Leadership Lessons Blog

Change Management and Teamwork

Came across this great article and book recommendation about change management.  The following is an excerpt from the book, Change is Good...You Go First, by Mac Anderson and Tom Feltenstein.  Enjoy the quick lesson in leadership! 

Learn from Old Warwick

Fostering a spirit of teamwork is critical in times of change. The key element is trust. Trust for the leader and trust for each other.

There is a wonderful story from the play, Some Folks Feel the Rain; Others Just Get Wet; and I think it's worth sharing again to shed some light on how people think about teamwork...

A man was lost while driving through the country. As he tried to reach for the map, he accidentally drove off the road into a ditch. Though he wasn't injured, his car was stuck deep in the mud. So the man walked to a nearby farm to ask for help.

"Warwick can get you out of that ditch," said the farmer, pointing to an old mule standing in a field. The man looked at the decrepit old mule and looked at the farmer who just stood there repeating.

"Yep, old Warwick can do the job." The man figured he had nothing to lose. The two men and the mule made their way back to the ditch. The farmer hitched the mule to the car. With a snap of the reins, he shouted,

"Pull, Fred! Pull, Jack! Pull, Ted! Pull, Warwick!"
And the mule pulled that car right out of the ditch.

The man was amazed. He thanked the farmer, patted the mule, and asked, "Why did you call out all of those names before you called Warwick?"

The farmer grinned and said, "Old Warwick is just about blind. As long as he believes he's part of a team, he doesn't mind pulling."

 

 

 

Change Management: A Leadership Imperative

In order to succeed as a leader you must have change management skills.  You have to learn how translate what executives in the company are trying to do on behalf of employees who may not have all the details.  Organizational change can be easy to understand.  The leader must decrease objections to change and help to generate excitement and enthusiasm.  Although this may be a fairly easy activity to grasp, it can be incredibly difficult to execute and manage the change process within your organizations.  To do so, you must craft a well-organized plan. 

Take a look at these key management tips to help you to lay the foundation. 

1. Find the cheerleader:  Who is the person in the organization that is well-respected,a stakeholder that you need to work wih and ensure they are on the same page.  It may be that your cheerleaders change depending upon the stage of change you are in, but you must make an effort to find them. 
2. Justify the change  You might be tempted to skip this step.  You can't.  Even if the change is inevitable, you must be able to help employess understand why this is a good thing for them and for the company.  You need to work closely with your "cheerleaders"  so that they can help you create a sense of ownership and acountability. 
3. Create a plan:  So many companies make the mistakes of not sitting down and defining the plan for change.  You need to have a strategy for how you are going to deliver the major change elements, what type of communication tools you will need to have in place and the frequency of that communication.  You will need to determine who needs to be brought in to the change before the communication so that you can avoid any last minute objections.
4. Determine the change reasons:  Why does the change need to happen?  What activity or business condition is pushing the change?  Are you responding to competitor information, financial or economic pressures, or events completely out of you control, like work force reduction.  Whatever the reasons, make sure you integrate them as you determine your action pla for change. 

Finally, remember to give people enough time to absorb the change.  Don't underestimate how long it takes employees to internalize the change and respond to it. 

Change Management and Leadership

I came across this excerpt from Simple Truths written by Mac Anderson and Tom Feltenstein.  The excerpt is from a book entitled Change is Good...You Go First. It is important to remember as company leaders that we have to act as role models for change in order for employees to feel comfortable that we are leading them in the right direction.  Hope this article generates some leadership tips for you.   

"A few years ago, British Rail had a real fall-off in business. Looking for marketing answers, they went searching for a new ad agency - one that could deliver an ad campaign that would bring their customers back.

When the British Rail executives went to the offices of a prominent London ad agency to discuss their needs, they were met by a very rude receptionist, who insisted that they wait.

Finally, an unkempt person led them to a conference room - a dirty, scruffy room cluttered with plates of stale food. The executives were again, left to wait. A few agency people drifted in and out of the room, basically ignoring the executives who grew impatient by the minute. When the execs tried to ask what was going on, the agency people brushed them off and went about their work.

Eventually, the execs had enough. As they angrily started to get up, completely disgusted with the way they'd been treated, one of the agency people finally showed up.

"Gentlemen," he said, "your treatment here at our Agency is not typical of how we treat our clients - in fact, we've gone out of our way to stage this meeting for you. We've behaved this way to point out to you what it's like to be a customer of British Rail. Your real problem at British Rail isn't your advertising, it's your people. We suggest you let us address your employee attitude problem before we attempt to change your advertising."

The British Rail executives were shocked - but the agency got the account! The agency had the remarkable conviction to point out the problem because it knew exactly what needed to change."

As Yogi Berra once said...

"Before we build a better mousetrap,
We need to find out if there are any mice out there."

Change Management in a Difficult Economy

Employees are being asked to on a daily basis to rethink what they are doing in order to help alleviate cash-strapped companies.  The obvious cost savings measures have already been put in to place:  downsizing, mandatory days off, a decrease in benefits, a review of vendors and pricing, so now it comes down to plan old ordinary employee influence. 

Remember as leaders, that most employees view any type of change as a loss.  You may very well be doing what you need to do to protect your employees in the long run, but they view the changes as a vehicle to obsolete their jobs.  Given the drastic measures some companies have been forced to take to save costs, I don't blame employees for being skeptical, but you need to take the lead, understand that employees need special handling during these times and work with them through the change. 

Here are some typical reactions to look for and mitigate:

• Most employees view change as the company taking something away from them.
• Most employees want to wait out the change to see if it is going to stick or if it is simply a short-term measure, unfortunately, this makes them late adaptors to change.
• Most employees view the change as ONLY happening to them.  They need to realize that their co-workers as well as you are there to assist them through the change. 
• Be prepared for employees to take two steps forward and three steps back before they engage completely in the change you are asking them to make.  Don't reprimand them!  Support them and they in turn will begin to see that you are not there to hurt them, but to protect them.

Be honest with employees.  Give them the information they need to in order to place the change you are asking them to make in to an appropriate context.  Help them understand how the changes you are asking them to make help them achieve overall goals and cost saving measures that ultimately protect their jobs. 

Change Management in a Difficult Econony

In a difficult economic environment, it is critical that companies get back to basics.  What is your core business?  Who are your most important clients and how do you keep them satisfied and loyal?  How do you change your business model to adapt to the economy?  How do you reward employees for sticking with you even though the way they are doing their job may be different? 

Here are some strategic things to put in place to help you manage through this difficult economy.

1. Do you have the appropriate organizational structure in place to weather the storm?  Are you focusing on infrastructure changes that may help you save time and money?  Can you streamline processes and procedures? 
2. Who are your best clients?  What products and services do you want to lead with and how do you ensure that you are marketing these services in an appropriate way?  At one time you might have been able to hold on to a weaker account, but can you afford to do that today.
3. Invest in your sales resources.  Sometimes companies make the mistake to decrease sales resources in a down economy.  Now is the time to invest in their training and in their development.  How can you help them be completely successful once the economy turns around.
4. Do your really good customers understand and see your value.  Do they know what you bring to the table?  Do you have a way to differentiate yourself from the competition?  Now is a good time to think about how best to do that.
5. Do you have the right people in the right jobs doing the right things?  It may be difficult to think about moving people out who are under-performing, but you do have a huge advantage in a down economy to dig for really great people who find themselves out of a job.  With the unemployment rate at record highs, now is the time to be interviewing...even informationally to see what type of resources are out there and how they might help you in the future. 

Change Management and the Economy!

Now more than ever, with the economy tetering day-to-day, employees need to be ready to change.  When the external marketplace changes become apparent inside the organization, manager realize the risk of not changing.  If you own a business, you quickly realize that not changing may mean a loss of jobs, business failure or loss of revenue. 

If you are an employee, the risks of not changing are even more dramatic.  We have already seen the unemployment figures, currently we're at 9.5 %.  More and more employees are suffering through stress, job dissatisfaction, fewer promotional opportunity, lower job security and a decrease in pay and benefits. 

If you want to be among the leaders, you need to realize that change is inevitable in this type of an economy and you need to position yourself to change as the situation warrants.  Some employees take a wait and see attitude.  Certainly, this is not the time to be slow in your response to change.  You will be remembered by your employer for your ability to respond positively and quickly  to change.