How to Make Change Successful

Law #1:   All meaningful and lasting change must come from within.   This truth reveals why it is so hard to lose weight, stop smoking, and other addictive behaviors!  If someone else tells us that we must change, we tend to act like a 2 year old and say “No! You can’t make me!” Some people go to great lengths to demonstrate just how they are helpless to make the changes necessary. Or, people go on diets, lose weight and then when they hit their goal, they begin to pack the pounds on once more!   This is a reminder that the goal may have been made to satisfy someone else: a doctor, a spouse, a friend, the trainer at the fitness center.  Any change that you want to make needs to be on your own initiative.  It cannot be imposed from the outside.

The organizational version of this situation is experienced when the manager comes back from a conference and announces that “we will be implementing a new set of processes from now on.  And you are expected to get with the program.”  This immediately sets up the ripple effects of resistance among the employees at all levels.  Many people pretend to adopt the changes, others dawdle about getting to them, still others pretend like they don’t understand the changes.  So the manager assigns everyone to trainings that should make them understand what is expected.  While the people may have the information, they still do not have the right attitude or the motivation.  The changes need to begin from within the people!  It is up to the managers to understand this, and then to figure out how to get the people to want to adopt the changes. 

DEVELOP A VISION TO GUIDE THE CHANGE

Law #2:  Without a vision, there is no development.  So now, to continue with the problem.  Suppose the manager comes back from the conference and asks the team:  “What do you think we could do to make the processes you use more efficient?”  The manager schedules some time during the staff meetings and make an offsite work shop where the team can brainstorm, problem solve and develop a picture of how they would envision their unit working.  And then the manager might suggest:  See if this set of processes and resources will help you accomplish your vision.   The manager has done two things.  First he has empowered the team to design the way that they accomplish their objectives, and then provided them with additional resources that could be helpful.  The team will have come up with changes themselves that will improve productivity and performance.  And, they will have a vision of where they want to go. 

LEARN SOMETHING NEW

Law #3:  A great learning must take place. Now the team considers what needs to be done and may need some help to organized and facilitate the change efforts. They may also realize that while they have the desire to make the change, there are a number of skills, areas of knowledge, and important procedures that need to be adopted.  This will require training, self-directed learning, maybe some people will want to go back to school for formal education.  The manager may also need to become more familiar with how to manage this newly energized team.  So learning on the part of management could also become important. 

For each person, there is a need to engage in learning about the new situation from four different perspectives:  emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual.  Each of the aspects of the person needs to be engaged when the decision is made to change.  You will see this in people who change their diets, begin a new exercise plan, and find a new hobby, and so on.  They will find books, articles, online “how to” examples.  They may even join a club of like-minded people to help them keep on their path.

SUPPORT SYSTEMS FACILITATE CHANGE

Law #4:  You must create a healing forest.  This is a metaphor that describes an environment that supports and sustains the change.  For the individuals who are working on a change effort, having like-minded people around them to share their successes and struggles is very important.  For the teams in the organization, it is important to have organization systems that provide support.  This could be training for how to work in teams. It could be redefined job descriptions, with appropriate salary changes.  It might also be new organization strategic objectives and organization structures that maintain the new processes and systems. 

(For more on the 4 Laws, see White Bison, Inc. www.whitebison.org)