Change management is not a straight road with a clear beginning and an end.
Inc. Magazine writer, Soren Kaplan warned of inevitable disruption in the field of change management if we continue to think about this topic in same way we always have.
Change management, he maintains, is an oxymoron. The concept of a linear process moving toward a clear future state doesn’t exist.
It’s not hard to imagine the speed of innovation outpacing long-term change initiatives. So, in some respects I’d agree. You can be part-way down the road only to find that, well, things have changed.
You can’t foresee and pre-empt every variable. But I’d suggest we are missing one.
The missing piece is to do with what’s inside us, not how fast the outside is moving. In other words, this answer is on the human side, not just the systems one.
We think of change as an attitude, action or skill. It is a capacity.
I don’t discount or disagree with Kaplan’s warnings to the profession to stop thinking top -> down. He makes great points:
“Don’t Manage Change. Lead Innovation.
Don’t Proliferate Change Initiatives. Go After Strategic Goals.
Don’t Just Start at the Top. Engage the Bottom and Sides.
Don’t Just Change. Create an Agile Organization.”
While I hope practitioners take up with these ideas, we should also say what we mean by “engage.” After all, this is the people part and that’s where it all will either stand or fall.
Change management should rely on the human capacity for change.
The authors of “Invisible Power, Insight Principles at Work,” (Dr. Ken Manning and colleagues) say assert that by better understanding how the mind works we shift from the inside->out. This informs how we are in the world.
They make a good point.
Their work in insight principles covers how behaviors are driven by insight. Think of the fact you can have a new thought at any time as a “power” available to everyone regardless of education, background, age, race, personal or socio-economic factors.
Insight powers change.
One of the main reasons communication plans and information campaigns exist is so people understand the reasons behind the new ways of doing things. In the biz it’s called employee engagement.
For most of us in the workforce, however, engagement means a short cycle of consultation (and all-hands meeting) followed by waterfalls of messaging from high places (email blasts).
It is any wonder we see people dragging their feet?
I’ve written before about how dangerous it is to assume that information alone gets people on board for change.
In fact, even with all that “engagement” information flying by, no shift in attitude will come until a person thinks about things differently.
In other words, they have an insight.
And I don’t mean the kind of insight that stops you in your tracks. Perhaps a new angle occurs to you. Or something you’ve heard many times just sounds different.
I’m not saying information is totally unhelpful, it’s lousy at provoking engagement … and insight.
Think of it a bit like smoking…
A smoker doesn’t need more information on why or how to stop. They need insight about the reasons for their own smoking.
Personal insight not only informs behavior, it’s the fuel that helps sustain it.
The good news is that, as practitioners and leaders, we can learn to facilitate this process better. Instead of force-feeding facts and benefit arguments ad nauseam, let’s look to how we support peoples’ capacity for insight.
About the author.
Elese Coit is a Large-Scale Change Consultant who helps organizations succeed at technical, system and process transformation. Elese Coit & Associates partners with companies undergoing change to build engagement and overcome resistance .
