lessons
We learn lessons from the mistakes we make and the chances we take. Making change a habit is a different way of thinking about change. It requires that we expect, accept and seek change as opposed to simply trying to respond to it. Making change a habit means that we:
1. Face Reality
Progress can only be made when we have a clear sense of where we are. With an ever-increasing pace of change we must put systems and processes in place to provide ongoing feedback about our situations. What resources do we have? What are the obstacles in our path? Facing reality must stop being periodic SWOTs, 360s, and customer councils and become an ongoing process with continuous loops of feedback and insight.
2. Get Candid
People rarely say what they really think. Too often we don’t get critical information because someone doesn’t want to bring bad news or risk a confrontation. Information about the good things that happen is overrated. We need to create relationships and a culture where good news travels fast and bad news travels faster.
3. Paint a Vivid Picture of the Future
Change is difficult for most people. It’s much easier if we believe wholeheartedly that what we’re changing to will be significantly better than our current situation. Making change a habit demands that we get very good at creating and reinforcing compelling pictures of the future and strategies to make these images a reality. Making it real in our minds will make it real in our lives.
4. Get Support/Buy-in
Some of the most successful efforts to make and sustain change come through support networks—substance abuse recovery, weight management, peer support networks, etc. are based on research that shows change is more successful with the support of people who know what you’re trying to accomplish and have valuable support or experience to share. The same is true in your organization.
5. Clean House
Renewal requires shedding people, processes, products and anything else that’s not adding the value it should. This ensures that the focus and energy can be channeled to value-adding activities. We‘ve all retained difficult employees when we knew we shouldn’t have. We’ve supported products that weren’t selling and wrestled with unwieldy systems and processes. We must wake up to the fact that anything that distracts us from what will drive our growth is holding us back—working against us.
6. Deal with Setbacks
Setbacks are unusual in steady state environments. But in situations with lots of change, they’re just part of the equation. Expect them and plan for them and they won’t be so disruptive. If information is flowing properly and the ultimate goal is clearly articulated they’ll be more like switchbacks than setbacks.
7. Communicate
A common failure in relationships of all kinds is the lack of effective communication. We’re all familiar with the need to increase the frequency of communication during periods of crisis. Communication is a foundation competency for the change-ready individual and organization. Communication effectiveness requires clarity, consistency, frequency, authenticity, visibility and depth.
8. Make it Urgent
Change, even positive change, can create fear, uncertainty and a bias for inaction. It’s important to build in mechanisms that enable individuals and organizations to see progress and deal with setbacks in real-time. Increasing the frequency of status reporting through online “dashboards,” establishing highly efficient, daily, weekly and monthly huddles, and other such vehicles will create a sense of urgency in your organization that makes action an everyday occurrence.
9. Make it a Habit
Creating resilient, adaptive individuals and organizations is the goal. All of the approaches, tools and resources must be applied as part of an ongoing business and personal development system. Tools such as an enterprise tracking and reporting system, Balanced Scorecard and competency-based hiring, to name just a few, will help make change a habit.