Dear Madeleine,

I am fairly new to the workforce. I have a degree in accounting and got a great job right out of college, working in the finance department. I’ve been in this job for almost two years now. I like the company, the products we make, my manager, and my work.

My issue is that I feel there is so much more our company could be doing to appeal to people my age. Our CEO and our head of marketing are the age of my grandparents. I hate to be ageist, but we could be so much more successful if they were willing to expand their view of the market and to use social media. I don’t have a degree in marketing or even work in marketing, but I don’t need to be an expert to see the missed opportunities.

I hear a lot about generational differences, and I worry if I say something that I will be seen as a know-it-all or worse. Do you think I should say something?

Big Ideas

____________________________________________________________________

Dear Big Ideas,

I can’t really say. But I can propose some ways you can look at this that might help you think it through and come to a decision that feels right.

The first thing to consider is the company culture, values, and overarching strategy. Are there stated values? If so, is there anything about innovation or continual improvement? Does your CEO communicate about where he sees the company going and the goals that are going to help it get there? You might find some clues there as to how open senior leadership might be to new ideas. You can connect any ideas you want to share to the values and strategy of the organization.

Your next stop would be a conversation with your manager. Generally, people in finance aren’t thinking much about marketing, but your manager should be able to offer some guidance of who might be open to hearing your insights. There could be a young counterpart of yours in the marketing department who sees things the same way you do. It wouldn’t hurt to develop a relationship with someone like that.

Finally, you might think about framing your ideas in compelling terms, depending on who you are talking to. Anything you can do to get to know people and what is important to them will help. You can check out their social media to see what interests them, and then tailor your pitch to leverage that. Some people will be interested in market share, others in revenue, and still others in creativity and the reputation of the company.

Be ready to ask questions and listen carefully to the answers. If you ask “what ideas have you had?” you can weave others’ thinking into subsequent pitches so it doesn’t sound like you are only sharing your ideas.

The more you get people talking, the more they will end up thinking any ideas that get adopted were theirs. This would be a win! Start slow, with just a few people, and build from there.

I love big ideas! And, being a grandparent myself, I find that my world view is vastly enriched by engaging with the younger generations. But, of course, that’s me. Start by enlarging your network and developing relationships with as many people as you can. Find ways to connect your ideas to what interests them. Take your time and be respectful. You might just be able to spark some interest that becomes a fire. As long as you aren’t worried about controlling the outcomes, or being seen as the owner of whatever happens, you might be surprised at the impact you can make.

Having vision for what is possible is a leadership trait, Big Ideas, and figuring out how to influence people to see what you see is a critical leadership lesson. There are great things in store for you, my friend!

Love, Madeleine

About Madeleine

Madeleine Homan Blanchard is a master certified coach, author, speaker, and cofounder of Blanchard Coaching Services. Madeleine’s Advice for the Well Intentioned Manager is a regular Saturday feature for a very select group: well intentioned managers. Leadership is hard—and the more you care, the harder it gets. Join us here each week for insight, resources, and conversation.

Got a question for Madeleine? Email Madeleine and look for your response soon. Please be advised that although she will do her best, Madeleine cannot respond to each letter personally. Letters will be edited for clarity and length.

As so many industries are beginning the long challenge of recovering from the pandemic, organizational change seems to be happening everywhere. The first issue many organizations must deal with when planning a change is finding an effective leadership approach that encourages large numbers of people to buy into a change at the same time. What most leaders don’t understand is that change will not succeed when:

• Top executives make all the decisions behind closed doors,
• They announce the change in an all-company meeting, and
• Everyone is expected to immediately get on board.

The best way to initiate change is to involve as many people as possible in the change process. Why? Our research shows that when you invite your people to participate in a change initiative, they will be much more likely to embrace the change and to influence their coworkers to participate. This high involvement, collaborative approach that involves all parties is far more effective than the minimal involvement, top-down strategy—which, according to Gartner Research, is still used by more than 80 percent of organizations. Top-down change typically results in short-term compliance, slower implementation, and marginal results. But involving people at all levels of an organization in the change results in faster implementation, increased commitment to the change, and more sustainable results.

When change initiatives go well, they improve innovation, creativity, productivity, engagement, and employee retention. When they don’t go well, it’s a waste of time, energy, and resources—and company morale plummets.

Contrary to what some believe, people don’t actually resist change. They resist being controlled. High involvement in the change process by those who will be impacted by the change lessens their feelings of being controlled and builds momentum for the needed change.

Leaders working with people during a high involvement change process must anticipate and manage the five stages of concern people are likely to go through: Information (What is the change about?), Personal (How will the change affect me?), Implementation (How is this change going to work?), Impact (Is the change worth our effort?), and Refinement (Are we trusted to lead the change going forward?).

Change leaders who are effective at addressing these five stages of concern can often minimize or resolve these concerns. When you use a series of change leadership strategies to create an inspiring vision for your people, build a clear plan, show proof the change is working, and ultimately allow people to lead the change, your organization will be more successful at navigating the process of change.

1. Frame the case for change/create an inspiring vision (Information/Personal concerns)

In order to frame a compelling case for change, leaders need to first describe the gap between what is and what could be. When leaders paint an inspiring vision—a picture of the future where people can see themselves succeeding—people will have fewer personal concerns and be more likely to support the change.

2. Build the change plan and infrastructure (Personal/Implementation concerns)

High involvement change leaders work with people to uncover obstacles to implementation and create a realistic change plan. When they get to collaborate this way, people feel better about the change because they have some influence on successfully implementing it.

3. Strengthen the change (Implementation/Impact concerns)

This is where leaders share information, stories, and data to prove the change is working. They model the mindset and behaviors they expect from others and have discussions with anyone who remains resistant to the change to ensure that everyone is accountable for implementing the change.

4. Entrust the change leadership to others (Impact/Refinement concerns)

Once people’s concerns about the success of the change are taken care of, leaders can begin to rely on their people to help lead the change. Daily responsibilities can be delegated to others while the leader remains available for support if problems arise.

I’ve been known to say that great leaders treat their people as their business partners. High involvement change leadership is a perfect example of this. When leaders involve their people in making important decisions throughout the change process, their people feel respected—and respect leads to trust. When your people truly trust you as their leader, they will want to do their best work to ensure the success of your organization’s change initiative.

Organizations are quickly releasing policy statements as part of their contingency response to the coronavirus outbreak around the world. In addition to having well thought out strategies, it’s important for senior leaders to be prepared for questions that will inevitably arise as soon as these policy statements are released.

When leaders are not prepared to adequately address concerns about necessary change, they may inadvertently increase people’s fear, stress, anxiety, and time spent off task. This leads to confusion, frustration, mistakes, and distrust and can result in decreased creativity, engagement, productivity, and ownership.

Fortunately, these questions typically fall into a pattern that senior executives can plan for. Research by The Ken Blanchard Companies has found that people go through five predictable and sequential stages of concerns.

Information Concerns. This is the first response people have when confronted with something new. People want to know what the change is, why it is important, and what success looks like. People with Information Concerns do not want to be sold on the proposed change; they want to be told about it. They need to understand what is being proposed before they can decide whether the change is good or bad.

Personal Concerns. The next response is personal—how will the change impact me personally, how will I learn to work in new ways, will I have the time and who can help me. People with personal concerns want to know how the change will play out for them and they want to be reassured they can successfully make the change. This is the most often ignored stage of concern and the stage where people get stalled most often.

Implementation Concerns. At this stage, concerns will focus on how the change will be accomplished. People want to know that challenges, obstacles, and barriers will be surfaced and addressed, and that they will have the time, support, and resources they need to successfully implement the change.

Impact Concerns. At this stage, the change has “gone live” and people want to know if the change is working for me, my team, the organization, and our customers. Is it worth my effort? People are focused on results and getting others on board with the change. At this stage, people sell themselves and others on the value of the change.

Refinement Concerns. At this stage, people want to know that a tipping point has been reached and that most people are on board and succeeding with the change. They also want to be assured that continuous refinement of the change is valued and they are trusted to lead the change going forward.

When change leaders effectively frame the change, discuss what is and what could be, collaboratively plan the change, strengthen the change by fixing implementation issues and sharing impact, and then entrust day-to-day change leadership to others, they:

• Surface challenges sooner
• Achieve better results, faster
• Build change leadership capability that can be used again in the future

These are important goals right now, as we manage the immediate impact of the coronavirus in our personal and professional lives. It’s also a great roadmap for future change after we get through this health crisis together.

About the Author

Judd Hoekstra is an expert in the field of change management, leadership, and human performance with The Ken Blanchard Companies. Judd is a coauthor of the bestselling books Leading at a Higher Level and Who Killed Change? Judd is also the co-creator of Blanchard’s Leading People Through Change solution.

If you are a leader looking to improve your organization’s current culture and work environment, here are five steps used by change practitioners that can help with your next change initiative.

1. Look at what needs to change. Ideally, a leader should do this collaboratively with the organization’s leadership team or the entire management team. Examine culture and behavior norms as well as strategic goals. Ask these questions: “How big is the gap from where we are today to where we need to be?” “What cultural behaviors do we want to keep?” “What behaviors do we need to get rid of?” Describe the ideal state. Now ask: “What will people be doing differently?”
2. Create a scorecard. What are the leading—and lagging—indicators of success? Prioritize short-term as well as long-term goals. What are expectations within the next six months? By year one? By year three? A scorecard allows everyone to see the targets as well as the progress.
3. Get feedback. Leaders need to embrace feedback to understand where they may be helping or hurting the change process. Leaders set the tone for organizational culture. When the culture isn’t working, the leader must look in the mirror and ask “What am I doing that may be either serving or not serving our culture?” It may be time for a 360° leadership assessment.

A good 360° assessment is one that gets specific. The best ones I’ve seen have the leader  work with a coach to create questions for the leader’s direct reports, peers, and boss. The coach conducts the interviews, pinpoints themes (similar responses from three or more people), then prepares a report and delivers it to the leader.

4. Be a role model for receiving feedback. A best practice for receiving feedback is for the leader to share with their team what they learned and what they are committed to improving, and then to ask the team to help keep them accountable. This is where the shift in culture begins to take shape. The leader is demonstrating that they are serious about the change and that they personally believe it “starts with me.” Leaders who take responsibility for what’s working and what’s not, and for the behaviors they personally need to embrace, will be the ones who can look back months or years later and be proud of the culture they helped create.
5. Get a coach. You’ve heard that behavior change, no matter how small, can be difficult. Habitual behaviors are often years in the making. Regular coaching sessions help leaders not only make needed behavior shifts but also practice those new behaviors. Some coaches will even shadow a leader and give them timely feedback.

Today’s companies need to be agile and reinventive to keep up with the changing demands of their clients—and the organizational culture plays a significant role in whether those demands will be met. The culture can determine whether people will embrace a change or block it.

The leader sets the tone for leading the change to create a new culture. When implementing change in your organizational culture, use these five steps to get management and employee commitment to making a difference!

About the Author

Joni Wickline is a Vice President with The Ken Blanchard Companies. You can read Wickline’s posts as a part of Coaching Tuesday here at Blanchard LeaderChat for ideas, research, and inspirations from the world of executive coaching.

What do you need to say and do differently for your team to believe change is real? How do you demonstrate your commitment to achieving the change target? How do you personally demonstrate initiative to gain support for the resources needed?

Here are a few other coaching concepts to consider if you are a leader managing change.

1. Identify challenges. What needs to be solved? When we ask clients what problem needs solving they will usually identify what they see only through their lens. Who else and what stakeholder groups should also be consulted? Make sure you have clearly articulated the problem before you begin to focus on the change needed.
2. Listen. Listen and listen some more. In addition to asking questions, enter each conversation with the intention of learning something new and being influenced. Consider writing out your list of questions to help identify what you want to learn from the conversation.
3. Identify top areas for change. Narrowing a long list of potential change areas down to an important few is hard. When you look across the stakeholders your team serves, what change will have the greatest return? As an example, one leader I coached saw a need for information sharing that spanned across sales, project management, and professional services. This leader knew if she could create a system for information sharing across those groups, it would be a significant win. She focused on the problem and need for each group and worked with Information Services to create a system that gave everyone access to the information they needed, which saved time and reduced frustration.
4. Create goals that align with the new direction. It may go without saying that in order to have everyone aiming for the same bull’s eye, each person needs to understand their own role and responsibility for achieving the goal. Goal setting is often suggested; yet, in our research, alignment is rarely better than 80 percent. Spend the time to identify what each person on the team needs to do—their key responsibilities and goals—in order for the team to be successful.
5. Create a metric dashboard and manage to it. What do you need to measure to ensure you are succeeding in the change effort? What are the leading and lagging metrics that paint the picture of success? In team and one on one meetings, put up the top areas for change and discuss the metrics.

What I’ve focused on here are some tools a leader can use when managing a team through change. Note that all of these concepts require effective and productive relationships—because change happens through people. Take a coach approach to increase your success with your next change effort. It works well for individual change as well as organizational change.

About the Author

Joni Wickline is Vice President, International Growth with The Ken Blanchard Companies. You can read Wickline’s posts as a part of Coaching Tuesday here at Blanchard LeaderChat for ideas, research, and inspirations from the world of executive coaching.

Recently, we began implementing a company-wide change process that included redefining our organization’s values. As you might imagine, leading a change initiative in a company that teaches change management poses a unique set of challenges.

I helped lead the rollout of our new values. In the process, I learned three things I want to pass along in case your organization is considering a similar move.

Don’t be afraid of top down. Vision and direction need to be set in stone by executive management. People may get nervous or annoyed that the ones at the top are making these decisions, but it doesn’t need to be framed that way. It’s really a matter of perspective.

When I was young, I took a trip to Washington and climbed to the top of Mt. St. Helens. The view at base camp, where hundreds of people were checking their gear, stretching, and prepping to make the ascent, was very different from what I saw when I reached the summit. By far, the best views of the abundant vegetation, wildlife, and beautiful Spirit Lake could only be seen from the top of the mountain. In the same way, a change initiative must start with the people who have the responsibility for the larger view of the company. Take advantage of that perspective. Have senior leaders begin the conversation on the vision, mission, and values that correspond to the organization’s five, ten, or twenty year plan.

Get buy-in early: The biggest misconception people in organizations have is that buy-in should happen toward the end of their change process. On the contrary! The buy-in process needs to start at the beginning of the initiative. This part should be a collaborative effort with everyone’s input. In our company, we rally around the phrase Feedback is the breakfast of champions. Once the initial vision is formed by senior leadership, others need to be involved in shaping the plan.

For our values initiative, we conducted several half-day online workshops so that everyone in the company would have the opportunity to review, discuss, and weigh in on the proposed values. More than 80 percent of our total workforce participated. Senior leaders were delighted to hear the many ideas shared during the process and enthusiastic about the values that ultimately rose to the top—including two that were dubbed Kenship and Getting to D4. (Email me at gus.jaramillo@kenblanchard.com if you want to see the final list.) Taking the time for feedback and buy-in made for a stronger final product.

Fully integrate values into systems and procedures. Values are great to display on the wall—and trust me, we are posting them everywhere! But if they stay on the wall without actually being integrated into organizational systems and procedures, they will end up merely as outdated décor. No one wants that. Ultimately, values drive behavior. To this end, we are working to develop ways that our performance management system, recognition programs, and hiring procedures will fully integrate with our new values.

The steps we are taking in this direction include a redesign of our annual recognition program that includes the addition of specific awards that match values-based behaviors. We have also created a private Facebook page where all Blanchard associates can share real-time praise of colleagues (to highlight a sale, great teamwork, successful training) for all to see, along with a hashtag to the particular value that is being demonstrated such as #Trustworthiness. These are two great ways for us to reinforce the positive behavior that we believe will drive success in the organization—and there’s more to come.

That’s Us—How about You?

That’s how we are approaching our change initiative. How does it match up with your approach? We know the process of implementing organizational change is never easy or quick. But we also know if we work together, make the effort, and take the time to do things right, we will succeed—and our organization will be the better for it.

Alexander studied the knot, drew his sword, and slashed the binding, freeing the chariot.  He then went on to conquer the continent as the legend had foretold.

Over 2250 years later, at a plant owned by the Western Electric Company, a young statistician named Walter Shewhart worked together with W. Edwards Deming, another mathematician, to create a model for improving productivity. The end result of their effort was called the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. They applied what they learned at a factory known as the Hawthorne Plant, whose major function was assembling telephone relays. It’s difficult not to digress about all that went on during that research, but suffice it to say it was groundbreaking stuff, at many levels. My guess is that readers of this blog probably have a good feel for all that.

The rest is history.

The Challenge of Doing

In most organizations, the Do portion of the Plan-Do-Check-Act model is the biggest challenge.  Instead of trying out an idea in a relatively small way and then drawing conclusions regarding how well it is working, most people end up studying an issue ad nauseum, delaying action that could shed light on the problem. Meetings lead to discussion, research, and requests for more information, but action is always delayed.  After a while the whole project begins to take on the complexity of a self-created Gordian knot.

Don’t let this happen to you. Instead, just try out the idea. Pilot it with a small group of people, then look at the results and make decisions around how you can improve them. In other words, experiment your way into improvement.

Four Things to Consider

You’ve got to get inside your own brain to be sure you can handle this kind of progress. Here are a few things to consider:

1. Be prepared for scrutiny and expect to look a little goofy when you’re going through the initial trials. It’s going to seem weird to colleagues and bosses. It’s likely to save everybody a lot of money, but … it’s still different, isn’t it? That makes it subject to much tighter observation.
2. Expect naysayers to find things that are wrong during the pilot. It’s easy to point fingers when someone is trying something new. Don’t let early criticism keep you from completing your initial pilots. Remember Seward’s Folly during the U.S. purchase of Alaska? I wonder what those critics would say now.
3. Be willing to change your mind during the pilot. A good mantra is No decision is final. That’s one of the reasons we call this a pilot. You can tinker with it.
4. When in doubt, err in the direction of taking bold action. Talk is cheap. The world expects and rewards action. As Albert Einstein said, “Nothing happens until something moves.”

Act as though it is impossible for you to fail. Don’t try to persuade the organization into making change. Simply pilot the idea, and then explain what happened. It’s better, cheaper, and much faster.

About the author

Dr. Dick Ruhe is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, and senior consulting partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies.

Harvard’s Shawn Achor poses this dilemma in his book The Happiness Advantage. Your interpretation of this experience could go in several directions. There are understandable reasons why you might explain this in a negative way, as the majority of people do—the research shows that the approximate distribution of responses to this incident is 70 percent negative, 30 percent positive.

The problem is that your interpretation of this experience will directly shape how you deal with it and what the future looks like for you and the people around you. In short, you have every right to be depressed, discouraged, and down for an extended time. But why do you do this to yourself? Snap out of it, Eeyore!

I define resilience as the capacity to carry on—to withstand, persevere, or recover from challenging circumstances. Here’s a model I offer clients who are struggling through interesting times. It applies to individuals, teams, and organizations.

1. Get a Grip. When you’ve had to deal with significant issues, it’s important to keep your head on straight. People often obsess over why things aren’t perfect. Don’t allow yourself to do that. The sun will rise tomorrow.
2. Stay in the Game. Life goes on. No matter where you are, be there. It’s easy to lose your focus on what you’re working on right now. Don’t let yourself get emotional and scattered. We know that when people are under stress they tend to be somewhat distant or even downright aloof. Be cue-sensitive to what’s going on. Staying connected is therapeutic.
3. Deal With It. Get in there. Mix it up. Throw yourself at what you’re working on. Don’t use the situation as an excuse to procrastinate making decisions in the here and now. The world has no time for mere thinkers; it wants action.
4. Get Over It. All right, something happened. Don’t dwell on what could have been or what should have been. Don’t go there. Move on to the next challenge. It’s all about getting things done, not second-guessing yourself after the fact.

Resilience involves acting as though it is impossible for you to fail. This may sound counter-intuitive, but dealing with challenge may be the best opportunity to tilt the game in your favor. Don’t look at crisis as something to survive. It’s actually an opportunity to thrive.

About the author

Dr. Dick Ruhe is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, and senior consulting partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies. You can read his posts here on LeaderChat the fourth Saturday of each month.

The result will be an excited group of executives leading a detached group of employees according to corporate visioning expert Jesse Stoner.  In a new article entitled Creating A Vision Statement That Works Stoner explains, “If you want the entire organization to be as excited about the vision as the senior leaders, you have to involve them, allow them to put their thumbprint on it, and have shared ownership. The people who create the vision understand it and own it because it is in their hearts and minds.”

According to Stoner, anytime a leader—or a group of leaders—develops a vision independently and then announces it to the organization, it almost always ends badly. Yet it happens more often than not because leaders think they are expected to have the answers and to set direction. For leaders looking to create a compelling vision, Stoner recommends using a collaborative, involving process that engages people in real dialogue about the vision and provides an opportunity to give feedback.

Some questions Stoner suggests leaders use include:

• What do you think about our vision?
• What is exciting about it to you?
• What would make it more exciting?
• What could we do differently going forward?

 “The best way to get people to buy into something is to give them an opportunity to participate in its creation,” says Stoner. “You will always end up with something better than if you did it yourself.”

Get everyone involved for best results

When people have an opportunity to share their hopes and dreams, are involved in the discussions shaping the vision, and are included in making decisions, they have a clearer understanding of the vision, are more deeply committed to it, and move quickly to implement it.

Don’t miss the opportunity to include everyone in the process. Remember, it’s not the words that will stick in people’s minds—it’s the experience.

• Change the organizational mindset. In many companies people have been hunkered down and focused on the short term for almost two years. The emphasis has been on cutting costs, holding down expenses, and weathering the storm.  Now that the worst is over, how do you let people know that it’s okay to lift your head, look around a little bit, and cautiously make new plans for the future?  One thing that leaders can do is share a vision for the road ahead, indicate that growth is a goal again, and let people know that they can try new things that have some risk involved. You want people to start thinking about stepping out again, but they have to feel safe in order to make that leap.
• Give people behavioral examples. What does “try new things that have some risk involved” really mean? The best organizations define the values, attitudes, and practices they desire in clear behavioral terms. People have gotten pretty clear about what they shouldn’t be doing over the past 18 months; make sure they are just as clear about what they should be doing now. The more specific and granular the examples are the better.
• Stay open to change. Constant adaptation is a key for thriving in the new business reality. Pay attention to customers’ expectations and competitors’ innovations. Especially after an extended time of downsizing it’s important for organizations to embrace new ways of thinking to breathe new life into old practices and generate innovative new ideas.
• Involve everyone. Smart leaders look for good ideas everywhere. This means checking in with people who are informal leaders in the organization as well as the people who are in formal positions. By listening to everyone—including people with divergent points of view, you increase the odds that the organization will be more responsive, adaptive, and successful in the face of change.

 By sharing power and expanding influence, leaders can create an organization with a strong overall capacity to change and succeed. The new business reality demands that organizations find new ways to address old problems. To learn more ways to increase your organization’s ability to succeed, be sure to check out the complete white paper, Thriving in the New Business Reality from the Blanchard website.

This finding is based on survey data gathered from 520 business organizations in 17 countries designed to test if a CEO’s primary focus on profit maximization resulted in employees developing negative feelings toward the organization. The result? Employees in these companies tend to perceive the CEO as autocratic and focused on the short term, and they report being somewhat less willing to sacrifice for the company. Corporate performance is poorer as a result. 

But when the CEO makes it a priority to balance the concerns of customers, employees, and the community while also taking environmental impact into account, employees perceive him or her as visionary and participatory. And they report being more willing to exert extra effort, and corporate results improve. 

These results aren’t surprising. When the definition of leadership focuses only on profit what tends to fall by the wayside is the condition of the human organization. Leaders wrongly believe that they can’t focus on both at the same time. 

Nothing could be further from the truth.  As this research points out, organizations perform best when they balance financial goals with respect, care, and fairness for the well-being of everyone involved. 

The Four Keys to Better Leadership 

In looking at all of the great organizations that The Ken Blanchard Companies has worked with over the years, we have found one thing that sets these organizations apart from average organizations. The defining characteristic is leaders who maintain an equal focus on both results and people. In these organizations, leaders measure their success with people (customers and employees) as much as they measure their financial performance. 

In these organizations, leaders do four things well. 

1. They set their sights on the right target and vision. Great organizations focus on three bottom lines instead of just one. In addition to financial success, leaders at great organizations know that measuring their success with people–both customers and employees–is just as important as measuring the success of their financial bottom line. In these organizations, developing loyal customers and engaged employees are considered equal to good financial performance. Leaders at these companies know that in order to succeed they must create a motivating environment for employees, which results in better customer service, which leads to higher profits. 
2. They treat their customers right. To keep your customers today, you can’t be content just to satisfy them. Instead, you have to create raving fans–customers who are so excited about the way you treat them that they want to tell everyone about you. Companies that create raving fans routinely do the unexpected on behalf of their customers, and then enjoy the growth generated by customers bragging about them to prospective clients. 
3. They treat their people right. Without committed and empowered employees, you can never provide good service. You can’t treat your people poorly and expect them to treat your customers well. Treating your people right begins with good performance planning that gets things going in the right direction by letting direct reports know what they will be held accountable for–goals–and what good behavior looks like–performance standards. It continues with managers who provide the right amount of direction and support that each individual employee needs in order to achieve those goals and performance standards. 
4. They turn the organizational chart upside down. The most effective leaders realize that leadership is not about them and that they are only as good as the people they lead. These leaders seek to be serving leaders instead of self-serving leaders. In this model, once a vision has been set, leaders move themselves to the bottom of the hierarchy, acting as a cheerleader, supporter, and encourager to the people who report to them. 

The way to maximize your results as a leader is to have high expectations for both results and relationships. If leaders take care of the people who take care of their customers, profits and financial strength will follow. The result is an organization where people and profits both grow and thrive.

For organizations considering open collaboration, Gabor recommends a clear-headed look at the challenges associated with the change and she identifies seven essential strategies to making it work including:

1. Creating a clear leadership message
2. Collaborating with customers
3. Building a culture of trust and open communication
4. Cultivating continuous improvement
5. Building a flexible innovation infrastructure
6. Preparing your organization for new skill sets
7. Aligning evaluations and rewards

The article points out that “open collaboration is a complex, all-embracing process, requiring genuine commitment from corporate leaders, a willingness to abandon many venerable corporate customs, and an appetite for unleashing and managing disruptive change across the organization.”  But Gabor also encourages organizations to move forward and continue to develop their approach to open collaboration, because for those that do there are great benefits as well.

Sometime today or tomorrow, be sure to read—or save, this article—it’s one of the best on collaboration that we’ve seen. 

And if you are looking for a little additional inspiration and insight on the subject, check out the on-demand webcast of Pass the Ball: The Power of Collaboration.  This is a presentation Ken Blanchard did together with Cisco WebEx in June as a part of their Pass the Ball initiative. Ken shares his thoughts on getting others involved, how a philosophy of “none of us is as smart as all of us” helps everyone accomplish more, and the difference between serving and self-serving behavior.

1. Information Concerns—What is the change and why is it needed? Make sure that you’re telling instead of selling at this early stage. People want direct, honest answers instead of being “sold” on the change and why they should accept it.

2. Personal Concerns—How will the change impact me personally? Leaders need to create an atmosphere of trust and genuine concern for how the change will impact people personally.

3. Implementation Concerns—Once their first two concerns are out of the way (and not before) people are ready to hear about the details of the change process.  

4. Impact Concerns—At this stage people want to know about the impact that the change is having.  

5. Collaboration Concerns—Once people understand the benefits of the change, they are ready to spread the word and encourage others. At this stage, leaders need to shift roles and allow others to run with the ball.

6. Refinement Concerns—With the first stage of change successfully implemented, your role at this point is to encourage refinement and support further innovation.

Change Readiness Quiz

Change happens one person at a time. By taking the time to address the concerns that people naturally have when they are asked to change, leaders can surface these issues before they occur. Is your organization ready for change?  Take our Change Readiness Quiz and find out where you stand. (Please note that one-time registration at The Ken Blanchard Companies web site is required to see results.)

1. Confront reality
2. At board meetings, put strategy center stage
3. Be transparent with employees
4. Be transparent with investors
5. Build and protect the culture
6. Keep faith with the future 

You can access the complete McKinsey article here.  (It’s free, but registration is required.) While you’re there be sure to check out the McKinsey archives and also sign up to begin receiving the free McKinsey Quarterly, a great business strategy resource.   

For more information on leading in the new business reality, also be sure to check out Blanchard’s recent articles on Making the Shift from Survival to Growth and Creating a Change-Ready Organization.  Both are available at no charge at the Blanchard website.

Pat will be stopping by right after she finishes her WebEx sponsored webinar on Leading People Through Change.  This is a special government-focused webinar that looks at the unique challenges encountered when leading change in a government setting. Over 200 people will be participating in the webinar and most will be gathering here to ask follow-up questions. 

If you have a question that you would like to ask Pat, just enter this thread or click on the COMMENTS hyperlink near the title of this post.  Type in your question in the space provided and hit SUBMIT COMMENT.  Pat will answer as many questions as possible until she has to leave at 10:30 a.m. Pacific. 

And if you can’t stay, be sure to stop by later and see all the questions that were asked.  Or better yet, hit the RSS FEED button on the right-hand column and receive updates on a weekly basis.

In Zigarmi’s experience of working with clients on organizational change initiatives over the past 20 years, a couple of common mistakes keep popping up when organizations go about launching large scale change in their organizations.   

What causes change to fail in most organizations?  Here are three that Zigarmi recommends keeping an eye on: 

1. People leading the change think that announcing the change is the same as implementing it.  So much energy in organizations is spent preparing to communicate the change and the reasons behind it, but not nearly the same energy is spent planning for the successful execution and rollout of the change after the announcement.
2. People’s concerns with change are not surfaced or addressed. If leaders do not take the time to specifically address individuals’ needs and fears near the beginning of the change process, they will find themselves fighting an uphill battle later on in the process.
3. Those being asked to change are not involved in planning the change.  Leaders need to gain the buy-in and cooperation of the people who are being asked to change. Without that, resistance smolders. This is because people feel that change is being done to them rather than with them. 

Interested in learning more about Zigarmi’s thoughts on leading people through change in your organization?  Be sure to check out interviews with Pat in the May 2008 and May 2009 issues of Ignite or Pat’s webinar recordings on implementing change. 

To learn more about Who Killed Change? including access to the first chapter, follow this link, Who Killed Change?

Has a change initiative ever “died” in your organization?  Who would you point to as the likely suspects?  Take our poll below, and also leave a comment and let us know about the biggest killers of change you’ve experienced.

Pat will be stopping by right after she finishes her WebEx sponsored webinar on Creating a Fast, Flexible, and Nimble Organization.  Over 400 people will be participating in the webinar and many will be gathering here to ask follow-up questions. 

If you have a question that you would like to ask Pat, just enter this thread or click on the COMMENTS hyperlink near the title of this post.  Type in your question in the space provided and hit SUBMIT COMMENT.  Pat will answer as many questions as possible until she has to leave at 10:30 a.m. Pacific. 

And if you can’t stay, be sure to stop by later and see all the questions that were asked.  Or better yet, hit the RSS FEED button on the right-hand column and receive updates on a weekly basis.

• Resting on your laurels. You see companies ignoring the numbers on their balance sheet, or in their employee turnover or customer satisfaction numbers. These companies treat bad numbers as a blip on the screen rather than as a trend over time.
• Discounting customers’ expectations and competitors’ innovations. These companies stick their head in the sand and seem bent on protecting the way that they have always done things. They are more interested in defending their decisions and their approach than they are in exploring new ideas.
• Discouraging new players and new voices within the company. A tendency to find ways to say that “the next generation doesn’t really understand the situation” or that some people with strong opinions based on experience elsewhere “haven’t been here long enough to really have a voice at the table” is a sure way to stay stagnant.

Pat’s recommendation for keeping your organization change-ready? Increase involvement and influence. To find out more about Pat’s thinking on improving your organization’s capacity to change, check out her interview in this month’s edition of Ignite—our free monthly eNewsletter.

I was reminded about that as I was staring at a blank Personal Action Card at the end of a day-long planning meeting.  Three hundred employees had just finished a four-hour strategy session to identify ways to decrease costs and increase revenues and now we were individually being asked to commit to four things:

1. What can I do to save money?
2. What can I do to support company growth?
3. What can I do to help someone in another department or workgroup?
4. What can I do to help myself?  

I was surprised at how much trouble I was having at this critical moment in the process.  Earlier in the day I had been very active with ideas on what the organization could do to cut costs and increase revenues, but now that it had gotten to a personal level, I was struggling.

Have you driven your organizational change down to the individual level?  Are people ready to change?  Have they committed to a new course of action?  It’s not really going to happen until they do.

Ben had spoken at our company a couple of years ago at our annual Week of Excellence all-company meeting and encouraged all of us to replace “downward spiral thinking” with “possibility thinking” instead.  Ben also cautioned us not to fall into the trap of thinking that leadership is just for those people at the top of the organization.  For an organization to truly move forward together, everyone has to be involved and feel that they play a role.

To illustrate his point, Ben told the story of an accomplished cellist who joined the Boston Philharmonic but who was disappointed when she found herself ranked as the 11th cellist among the twelve seats available.  Still, she persevered and at Ben’s urging, she volunteered an idea of how to play a certain section of a symphony the Boston Philharmonic was scheduled to perform.

The piece was performed the following week to rave reviews.  After the performance, the cellist came up to Zander excitedly and asked, “You played the piece the way I suggested, didn’t you.”  Ben nodded in agreement and saw the woman’s whole attitude change. 

“From then on,” he continued, “this cellist who sat in the 11th seat played like a completely different person.”  Instead of just being technically correct, her playing took on an added dimension that she hadn’t displayed before.  When Ben asked her about this, she explained that ever since that night when she first saw the possibility that she could influence the orchestra from her modest position in the 11th chair, she felt like she had been leading the orchestra every night since then.

But can a person sitting in the 11th chair of your organization really make a difference?  You bet.

I found this out for myself when I talked with a co-worker who said Ben Zander touched her heart and reminded her that each one of us is important to the bigger goal.

“It creates a feeling in me of my worth in the workplace,” she said. “What I like about this idea is that it makes me feel like I might have an idea that would contribute and that I have value to the company,”

What’s the main reason for failure?

Leaders don’t involve or address the concerns of the people affected by the change.

I was thinking about all of the change that is on the drawing boards of companies—including ours—as we look for ways to stay profitable.  So I went back into my notes to an interview that I conducted with Dr. Patricia Zigarmi, our change expert here at the company.  What Pat shared with me was that if leaders would just focus on three concerns that all people have, they could greatly enhance the probability of change succeeding in their organizations. 

• The first area to address is around information concerns. People want to know what the proposed change is all about, what you are seeing, and why things have to change.
• The second area involves personal concerns. People want to know how the change will be good for them personally—not just good for the company.   They also want to know if they will be able to master the new skills the change requires.
• The third area is around the nitty-gritty implementation concerns such as system alignment, best practices, and the daily mechanics of making the change happen.

 If you’re interested in exploring this a little further, check out the free Change Readiness Quiz at our website.  Once you take the quiz, you can also download the Top 15 Reasons Why Change Efforts Fail