The Importance of Questions

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Guiding change management has the asking of questions at its core. This might go without saying… which means it needs to be brought up. Anything assumed without, well, questioning, will give change problems in the future. Look around you at your organization and the way it and specific individuals go about moving from one thing to the next. Is a solution approach picked first (with change that would be a consulting firm touting their own miracle model)? Does a list get made quickly? Is that list questions to ask here and there and also over there?

Questions

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Toxicity- True resistance to change

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I concede. There are times when change is slowed or stopped by genuine resistance, resistance of the toxic kind.

The toxic kind has a progression (a little like real chemical poison) from irritating to fatal. The people kind ranges from push against an individual change to a pattern of hostile vindictive behavior. In between you find the resistors who just need a little attention (that toxin can be easily neutralized).

Mild People Toxin

This is the most common for change. Kubler-Ross says it happens all the time, Kotter wants to manage it (or overcome it with urgency),

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Change Management Supplements

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Change Management has a lot to do with emotions and feeling both of which do not lend themselves to clear measurement. As a leader, take advantage of that with some supplemental external CM shots of energy and focus. You just might lay the groundwork for some real measurable accomplishments in the future.

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Organizational Transformation- Really?

Be careful you are not using the term for those scenarios. Like “no” with children do not overuse it. In fact keep it in your back pocket for effect to pull out when the future really will be different.

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Understanding the Change Process

The economy has put people on edge, intensified competition for work and resources and closed the door on acceptance and consideration. (I am an optimist though- this too shall pass… or Change… that is part of the process). The exclamation point on this pattern is the tone of peer conversations sprinkled into the many groups I interact with. There is a me-vs.-you conversation going with those reacting and a this-is-part-of-the-process conversation, occurring in the same dialogs, for those absorbing and leveraging the current environment.

I have seen three times in the last week versions of, “you, (or “these people”

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Expertise as a guide for change management inclusion

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There is much talk, from the softer side of change management (usually those with a heavy OD or coaching background) about inclusion. I will step lightly, but let’s look at this with practicality and finesse. The extreme is the inclusion of all in everything. The other extreme is a directive approach where participation is forced or by invitation only. Finesse (for speed, effect and cost/time savings) calls for the inclusion of the right people at the right time. Practicality forces that number into the smallest possible fit.

How do you decide what (who) is necessary and who

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Guiding vs. Managing Change

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As a senior leader look at your overall process. Are you planning journeys that will reveal, help you grow, build capacity, get ahead of your competitors? Or are you continuing to follow your organizations status quo with a long series of roadblocks to change?

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Just Imagine… a change exercise

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It helps when addressing change to do this little exercise as a first step. Imagine.

No parameters. No hesitation. No planning. Just Imagine.

If you are lucky it will lead you in to a “what if” stream of consciousness.

Do  not let it take you down the path of, “reasons this can never happen”.

Do use the openness of imagination to envision a new situation, environment, structure or process.

Technorati Tags: change excercise, change management, imagine

Preparing your organization to resist change

 

“…organizations that talk about MANAGING change are getting ready to resist it.

http://tinyurl.com/2gxjwxg David Christiansen blog post

I am tempted to let this just stand alone as a quote…

 

The factors that wish to control far outweigh those that look to guide (and maybe corral which is a more appropriate controlling function). The list includes: Anyone internal that wants power, Anyone external that wants power, Anyone powerful that wants to keep it and Anyone who feels powerful when they make lists and cross off as they go. Oh, also anyone who stands to make money which

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Keeping up with change- tape based video snickers

In order to keep up with technology I am in the process of transferring tape based video media to a big fat T hard drive. I am also doing some relearning of video editing (which really comes in handy for quick CM communications). This is me personally keeping up which is individual change, different than anything I have written about on this blog to date. Since I am snickering I had to throw this in.

On a Lynda.com premier pro video http://www.lynda.com/home/Player.aspx?lpk4=64647 (if you have a membership,  get one if you want to learn, learn, learn software- awesome stuff)

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