the different catalysts for energy.
Seeds can sprout from the concrete of the previous year.
Every year at this time I am both elated and hesitant. I am one of those people who makes Jan 1 a new start every year. Change management has taught me to be practical enough to know what is a pipe dream and what is reality/possibility. I find myself wondering, at about 2:00 pm on the first whether this day is any different than yesterday (you know LAST year).
It is much more difficult to place yourself in the blur of the horizon and imagine how things are different. That takes time; time that is not often budgeted into a business day. It also takes skill and competency in that you have to put yourself in your own shoes with a changed perspective and environment. |
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