Making Change Successful

The discussion in a recent seminar focused on change. Participants shared insights from several decades of experience.
1. Some of the reasons these erudite professionals listed for why change initiatives fail follow: the target people have no sense of urgency, are not invested in the new way, are invested in the old ways, are not uncomfortable enough, had ineffective introduction, had improper implementation, had poor articulation, had inconsistent messages and outcomes, had a lack of essential resources, and/or had little accountability.
2. What are the reasons you have for poor performance? The poor performance that comes out of a reluctance or a resistance to change results from these possible factors: individuals do not agree, they do not understand, they are not committed, they are not valued and do not value the change, they do not know how to make the change happen. What factor follows you the most in your career?
3. There seems to be a continuum that includes five stages for people to navigate through change: deny (the status quo stage), resist (the "no, because" stage), watch/wait (the "maybe" stage), accept/comply (the "yes, but" stage), and advocate (the "yes, and" stage).
4. Would there be less early resistance if managers and leaders referred to change by another name, such as opportunity, initiative, or plan?
5. In addition, five characteristics of change emerged: change takes time, it must be chunked into steps or phases, it must be related directly to the individuals who are to make the change, it is first often perceived negatively and pessimistically, and it is endured best one hour at a time.

Change disrupts comfort, disturbs habits, and interrupts perspective and priority.Change requires you to embrace risk, to take a chance on doing something different for the sake of making improvement. How will you use this information to address the next change you face? How can you find a sense of control in the midst of the change to make your efforts successful?

Language Evolution

I have noticed that even well-educated individuals omit the -ly from adverbs. Contemporary evidence in commercials include the following examples: Honda says, "What if it turned sharper?" Apple says, "Think Different." Safe Auto says, "Drive Safe." The teacher in me screams silently, but the business consultant in me watches with fascination as the American English language changes. "Who" is used for "whom." "Alright" is used for "all right." "Womens" is used for "Women's Room." We are losing the -ly form, whom, all right, and the possessive apostrophe. These, of course, are not official changes yet, but they are in the works. A few decades from now, things will be different. If Shakespeare were alive today, would scratch his head in confusion? Language is a communication tool; therefore, it must change to reflect the changes in society and technology so that we can continue to talk to and learn from one another.

Change: New, Now, and Next

Change is blowing through the economic fabric of our country as we air dirty laundry in the credit and banking industries. External change billows and engulfs us like exploding airbags through the steering wheel. I remember a former student who walked into class with half of her face and neck bloodied and bruised in an auto accident in which her tires hit the curb at 25 miles per hour. She could have starred in a horror film and the make-up artists would have been nominated for an Academy Award. Change can smack us in the face and shock us into examining our own contributing behavior that can lead to internal change for individuals and organizations. As we each deal with what we could have done and steel ourselves for the future, we can pause to consider the characteristics of change--and our grief over losing the way of the past--to anticipate what's new, what's now, and what's next.

In studying the ultimate life change, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross wrote On Death and Dying decades ago. In it, she describes the stages of grief: (1) shock and denial, (2) anger, (3) depression and detachment, (4) dialogue and bargaining, and (5) acceptance of the inevitable. Since then, researchers have superimposed this list of stages into other life-changing events besides death and dying. Loss of job and divorce are two such events. Many people are experiencing these situations now. Usually these are changes people did not ask for and they feel pretty battered, blindsided, and betrayed. Getting on with one's life and healing can take a while, a long while.

Some changes may be more welcome, however. What about making a change to lift ourselves out of a rut, or making a change to avoid ditching our entire operation? In Donald L. Kirkpatrick's How to Manage Change Effectively, he identifies the steps for establishing change: (1) Assess the need or desire for change; (2) Make a tentative plan; (3) Consider alternatives and likely consequences; (4) Decide on a plan of action; (5) Set a timetable; (6) Communicate the change; (7) Implement and evaluate the change. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recommends this change model. In most circumstances, I would suggest that leaders begin communicating the change and their commitment to it before gossip and rumors fly.

Trust in leaders is damaged severely when employees hear about change on the nightly news, through a social Internet site, or in the local newspaper. This is the same in families, too. The parents should communicate buying and living changes to the children who are old enough to ask for items during a shopping trip. Changes make the rules shift, so making sure everyone understands--even if they do not agree--is essential for successfully surviving the change together. To know how difficult it is to achieve change individually, just think about the New Year's resolutions that met with disappointment and excuse last month.

I remember a useful bit of advice regarding positive change. In July 2004, I read an article by Rhonda Abrams entitled "Successful Business Strategies" in The Costco Connection. She says to contemplate the situation first,then reframe it into a positive outcome, and plan realistic action steps. Then commit by expecting and visualizing a successful result. Next, follow through with the plan, and recommit when needed and as many times as needed. Finally, habituate the change by integrating new behaviors. These seven steps reflect my experience when I choose to embrace successful change.

When a external change hits you in the face, I invite you to reflect on how these steps can help you survive a successful internal change in your life, lifestyle, family, or career. Bottom line: change will happen, so determine what you will learn from living through it. Take a deep breath and begin blowing--and moving forward through now, to what's new and what's next.