Lesson 4 – Success

Change often fails at the final hurdle. Take the example of Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow Airport; a superb building that it took a mammoth effort to complete. But, at the time it opened, it was seen to be a disaster with baggage going missing and all kinds of teething problems. For instance, passengers struggled with the self-ticketing machines and staff had not been trained to help them. A small oversight perhaps, but it caused great frustration and a lot bad PR for BAA. Too often, there is a lack of attention paid to the human side of change – like simply taking the time and effort to train people to be successful in a new environment leading to frustration and failure.

When organisations go through change there can be a tendency to think it’s all over when the change ‘goes live’ (e.g. when the building opens or the new computer system is switched on). But that is usually the point at which people have just begun the process of change and if people don’t change there is no change. Organisations neglect this fact at their peril.

In Jamie Oliver’s American Food Revolution there are some great examples of changes that failed even after people had assumed success. See Episode 5, Part 2 Jamie revisits the elementary school that had supposedly removed high-calorie favoured milk and a similar reversion to old ways takes place in Episode 5, Part 3. Take a look by clicking on the image below:

Success is vital to making change stick. If people are not trained, coached, supported and encouraged as they go through the learning curve they will give up when things get tough (as they invariably do just after a change) and the change will evaporate into thin air.

Lesson 3 – Purpose

Change is like a journey into unchartered territory fraught with potential dangers and many challenges. Without a sense of purpose people are likely to lose heart and turn back. A compelling purpose that unites and directs people’s effort plays crucial role in ensuring you reach your destination.

It’s unlikely that we would set out on a perilous journey unless we had a clear idea of the destination. People will put up with all kinds of difficulties and discomfort if they believe the journey is worthwhile. So why would anyone try to bring about change without a strong sense of purpose? The answer lies in the reality of our working lives; projects drag on for months or years and can take on a life of their own. People lose sight of why it started or forget that other people, who have not been grappling with change all the while, may not have the first clue as to what the aim of the whole exercise might be. As a result, a clear and compelling case for change is not made and people start to complain, “It’s just change for the sake of change”. People become de-motivated and the project is in danger of being abandoned as soon as it hits difficulties (a certainty for any important initiative).

In Jamie Oliver’s American Food Revolution there are many occasions when a sense of purpose comes to the fore. Jamie is clearly a man with a mission and does his utmost to convert others to his cause. In Episode 3, Part 2 (1 minute 20 seconds onwards) there is a particularly moving scene when the kids who have volunteered to champion healthy food in their high school explain their motivation for instigating change. Click the photo below to view the video sequence.

It’s a tricky business articulating a clear and compelling purpose for change. But the effort is worthwhile as it aligns people’s efforts and motivates them to rise to the challenge. It also empowers them by setting out an end goal without dictating how they should get there.  That’s why Purpose is the 2nd of The 5 Forces of Change.

Lesson 2 – Connection

Old habits die hard. We get attached to things like familiar ways of working, job titles, symbols, and even our workspace; try getting people to move desks and see how tough it can be for people to let go.

Even harmful things, like fatty foods or bad relationships, are somehow comforting. ‘Better the devil you know’ we tell ourselves. Change requires us to let go of the past by breaking Connections and dealing with loss. It’s easy to sweep these concerns under the carpet in the hope that people will just get over it. Instead, raw emotions are simply driven underground to fester and eventually undermine change. People familiar with poorly managed mergers will know how people remain loyal to their old organisation years after the merger has supposedly been completed undermining the anticipated benefits of bringing two organisations together.

The Edwards family, in Jamie Oliver’s American Food Revolution, cook everything they eat in their trusty deep fat fryer. It tastes great and it’s killing them. They need to consign it to history. Watch Episode 1 Part 3 (especially 3 minutes 24 seconds onwards) to see what they do – click on the image of the Edwards Family view it.

 There are times when we all need to lay the past to rest and there are many things you can do to help break Connections – the 3^rd of The 5 Forces of Change. What Jamie does is just one of them.

Lesson 1 - Control

Anyone who has tried to persuade a child to eat something that they didn’t want to eat knows what a tough job it can be. Imagine then trying to change the eating habits of thousands of school children in America; persuading them to give up sugar-filled chocolate milk in favour of good old plain milk or burger and chips in favour of pasta salad. If you want to learn some crucial lessons in change just watch Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. A good way to start is by watching Episode 1 Part 1 on YouTube.  To view it click the picture of Jamie below.

While you are watching put yourself in the shoes of the school cooks and ask yourself how do I feel about Jamie Oliver arriving to change what I’ve been doing for many years? How do I feel like responding?  Then ask yourself ‘What could Jamie to get the cooks on board with change?’

When people feel that change is trust upon them their sense of control over their working lives (3rd of The 5 Forces of Change) feels deeply threatened. What they do next depends on how much control they are given in determining what the change will be and/or how it will be put into place. On the one hand they may to avoid or oppose the change, on the other they may chose to find ways of increasing their sense of control in a positive way.

Have a look at Episode 1 part 2 and part 3 for more ideas about control. In Episode 1 Part 3 you can see how the Edwards family is given control over cooking and eating healthy food.

The Prime Minister has asked Emma Harrison to lead a drive to get troubled families working again. As Emma says in her video update (see http://www.workingfamilieseverywhere.com/ ) troubled families are on the receiving end of all sorts of help – they are ‘poked’, as she puts it,  in a variety of ways by well meaning government bodies. Yet they remain troubled – out of work for generations, dependent on benefits, lacking any sort of motivation or self-esteem, and prone to drug and alcohol abuse. Her experience with these families has led her to a simple conclusion; people need purpose. Give them purpose and everything follows – food is cooked, kids are cared for, homes are cleaned, and self-respect is restored. Getting just one member of the household working, even doing voluntary work, is the key to creating this sense of purpose which will put the whole family back on track.

In world of work, there is a serious danger that people lose their sense of purpose during times of change. As new structures or ways of working are introduced people can feel knocked off balance and become unclear about the purpose of what they are doing. So it’s no surprise that companies that have stood the test of time, prospering through good times and bad over many decades, have one thing in common: a clear sense of purpose and strongly held values. That is why the second of The 5 Forces of Change is Purpose.

Are you in the midst of change? Rate your chances of success by scoring the following five statements – one for each of The 5 Forces of Change. Score 1 for ‘Strongly Disagree’ with the statement and 5 for ‘Strongly Agree’.

1. Leaders are increasing people’s sense of certainty during the change. E.g. they communicating openly and often and are displaying confidence and commitment in words and deeds.
2. There is a clear and compelling is the purpose for the change. i.e. the purpose is clear and concise, motivating and known to all those affected by the change.
3. People affected by change feel in control of their destiny. i.e. people have been consulted and / or involved in defining the change and / or in deciding how it should be implemented in their part of the organisation.
4. People are being helped to let go of old affiliations or connection (to people, ways of working, symbols etc.) that will be broken by change.
5. Success is being nurtured during change. E.g. effective training is in place with coaching and support to help people through the early ‘teething period’. It is ok to ‘fail’ while people get up to speed with new ways of working.

Add your scores together. If you scored:

<12 : You’re heading for disaster!

12 – 15 : There is strong cause for concern.

16 – 19 : More work is required if you are going to succeed.

>19 : You have a good to excellent chance of success.

Feeedback from Christine Sargent, Head of Alumi Relations, OU Business School (26/1/11): MBA alumni from the Open University Business School enjoyed a powerful presentation on the dynamics of change in the historic setting of Bletchley Park .

Feedback was unanimously positive and Anthony’s lively presentation style was much appreciated.

The Lose/Keep/Gain grid is a fantastic tool to use in all kinds of personal and professional situations and one which I shall be trying out with my own team.

http://www8.open.ac.uk/business-school/alumni/news-and-events/forthcoming-events/2011-01-18/leading-change-5-forces-change-presented-dr-ant

and  http://www.ncl.ac.uk/nubs/about/events/item/Forces-of-Change-NUBS-Leadership-Series

In the TV series Star Trek, the mission of the Starship Enterprise was, in the words of Captain Kirk, “To boldly go where no man has gone before”. Its crew was supremely well equipped to achieve this aim. Unlike many leadership teams they were a powerful mix of diverse characters giving them the versatility to survive everything the universe could throw at them.

In Captain Kirk, they had a visionary leader who was charismatic, audacious and brave. By his side was first officer Spok, the perfect foil for the impetuous Kirk, who was able to assess situations based solely on fact and logic. Then there was Dr McCoy whose primary concern was for wellbeing of the crew and the friendly beings they encountered on their journey. There was also someone you could rely on to keep things going. This was Scotty who was forever repairing the starship’s shields and the engine in the wake of alien attacks. Finally, there was Uhura – she spanned all the personality types and was the glue that kept the team together.

Take any one of these personalities out of the equation and things would come unstuck. A great vision without critical analysis, care for people involved and someone to make things happen is doomed to failure – a vital lesson for any leader creating a team that can prosper through challenge and change.

When two organisations, employing hundreds or thousands of people, merge, a great deal of effort is given over to due diligence. Much time is devoted to poring over finances, integrating IT systems, telling the stock market about synergies and drawing up new structure charts.

Once the lawyers, accountants, IT people and process engineers have performed their surgery, the patient wakes up wondering why they are in so much pain. After a while, it may dawn on leaders that people change more slowly and in more complex ways than systems and processes.

Unlike most major changes, mergers and acquisitions have an enormous effect on culture and people’s sense of identity. If one organisation effectively takes over another and imposes its culture on the new combined organisation, like an invading army, then people in the organisation that has been taken over can have a very hard time adjusting. If the cultures of the two organisations differ greatly some will find it impossible to adjust and may simply leave. Worse than that, they may stay but mentally opt out of the new arrangement and do the bare minimum to get by…….read the rest of this article at http://www.hrdirector.com/ see Web Features