Overcoming Resistance to Organizational Change

To understand why we resist change, it is useful to acknowledge that humans are creatures of habit, and that habits are learned behaviors with predictable outcomes. By creating change, we force those involved – including ourselves – to confront the unknown and “unlearn” things that we previously accepted as producing desirable results. Even if the current results are sub par, they are predictable and at some level comfortable for us – so we resist changing.

There are 3 types of resistance that most frequently rear their unproductive heads in an organizational setting: emotional, political, and rational (EPR). Although each has the potential to derail organizational change and all 3 operate simultaneously within us, they are unique in how and when they are most likely to impact your business.

When people first learn about impending change, most – at an emotional level – actually become intrigued and even excited about it. We are naturally curious and relatively optimistic beings, so our emotional reaction to upcoming change is initially positive as you can see on the Emotional graph line in Chart A. It isn’t until the going gets tough that emotions swing to the negative and have the potential to create a crisis point. If you had the power to listen to what other people think, at the crisis point you might hear things like “I’m not so sure this is really going to work” and “This is much harder than I thought it would be.” As a leader, it is critical for you to anticipate this moment for yourself and for your people so that you can provide the boost necessary to help your team power through to firmer emotional ground.

Click Here to View Chart A

Political resistance to change is all about self-image and the perception of power. Unlike emotional resistance, political resistance kicks in at the exact moment people learn about change. The Political graph line in Chart A begins with a swing to the negative and then slowly trends back up into positive territory, tracing initial questions about the personal impact of change. People think things like “This could cost me my job” and “Why wasn’t I asked about this before the decision was made?” Over time, and as the change process unfolds, even the most seasoned political players learn to adapt, compensate, and otherwise protect their sense of importance, moving them back to positive ground. Warning: there is risk that political resistance will derail your project if it is left unchecked at the crisis point on the graph. To minimize the impact of political resistance, be sure to involve the right people up-front as you plan change and anticipate individual reactions – both of which will help you accelerate the path to acceptance.

Rational resistance to change is the easiest to both understand and overcome. As people try to understand change, they look for facts, relevant comparisons, and logic to help justify why it is necessary and what they should expect both during and after the process. Along the way, they look for measurable evidence of success and progress to correlate how their organization is doing compared to what they expected. The result of this is a straight-line Rational graph line on Chart A that begins at neutral and slowly trends toward positive acceptance. Thorough planning and open communications before and during change initiatives minimize the impact of rational resistance. As many of my clients learned the hard way, it is much better to deliver “bad” news or information about the imperative for change in an open and up-front manner than to shield it from employees to “protect” them for as long as possible. The same rings true for communicating successes, failures, and progress during the change process. Any news – even bad news – helps to minimize rational resistance to change.

How does EPR resistance to change impact your company? What did this cost you last year, and what would the benefits be if you could reduce their effects in the future?

Plans, People, Process

When I ask business owners to tell me where they want to drive their business, in most cases I get either a blank stare or a highly tactical response like the one I recently heard – “We are going to hire 3 new salespeople in 2009 and really push our [newest and most profitable service] business.” A statement like this is usually more of a reaction to events from the prior year than a forward-looking statement of what they really want to accomplish. It also oversimplifies the tasks at hand.

Running a business in this manner is akin to trying to drive a car to an unknown destination while looking in the rearview mirror; you don’t know where you are going and you could very well get yourself and others killed along the way!

The most significant root cause of EPR resistance to change – by far – is an underinvestment in strategic planning. To be clear, strategic planning is a thought process that helps business leaders clarify and then merge their concept of what they want their business to become with the external realities of the marketplace and the internal realities of their organization. The result is vastly improved precision regarding direction and focus, and a realistic assessment of the organization’s strengths, limitations, opportunities, and risks. Tactical planning and planning for change becomes much easier when a big picture has been defined – not just in terms of what must be accomplished, but also why it matters.

If you are reading this and thinking to yourself, “but my company is too small to need a strategic plan,” you might want to reconsider if indeed you are, or if you might be thinking too small not to have one!

Business planning – the combination of strategic planning (first) and tactical planning (second) – helps set the stage for change and will provide you with multiple opportunities to anticipate and overcome EPR resistance to change, in yourself and in your staff. It also facilitates the integration of your plan, your people issues (how to further develop yourself and your people), and your processes (which ones require examination for potential improvement) into a single set of tasks specifically designed to get you where you want it to go.

Change in your company starts with you, and it is never too late to plan for your future.

Ray Noorda, technology pioneer and former president and CEO of Novell Corporation, said: “Cause change and lead; accept change and survive; resist change and die.”

As a leader, it is important to acknowledge that you are also resistant to change. How do your own emotions, ego, and sense of strategic clarity impact your ability to drive change? Are you surrounding yourself with the right people to facilitate change or do those around you take too much comfort in the status quo?

Although there may never be a truly “good” time for change, it is always far better to plan for it proactively than to find yourself reacting to events that may not be fully in your control.

The Fallacy of the Status Quo

Like death and taxes, change in business is at once inevitable and difficult to comprehend. It also happens to be necessary if your aim is to create a sustainable, competitive enterprise. Ignore this imperative at your own peril, as history has taught us over and over again. Once great firms like AT&T, Polaroid, and A&P exist as a shadow of their former selves while others including Bethlehem Steel disappeared altogether, in large part because they couldn’t change.

This is not just a large company phenomenon; when it comes to change, size doesn’t matter. Smaller firms fall victim to this slow demise with great frequency, it’s just that their stories are rarely the stuff of MBA case studies. Whether it’s hubris, a virtual monopoly, or flat out denial of external circumstances and events, the common denominator of these sad endings is a literal death grip on the status quo by otherwise competent leadership.

The concept of status quo is misleading, because in fact nothing ever stays the same. Just like a wad of cash buried in your back yard inevitably loses value over time, so it is with the status quo in business. Your markets, your clients, and your competitors will eventually outgrow and outpace you if you are unable to change and evolve. Although it may feel comfortable, the status quo is not a good thing at all; it is a slow motion business killer.

Whether you are conscious of it or not, odds are that you and your team embrace the status quo in a variety of areas. One client of mine – the president of a mid-sized Insurance agency – retained a problem manager for far longer than he should have – because of a misplaced sense of loyalty to her. Another delayed a much-needed technology upgrade because “things are working fine as is” (including, by the way, a number of labor intensive manual tasks). For over 6 months, a third client postponed a difficult conversation with a high-end producer who had become complacent in outside sales and spent virtually all of his time working his existing book.

During good times, we tend to give ourselves and our people credit for a job well done (think high-fives, healthy bonus checks, and lavish holiday parties). The result? “Let the good times roll, and let’s continue to do what we’ve been doing.”

When performance falters, our impulse is to identify and then blame external circumstances as the cause immediately followed by pushing harder to improve results (think it’s “the economy” and any underperforming employee you’ve recently counseled). The result? “We are underperforming because of the economy overall, so let’s buckle down and get more appointments to win our share.”

Ironically, both extremes reinforce the status quo; that is, you and your people generally continue to do what you’ve been doing. Your rationale is the only thing that actually changes!

What are your areas of status quo and why is it so difficult to move yourself and your organization beyond them? Where are your people stuck in the status quo?

The paradox of the status quo is that it makes us feel so comfortable. Only you can decide whether that’s good enough or if you’d like to plan for change to make your business more competitive over time.

Are You Walking the Walk of Accountability?

“Our deeds follow us, and what we have been makes us what we are.”  – John Dykes

Although accountability has various definitions, it is typically used to describe personal responsibility for getting something done. Accountability is an essential element of focused accomplishment and, therefore, of the business world.  Successful organizations build systems that encourage accountability in alignment with their strategic plan. Strategic planning provides guidelines to define accountability – “who” will get “what” done by “when” – and accountability drives results in the direction of the plan.

A sound plan without a process for accountability is like a brand new sports car without any fuel.  It may look great, but it’s not going to get you anywhere.

The subject of accountability evokes different responses from different people. We routinely experience both positive and negative reactions, because accountability is closely related to responsibility, ethics, and (quite often) both blame and guilt. Resistance to being held accountable is common – not necessarily because we don’t want to do a good job, but because it pushes the limits of our personal comfort zone.

What does this mean for your company? Do you struggle with holding yourself and others accountable? Although this can certainly be a challenge, you can learn how to create more accountability more often – and have better results to show for it.

To get your staff to be more accountable, begin with open, straight-forward communication.  Communicate your vision (you do have a vision for your business, right?), communicate the elements of your strategic plan (you do have a strategic plan, right?), and help you team understand how they fit and why matters.  We often assume our way out of communicating (and, for that matter, planning) because we think that things should be obvious to others.  It may be obvious to you, but you just can’t make that assumption about others.  In addition, last time I checked, it’s impossible to communicate something you haven’t yet figured out yourself, so if you don’t have a vision and a clearly focused plan, that might be a more appropriate place to start.

It sounds trite, but perennially rings true: you must lead by example. As a manager, it is virtually impossible to hold others accountable for their actions if you don’t hold yourself accountable for your own. Walk the walk, and let everyone see you do it.

Dwight Eisenhower once said: “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” In other words, the pattern of your own behaviors and the environment you create influences the behaviors of others.  Leadership lies in helping them become invested, generally by asking them to be accountable for some action or set of actions. When someone makes a commitment to doing something concrete they’re much more likely to do it and ultimately take pride in their accomplishment.

How do you hold yourself accountable? This is a common concern for my clients who own small and mid-sized businesses. You may have high expectations for yourself and for those around you, but how well do you really live up to your own standards? How often do you let yourself off the hook? Who is there to push you when your resolve is flagging?

One solution for this common business owner dilemma is to form an accountability partnership. Enlist the help of a close friend or business colleague, or you may even want to hire a personal coach or consultant who will help you stay focused and engaged. The most important thing is to identify someone who you can count on to support your goals, and who will take you to task when you need it.

Accountability sews the seeds of accomplishment. Accountability to your staff, accountability to your work, accountability to yourself – it all matters.  Your business and your reputation depend on it.

What if It Could Be Summer All Year Long?

(How to Get Your Organization to Run Smoothly Without You)

Ahh, Summer. Summer means barbecues, swimming, baseball games, camping, road trips, and lazy days in the sun. That’s what summer is all about, isn’t it?

Well, for some, that’s just wishful thinking. Many business owners are so tied to their companies that they can’t step away, and a truly relaxing summer vacation is nothing more than wishful thinking. Who are these people? They are the micro-managers, the “do-it-all-ers,” the “wearers-of-many-hats.” They can’t let go. They think that if they take a step back, their business will falter and all their hard work will be for nothing.

In the words of Walt Kelly’s well-known comic strip character Pogo “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Does this describe you? Are you a business owner who can (and does) comfortably take time off, or do you function as an employee — a slave to the daily grind?

Chances are, you’re the latter, and you’re certainly not alone. As a business owner, it’s difficult to relinquish control and place your trust (and your livelihood) in someone else’s hands. Although it isn’t easy, it’s crucial – crucial to your well being, and crucial to the future of your company. And it’s not going to happen unless you make it happen. You need to change how you think and then structure your organization so it can run without you.

How? The answer is to take these 5 concrete steps toward your freedom:

• Plan – As Confucius said, “A man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.” Centuries later, his wisdom still holds true. Whether you employ 3 or 300, a right-sized, well thought plan will dramatically improve your competitive positioning and performance regardless of market conditions. A solid plan drives day-to-day thinking and behaviors, which in turn lead to desired results.

• Delegate – Yes, this is hard, but if you’re still involved in every little thing that goes on over the course of a day, you’re too involved. You hired your staff to do a job. You carefully selected people based on their skills, experience, and drive. Let them do what your plan calls for them to do. They can do it!

• Take a long, hard, look at your staff – First, select one person who can be in charge in your absence. Provide the training, mentoring, and authority that they need to succeed. Then let them do their job. Second, remove marginal players from your team. If you don’t do this, you’re cheating yourself, and them. Give the remaining staff your blessing and your confidence.

• Trust – You won’t be able to let go unless you put your complete trust in your people, your plan, and your systems. If a system or process is broken, identify the problem and fix it. It may not always be easy, but it can – and must – be done.

• Test the system – When you’re ready, take two days off. Don’t call, don’t check in – disconnect completely and see what happens. Be sure that your staff knows they can reach you in case of an emergency – but chances are that they won’t need to. Sure, you’ll be tempted to call, check email, etc., but don’t do it. Step forward, don’t slide back!

You started with two days. Next time make it four, then a week, then two weeks. It will get easier. Before you know it, you’ll feel even more in control of your business and will be able to take a stress-free extended vacation, knowing that you have built a successful and competent team to execute your plan.

Just think about next summer when you’ll be able to relax and enjoy your life to the fullest!

Got Alignment? Broken Promises Won’t Pay the Rent

People build relationships and decide who to buy from based upon trust.  Patricia Aburdene, author of Megatrends 2010 said: “Transcendent values like trust and integrity literally translate into revenue, profits and prosperity.”

If you are searching for a surefire way to anger and alienate your prospects and customers, simply violate their trust and you have just found it!  Think about one of your own recent experiences as a customer where what was delivered to you didn’t live up to what was promised.  How likely you are to do business with that company again? Even worse (for the business), how many people have you spoken to about your negative experience? 

I had a fun and illuminating breakfast meeting about a week ago with Larry Bailin.  Larry is an internet marketing guru, a published author, a sought-after speaker, and (as I concluded during our breakfast) an all-around nice guy.

The initial part of our conversation focused on Larry’s primary business, Single Throw Internet Marketing.  As a speaker and a consultant myself, I have a natural curiosity to learn about businesses, their customers, the people who run them, and the obstacles and opportunities they face.  So in a conversational manner, I was running Larry through a series of questions to help me get a grip on both “the man” and his enterprise.

One of the things Larry shared with me that periodically frustrates him is that some of his clients struggle to implement the internal processes, systems, and behaviors to support their online presence.  As we dug into this issue, it became clear to me that these clients struggled to deliver on the promise of their marketing.  In my own terminology: their internal reality (what they did) wasn’t aligned with their external reality (what they promised) and they weren’t creating trust.

How does your business’ internal reality align with its external reality?  If you’re not sure, I suggest that you take steps to find out, and pronto.  Your prospects and customers will be able to tell you, as will your own staff (believe me, they know).  An organizational assessment tool I use with my clients is a handy way to get at this critical information quickly, economically, and in a manner that preserves the anonymity of individual responses (in other words, you get the truth).

Data in hand – good, bad, and even ugly – you can then more objectively evaluate your internal reality in terms of your organization’s:

• Structure – including roles, responsibilities, and lines of communication
• Processes – both formally defined processes and informal ones
• Rewards & Recognition – both formally and informally, what behaviors are you reinforcing?
• People – do you, your mangement team, and your staff each have the right knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be successful in your role?

In my experience, if you’re not actively working to align the internal and external realities of your business, they are probably moving on their own inertia in a divergent path.  This is exactly the pattern that gives my new friend Larry Bailin heartburn as he helps his clients market more effectively online; it’s also the pattern that can stagnate growth, or even worse, put a business out of business altogether.