We invite you to get to know the 10 core Philosophies and Principles that serve as a foundation for our Conversation Frameworks as well as our approach to Change Management.

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(1) Fortify change with stability.  Conversation Frameworks bring structure into the discussions.  This structure provides consistency of approach and thought process.  This consistency creates stability in how changes and improvements are introduced into organizations.  This stability helps fortify the changes because they are done with purpose and intentionality.  

(2) Build a formidable enterprise, one individual at a time.  Conversation Frameworks were designed to address the most common and recurring situations, challenges, and problems an organization is facing.  Those situations are most often found at the staff or employee level.  The frameworks don’t have impact without including those individuals in the change process.

(3) Make learning more important than “the answer.”  Change is a journey.  It is constant, iterative, and an ever-winding road.  Conversation Frameworks allow for small, incremental changes to be taken, learning every step of the way.  Learning from micro improvements on the way to an objective is possible and encouraged.

(4) Create a new culture by focusing not on the culture but on the forces that shape it.  Conversation Frameworks introduce the concept of “Guided Reflection” into an organization.  Guided Reflection moments allow everybody to focus on organizational improvements of all shapes and sizes, allowing everybody to be an owner and champion of the organization’s success.  That is a culture to embrace.  

(5) Drive organizational change through personal change.  Conversation Frameworks are designed to include the individuals involved in a process, a project, or in a change initiative.  These individuals participate and embrace personal change as they contribute to the larger objective.

(6) Empower with strong leadership.  Conversation Frameworks allow leaders to include the staff, empower the staff to give suggestions, provide a space for voices to be heard, and empower the people in the decision-making process.  This willingness to be part of the decision-making process, not THE decision maker shows strong leadership and trust.  

(7) Foster vigorous debate and steadfast commitment.  Because Conversation Frameworks guide discussions around challenges, problems, issues, and searching for change ideas, there is often discussion and debate.  All participants are allowed to give their points of view, the evidence to support their points of view, and stand for what they feel would be best for their position, the department, and the organization as a whole.  The discussion and debate around a problem set results in Action Items that the participants agree on as a group, creating a commitment to moving forward and completing the Action items.

(8) Decide who decides.  Conversation Frameworks provide an environment whereby the “highest-ranking member” is not always the best-eqipped person to make certain decisions.  Those doing the work are almost often the most “expert” and, therefore, in a better position to decide things that impact them.  In these cases, the decision on “who should decide this?” is quite clear, erasing ambiguity on the topic.

(9) Re-ignite middle management.  Middle management is a critical layer in the change management equation.  However, too many middle managers are not  1) equipped with tools to work with the people during moments of change, 2) encouraged to ask for help in change situations, and 3) sure how to connect the directives from up above with direction (execution plans) for the teams.  Many Conversation Frameworks are designed for the departmental level, include the middle manager in the process, and show them as bridges of change between high-level goals/strategies/objectives and day-to-day work to support those inititives.  The middle managers become the positive agents of change instead of the messenger from above.

(10) Make strategic planning a line responsibility.  All business problems can be traced back to one of three root causes: People, Process, or Planning.  The planning problems are usually because of a lack of planning.  Conversation Frameworks allow the various levels of an organization to perform strategic planning at their level.  With the higher-level objectives and goals, the various levels can bring that down to their level and do the required planning.  “Strategic” planning is not only reserved for the senior management group.

(11) Connect the dots.  It is easier for people to connect the dots and arrive at conclusions when they can see the situation visually.  Conversation Frameworks are designed around the premise of collecting information from participants around a topic, creating a “wall” of information on an interactive whiteboard, and guided through a collaborative “connect the dots” to arrive at conclusions or next steps or action plans.  Colors, icons, placement of information, and visual cues facilitate the “connect the dots” process.

(12) Institutionalize project skills.  One of the best ways to institutionalize project skills is to walk people through best practices, guided reflection around the situation, organization and discipline, and learning how to take meaningful action steps toward the project completion.  Conversation Frameworks treat small, incremental changes as mini change management “projects” and encourage a culture of continuous improvement.  Those skills become institutionalized as projects finish successfully and people begin repeating the skills that led them to success.

(13) Remove threats-reinforce incentives.  Conversation Frameworks invite participation and collaboration toward improvements.  They remove any “get this done, or else” messaging and threats.  They reinforce one of the most basic and often overlooked incentives – a path to personal growth and development in one’s job with the least amount of stress, frustration, chaos, and unhappiness.

(14) Use fewer, broader, more balanced measures.  While Conversation Frameworks are not specifically focused on measurements or KPIs, they do promote a more simplistic way of measuring success: What do we need to focus on, in terms of People (skills, training, and organization), Process (streamlined, waste-free, and functional), and Planning (proactive, up-front planning instead of reactive clean up or regrouping) to achieve success.  Focus on the activities that lead to results as a balance to focusing primarily on the outcome results.

(15) Measure activities as well as departments.  As a continuation of #14, Conversation Frameworks promote measuring activities the people are performing, the activities inside processes, and the planning activities for changes big and small.  Department staff is the machine for driving an organization froward.  After senior management decides a few, key strategic objectives, the “magic” comes when department measurements focus on “how” to get things done, not just “what” needs to be done.

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While there are some very challenging people and change initiatives, changing people is not as mysterious as one might think.  I have found that there are seven things to consider when you want to “change people,” and the first thing that may surprise you – let people change themselves.  

Let’s look at the following scenario: An employee (call her Susan) sits at her desk on the ground floor on a bright sunny day.  A visitor pulls into the parking lot, and the sun’s reflection off the windshield comes blinding through the building window and hits Susan right in the eyes.  What does she do?  Remain as she is, blinded by the light?  No.  She will most likely change her sitting angle, close the blinds, or move her chair.  Does she grumble at the visitor?  Probably not.  She changes and corrects the situation herself.

Now Susan has just closed the blinds so she can work when her supervisor comes by and tells her, “The quarterly report doesn’t work for me.  You need to change it to a monthly report,” and leaves to address her next urgent matter.  Susan will most likely grumble because she doesn’t seem to have a say in the change.  She is being forced to blindly accept the change regardless of what that means to her workload and her report-generating process.  Susan doesn’t support the change as it stands right now.

I don’t think that people resist change, and I think they resist being changed when the change upsets their processes, space, and day.

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Second, it is critical that you focus on the processes.  Most of our employees are process-minded people.  They keep the “machine” (our companies) running as work moves into their workspace, do their part, and move it on to the next person.  The faster you can bring an upcoming change initiative down to the process level, the better.  As we’ve all heard, talk is cheap.  However, when you can bring a change idea (discussion) down to the level of how it will impact your employees in their day-to-day workload and processes, they can begin to truly understand what the change means to them, the department, and the organization as a whole.  Once they internalize the change to these levels, they can express valid concerns or show support and ultimately begin making the change a reality.  If they can’t bring the change initiative to this level, they are left guessing what the idea (talk) really means and hesitant to give their full support.

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This leads us directly to securing employee buy-in.  This is done by involving the employees in the change process, using their ideas and process expertise to their advantage, and creating a culture where employees are encouraged to raise concerns before a change occurs.

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The next item might surprise some people since what it suggests is often taken for granted or considered a luxury activity – define internal positioning.  It is important that all employees clearly understand how they, as individuals and how their department fits into the organization and supports the goals of the organization.  Developing internal positioning documents create benchmarks that can be used to determine how much an upcoming change will have on the individuals and the department.

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Recognizing challenges is one of my favorites.  Managers often feel they are doing their employees a favor if they sugar-coat or minimize the challenges that a change initiative will present.

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I am amazed that we feel that we can’t afford a few hours of planning and preparation time when beginning a change initiative (even when people have concerns and questions). Still, we always find the time later for 15 hours to undo, rework, and redo the work.  Employees would prefer investing time upfront instead of fixing problems later.

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And finally, use the proper tools to guide the change process.  Find tools, strategies, and training designed to connect your strategy and initiatives with the day-to-day workloads.  Only when these two points are connected will you begin to realize success with your change initiatives.

So, there you go.  No rocket science, and just solid people skills and strategies that put a process to that intangible concept called “change.”.  

What do you think? Is this a framework you can use to get people to change? Let’s discuss this below!

How to Change People

1. Let People Change Themselves
2. Focus on the Processes
3. Secure Employee Buy-In
4. Define Internal Positioning 
5. Recognize Challenges
6. Invest Time Upfront
7. Use the Proper Tools

The post 7 TIPS ON HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO CHANGE appeared first on Innovative Management Tools.

In another post, I gave insight into how to change people.  One of the seven points was to “define internal positioning,” which I also said was considered a “luxury item” by many people.  In this posting, I hope to explain why taking the time (guided reflection) to define and document internal positioning at two levels can benefit people throughout the organization.

In a nutshell, internal positioning is the process of documenting who and what the organization is at three levels – the organization as a whole and the individual departments.  Once the documents are created, they should be communicated throughout the organization and maintained as information changes.  

Level #1: The Organization

Most large organizations have an internal communication and positioning guide, while most small and medium-sized companies do not.  The communication and positioning guide is the principal repository for information that defines and describes who and what the organization is.  The wording is precise and deliberate since many subsequent documents are created using the text.  Items such as catalogs, press releases, website text, company presentations, and annual reports might contain verbiage from the communication and positioning guide (CPG).  The CPG often highlights products, taglines, and product benefits.  The CPG might also include information on the competition, company philosophies, and industry trends. 

An organization-level CPG gives everybody a single source of information and maintains focus and clarity.

Level #2: The Departments

The next level that merits developing and disseminating CPGs is the department level.  A couple of examples of how a CPG at the department level proves to be a helpful tool are as follows:

The New Employee: When a new employee enters a department, a CPG, including names, terminology, significant processes, special policies, workflow diagrams, org charts, internal customer information, and other topics, will reduce the employee’s training time.  For example, the new employee could read and digest the org-level CPG and the department-level CPG to get a global understanding of the two levels.  The terminology and acronyms that current employees use freely and without explanation would no longer be totally foreign to the new employee.  Having process flows on paper, and an org chart to refer to would provide a visual that many people need.  The CPG would also ensure consistency regarding information being presented to new employees.  

Department Alignment: For senior management, having department-level CPGs effectively keeps departments properly aligned and focused.  By comparing the CPG from each department, a senior manager can identify duplication of activity or resource, inefficient processes, conflicting priorities, or policy issues, all of which need addressing.

Outcomes of keeping things aligned: 

1. Keep everybody on the same page.
2. Communicate how all the employees and departments fit together to support the organizational goals and vision.
3. Reduce training time with new employees as they use the benchmark documents to learn various aspects of the organization, understand how their department fits into the overall organization, and realize how their position is part of the big picture.

Best Practices: 

1. Begin with the organizational level document – create the vision and framework for the departments.  Review and revise every 6 to 9 months.
2. Have each department create its positioning documents as a department, then have senior management review them to ensure all critical information is accurate.  Review every 6 to 9 months as the organizational version is updated.

In summary, people want to feel they contribute positively to their organization’s goals and future.  By developing and maintaining positioning documents at each level – organization and departments – understanding how and where employees add value to the organization become obvious. Need help with CPG document creation? Let me know in the comments section below

I hope you found this to be useful. Post a comment below, and be on the lookout for my next post when I begin talking about the three Ps at the root of both change initiatives and problems – People, Processes, and Planning. I’ll discuss the P nearest and dearest to your employees’ hearts – People (i.e., Themselves!)  

Until next time! 

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