Don’t Forget About the People (Change Management)
In the spirit of a new year, let’s talk about change. Change management, that is.
Be honest, the first things that come to mind when thinking about change management (or transformation of any kind) have more to do with the process of change, rather than the people who will be affected. But don’t worry, that’s typical, especially for those of us who are more project oriented. It’s commonplace to initially focus on the “what’s,” the “why’s” and the “how’s” before worrying about the “who’s.”
However, this is where change management initiatives often fail – by not spending enough time considering who will be affected, how they will be affected, how much they will be affected, why they are affected, and when they will be affected.
What if conventional “change management” is backwards and too concerned with top down processes. Historically, senior leaders make a decision and then ask a change manager to communicate the message to the masses. When instead it should be that the masses act as the barometer to decide if a change is needed, they can convey that information to a change manager, who then communicates it to the senior leader, who’s responsibility it is to provide the tools and resources to get it done.
Instead of always doing this:
Senior leader —> Change manager —> Employees
Try this:
Employees —> Change manager —> Senior leader
A change manager’s role has sometimes been to manipulate people into accepting whatever senior leadership has decided without any input from anyone else. A bit of advice: don’t coerce people, it doesn’t end well. Leadership’s job is to collect information and then make a decision, not make a decision and then force others to accept it.
Rather than saying, “you don’t understand” to a lower level employee, leaders should be asking, “tell me why you think that” to better appreciate others’ perspectives.
Instead of, “you’re wrong or misguided or you don’t have all the facts so you couldn’t possibly know how great I am at my job,” it should be more, “I’m collecting data and viewpoints to make the best possible decision.”
In an episode of the tv show, The Diplomat, two characters are shown discussing a plan. One of them tells the other that they were hearing what they were saying, but that they were still going ahead with their original plan. On one hand, this was an example of a brilliant human interaction, to give a person with a differing opinion an opportunity to voice their perspective, to hear them out, and to acknowledge that the information was taken in and considered, regardless of the final decision. The only thing that could be improved here was that the character could have gathered the information first, so that it was less of a “I heard you, but your argument didn’t convince me, and I’m going ahead with my original plan anyway.” But aside from that, I commend the character for at least being open to opposing viewpoints before solidifying their decision.
This is all that leaders need to do – gather information from different sources before deciding. Include others, especially when it comes to change or transformation initiatives, because they will have perspectives that can help make the process creation part of change better.
Refrain from hiring “change managers” just to communicate messaging and to make it palatable to the masses. Instead, hire “change managers” that can help you sort through data gathered from employees as to what needs changing and how it should be changed. Reverse the standard change management order.
In all your excitement about the change management process, don’t forget about the people. If you do, then you can forget about successfully implementing your change.