SETA March 2009

Copyright ©, 2009 Auburn Montgomery, Alabama Training Institute , All Rights Reserved.

Managing Change =

Leading People

SETAMarch 2009


A pile of sand is not a change. If you remove a sand particle,

you have still got a pile of sand. However, a functioning car is a system.

Remove the radiatorand

you no longer have a working car.


Change five things about yourself

…now!


Yourself - Instrument of Change

• Your nature and the way you choose to work have significant impact on people around you.

• You cannot separate yourself from the situation.

• It is critical that you have a good understanding of yourself, including your biases, how you manage feedback and conflict, how you like to make decisions and solve problems, how you naturally view situations, and your skills.


The Three Colors of Change

Type I – That which is done to us.

Type II – That which we do to ourselves.

Type III – That which we do to others.


Do we have any control over the change?

In RealityWe have no control

In RealityWe have Control

We believe we have no control

Type I.aNormal Grief Cycle... and we work through it.Healthy

Type I.bNormal Grief Cycle... and we work through it. Healthy but... we can miss opportunities, some minor, some huge.

We believe we have control

Type I.cVery frustrating -unrealistic –doomed to failure –Unhealthy

Type I.dEmpowering –Life affirming –stimulates growth –the stuff of heroes –

Very Healthy


Coping With Type I ChangeThe personal challenge is to determine whether we are falling into the abyss of Type I.c or stand at the brink of Type I.d greatness.

The only way to ensure we are making the right decision is to:

a) know ourselves as objectively as possible; our strengths and weaknesses.b) know and understand, as intimately as possible, the change taking place.


Type I Change

When attempting to implement, we have two complementary strategies at our disposal:

i) Communicate the change as clearly as possible so that people are correct in their beliefs regarding how much control they have over the process.

ii) Wherever possible, and it's nearly always possible, give some control of the change to those who must respond to it.


Managing Type II ChangeType II – Change which we do to

ourselves.

We all decide to embrace change as a resultof exactly the same thought process.


a) As soon as we become aware of the 'event' we ask ourselves a question: If I do nothing in light of this event, what will happen? The result of this self-imposed question is a future scenario.

b) We then evaluate the desirability of this future scenario. Is this something we are willing to endure? Answer might change from person to person- question remains the same.

c) If the answer was "Yes", then we do nothing. If the answer was "No", then we ask: What must we do to avoid this scenario? What must I change, in order to achieve a more desirable future scenario?


ourselves.


There are two strategies, which we can combine, for moving forward:

a) Reinforce the vision of the future.• Do everything we can to keep vision of where we want to go crystal clear.• Reduce ambiguity. • Emphasize benefits. • Create visual reminders of the goal. • Identify clearly what must change and what can remain the same.

b) Minimize the pain of the transition.•Do anything to reduce the pain- makes it more likely we'll stay the course.•Create a support structure. •Have a plan of action to reduce the chaos. •Celebrate every little success. •Reward effort, even when the results weren't perfect.


ourselves.


Inflicting Type III ChangeType III – Change which we do to others.

"How do we inflict change on others and

get them to embrace the new and let go of the old?"



Realize that if you concluded that change is necessary, then it is nearly always possible for others to arrive at the same conclusion.

Providing, of course, they are given the same information you used when you decided change was necessary.



If we believe it is “someone’s” responsibility, and theirs alone, to make decisions and to implement them, then we encounter a world where people nearly always resist change.

If instead we see “that someone’s” role as that of getting others to make particular decisions, and to create environments where it is easier for them to implement those decisions, then change becomes easier.

MANAGER’S CHOICE


MANAGING CHANGE?

LEADING OTHERS


Leaders: Prepared for change

1. We long to invest our energy in things that really matter.2. To be proactive you must know what the future might hold and how to handle it.3. To create your future, you must know where you want to go.4. You have to be ready to stay on top.


“Change is certain; progress is not.”Hillary Clinton

“We must thrive on chaos.”Tom Peters

“Chaos is simply order without predictability”Margaret Wheatley


Myths Regarding Change

1 - People do not like change.

2 - People fear change.

3 - If people resist, it is obvious you must make them change.


Facts of Change

1 - The act of change is a situation.

2 - The human reaction to this change situation is a journey of mental, emotional, spiritual and psychological.

3 - Transition is the psychological process people go through to come to terms with the new situation.

4 - In reality, one is not as concerned about the change but, instead, it is the transitions that might be difficult.


TRANSITIONS

Unless transitions occur - change will not work.


TRANSITIONS

ENDING NEUTRAL ZONE BEGINNING


“There can be any number of changes; but unless there are transitions,

nothing will have changed when the dust clears.”

William BridgesManaging Transitions


Transitions:

I Start with an ending

II Travels through a neutral zone

III Ends with a beginning


Transitions: Start with an Ending

The starting point for change is not the outcome.

It starts with the ending you will have to make to leave the old situation behind.

Situational change hinges on the new ‘thing’ but psychological transition hinges on letting go of the old reality and the old identity you had before the change took place.

Nothing undermines change as the failure to think through who will have to let go of what when the change occurs.


Activity

Paradox : Think of a several changes in your life.


Even good changes have transitions that begin with having to let go.

There are endings, loses. This outlook is not to be discouraging just realistic.

This ending zone is where people think others do not like change. They are confusing the fact that people grieve endings.

They think people are resisting the change. They are not resisting the change as much as grieving the loss of the old way.

Transitions: Start with an Ending


Tips For Managing The Ending

1. Identify who is losing what.2. Accept the reality and importance of subjective losses. 3. Don’t be surprised at over reaction. 4. Acknowledge the losses openly and sympathetically.5. Expect and accept the signs of grieving. 6. Compensate for the losses.7. Give people info and do it again and again.8. Define what is over and what is not.9. Mark the endings.10.Don’t just talk about the endings, create actions or activities that dramatize them.11. Celebrate the new.12. Treat the past with respect.13. Let people take a piece of the old with them.14. Show how endings ensure continuity or what really matters.


Transition: The Ending

Don’t drag this period out but

allow sufficient time to end things.


Travel the Neutral Zone• The change may happen first and fast but the psychological transition happens very slowly.

• This slowness is not out of spite though that may eventually play a part in some individual trying to sabotage the change but everyone slows a little for this transition.


Understand the Neutral Zone

1. If you do not understand or ignore this you may try to rush through this zone and be discouraged or angered when people are not with you.

2. You may be frightened thinking people have gone in no man’s land or tried to escape. That is why we often think that people fear change. These people just do not understand the transitional period.

3. If you escape prematurely from the neutral zone, you not only compromise the change but also lose a great opportunity. Painful though it often is, the neutral zone is the individual’s best chance for creativity, renewal, development and growth.


Neutral Zone: Difficult Time

1. Anxiety.2. People “are absent” more than at other times.3. Old weaknesses start reemerging.4. People are overloaded5. Signals are mixed.6. Systems are unreliable.5. People can become polarized.6. Situation is most vulnerable by attack.


Neutral Zone

“It is not so much that we are afraid of change or

so in love with the old ways , but it is the place in between that we fear

... it is like being between trapezes. It is Linus when his blanket is in the dryer.

There is nothing to hold on to.”

Marilyn Ferguson , American Futurist


Techniques to Use in the Neutral Zone

a.Normalize the neutral zone.

b.Redefine it.

c.Create temporary systems.

d.Strengthen intra group connections.

e.Use creativity


The Ending is the Beginning

• People only make the new beginning if they have first made an ending and spent some time in the neutral zone.

• Yet most organizations try to start with the beginning rather than finish with it.

• Leaders like you can develop the new attitude toward the change by recognizing it is completely dependent on the transition.


Managing the New Beginning

1. Explain the basic purpose behind the outcomes you seek.

2. Paint a picture of how the outcome will look and feel.

3. Lay out a step by step plan for phasing in the outcome.

4. Give each person a part to play in both the plan and the

outcome itself.


New Beginning: Why Go This Far?

1. Gives new insight into real problems faced by the organization.2. Aligns yourself with your employees on one side with problems on the other.3. This alignment lets people know your want their first hand knowledge.4. Their knowledge, when given, is more likely to be the facts instead of their self interest.5. Everyone that plays a part is then implicitly bought in to the change.


Guidelines for the New Beginning

1. Be consistent (of message, policy, and reward).

2. Ensure quick success (give small tasks that can be completed).

3. Symbolize the new identity (convey a message that shows the new identity or change - it helps reinforce the new identity).

4. Celebrate the success (take time to celebrate when you have reached the beginning).


How To Take Care Of Yourself 1. Find out what is actually going on.2. Decide for ourselves what is really over.3. Distinguish between current loses and old wounds.4. Identify what will continue the same.5. Recognize the symptoms of the neutral zone.6. Take time outs when necessary.7. Take stock.8. Consider new possibilities.9. Look at it as a learning adventure.


In Transitions Always:Be truthful.

Foresee as much as you can.Rebuild trust.

Answer the why, before you tell them how to do it.


Change five things about yourself

…now!

What has happened?


“If you are going to leave a mark in the world then you must be remarkable with change.”

Change?

SETA March 2009

Documents

Transcript of SETA March 2009