I'll Change: Tell Me Exactly What You Want

I watched as my client, the new President of his company's largest business, orchestrated a full day of presentations with the top 100 managers in the business unit. It was textbook-perfect:

a. He laid out the evidence supporting the need for a change in the corporate culture

b. His direct reports took turns offering their support for each of the proposed elements of change and were clearly genuine in their efforts

c. He invited spontaneous discussion and got it all along the way.

d. And he closed with a clear visual summary of how the culture was supposed to change.

Do Any Of These Sound  Familiar?

Here are the first few:

Risks: Take more.

Communicate more: When you have information, err on the side of sharing more with more people across all the businesses.

Decision Making: Think strategically.

These were the first three of eight items. Each was discussed in ways that highlighted how, for example, risk-taking had helped Company X or Strategic Decision Making had helped Company Y. The fact of the matter is, who can argue with the importance of what's listed above? 

Which is why at the end of the session the really important question was asked from the audience of man agers. This is an exact quote.

Manager: "I really think all of these things we discussed today are important. I just need to know one thing: "What, exactly, do you want me to do?"

President: " ____________"      (yes, that was the response).

As the President's consultant, I learned a lesson that I haven't forgotten: Visionary changes can be captured with images and big picture ideals; Behavioral changes need to be grounded in the specific.

Make your changes specific so that people know what to do and can tell whether or not they got it right.

Things like Risk, Communications, and Strategic Decision-Making are great topics for philosophical conversation and painting the big picture. If you want people to change what they are doing, then you need to tell them what to do in a way that they can act on and know that they are doing it right. 

Here's What That Looks Like 

Take more risks. 

Example: "When you are deciding to open up a new sales territory, go ahead once you've determined that there is at least a 60% chance of success. Don't wait until 90%."

If I'm the individual, now I know what the rules are and how I can determine whether or not I did it properly.                        

Communicate more.

Example: "When you have new information regarding one of our customers in Sweden, send it out the same day to all of our business unit Sales Managers in Europe."

If I'm the individual, now I know what the rules are and how I can determine whether or not I did it properly.  

Decision-Making.

Example: "When you and your team make decisions, measure the options against the two-year plan and choose the one that moves us closer within the budget allocated."

Change Management continues to captivate organizational leaders seeking to introduce "change" with as much acceptance and as little disruption as possible That's a good thing. There's always something new going on no matter where you work. Which makes it even more important to be able to do it and not just become captivated by the theories.

What's your experience with change initiatives?

One more time: Make your changes specific so that people know what to do and can tell whether or not they got it right.

 

Comments

[Daniel Rose]

Fantastic points. It really is amazing how people can visualize what they want, but lack that ability to work backwards through the causal links.

[Chris Young]

Great post Steve! Part of being a leader is inspiring others with one's big picture vision, but you make an important point that change initiatives need to be rooted in the specific to reduced the desired behavioral changes.

I have featured your post in my weekly Rainmaker 'Fab Five' blog picks of the week (http://www.maximizepossibility.com/employee_retention/2010/11/the-rainmaker-fab-five-blog-picks-of-the-week.html) to share your thoughts with my readers who might be struggling with change initiatives themselves.

Be well!

- Chris Young

[Steve Roesler]

Chris, thanks so much for the recognition and opportunity to impact your readers. Here's to a good week!

Steve

[Dawna Jones]

As usual Steve, great point by point post. I think what concerns me most about the question is that, unless that manager is the only one who doesn't know what to do next, it signals that the culture has relied a bit too much command/control and isn't aware of it. Company cultures that support risk organize around shared vision or goals; instructions aren't required. People konw how to contribute their talent quite naturally when they are inspired by a goal they can sink their teeth into. I suspect that this change initiative is lined up for 'move forward' then 'roll back' because the underlying assumptions and unspoken rules about experimenting on the fringes boil down to don't... it is too risky. "Wait to be told and then you'll know what amount of risk taking will be tolerate."
I see this in organizations where the level of consciousness is operating below what is needed to pull the change initiative. People think it takes a long time to change culture. True when you are using the thinking that invented it... that is the case here i suspect.

[Derek Irvine, Globoforce]

Great post, Steve. "What, exactly, do you want me to do?" -- That's the key question. Getting people to agree to the *VALUE* of a proposed change is not the difficult part. Helping them implement the many big and little steps to make that change a reality -- now that's a challenge. Clearly telling people is certainly the first step. But then positively recognizing people and reinforcing those behaviors, efforts or outcomes is critical to making the change real for every employee.

[Hrstudent]

Great Post. Being a leader is motivating individuals to see and work within your/the companies vision. Also, being a leader means motivating and helping employee take the first step and even the steps beyond to move toward the vision of the company.
-HRstudent