Three Tools For Leading Change

This post has been contributed by Martin O'Neill. Thanks very much Martin.

A useful way to think of strategies for effective organizational change is to imagine three rocks held together by a rubber band. The rocks represent the mind, body and soul of an organization. All three must move forward at the same time or the rubber band will snap back, stymieing progress and leaving you, at best, in the same position as when you started the change initiative.

The “mind” of an organization is its leadership—those making decisions at all levels of an organization. Leaders are the ones who are setting strategy and articulating a vision and direction.

The “body” of an organization consists of the processes, the structure and even the finances of the organization. The body represents the moving parts of an organization.

The “soul” of an organization, informing both the mind and the body, is the corporate culture—what is accepted in an organization, a kind of code of ethics.

Any change strategy has to move all three of these elements in unison (or close to it) if it is to be successful in the long run. The metaphor of the rocks held together by a rubber band is a reminder of the challenges of leading a successful change effort. Every transformational initiative represents change, and since change is the only constant in business, learning to effectively lead the change initiative is the only way to ensure survival.

Martin O'Neill is a speaker and the author of The Power of an Internal Franchise. Visit www.corsum.com

When Performance Slips

There are some key differences between managing good performance up to reach high performance, and managing poor performance back up to good performance. There is lots of advice available on how to build great performance, and how to stretch, improve, grow and excel. However there will be times when we feel we have done all of those things, created an environment or a legacy that is sure to succeed, and yet performance levels slip and remedial action becomes necessary.

A common mistake under such circumstances is to resort to a "command and control" style of leadership in an effort to get things back on track. I say mistake, because whilst that approach may be appropriate in the short term, it can become the "new normal" and if that happens it will ultimately restrict the ability of the team to return to high performing ways.

How can this risk be avoided?

Well it is always important to remain true to the core leadership principles, or ideals, that we believe in. If culture, environment and people engagement are the cornerstones of our high performance success then we must stick to these even in challenging times. Getting back in control of a teams activities by stating a few home truths is fine - but rather than stifling future creativity for fear of letting performance slip again, we should approach this with the goal of strengthening the team culture. By helping people to learn from their mistakes they will grow into a stronger unit that is more committed to high performance than ever before.

There are five areas to consider that may prove useful when faced with such circumstances.

Root Cause - Can we identify the specific reason why the performance has slipped backwards? We may have to ask some smart questions, or be prepared to "dig deep" - but getting to the real facts is the only way to successfully plan the recovery.

Mindset - Was mindset a contributory factor to the performance challenge? Do the team have the right mindset to tackle the performance issue and get back on track towards high performance?

Standards - Are the underlying standards in the team high enough to underpin high performance, and secure enough to stand up to pressure? We have to consider the possibility that slipping standards could be the catalyst for poor performance - and that addressing the cultural standards of the team will still be the most effective way to drive the transactional results of the group.

Communication - When the pressure is on, communication can become fragmented. Urgency takes over, and clarity can be lost. This is where the leader may have to take a temporary "command and control" approach to ensure that the deliberate, planned communication is clear and focused for all. However maybe the biggest risk, and often overlooked aspect, is the "inadvertent communication" that can be so damaging to a team performance without people even realising it. Team members can fail to stay "on message", taking their own approach to avoid being held responsible personally, and a blame culture could develop.

Consequences - Both the consequences for getting into the current position, and the consequences of not getting out of it must be made clear. If these are penal, then the whole team must face up to that fact. However there are a broad range of possibilities, and the leader must be able to articulate the specific consequences at any given point in order to get the focus of the team back onto achieving high performance standards.

Don't Ignore the Water

This post has been contributed by Paul Woodford. Thanks very much Paul.

As I was thumbing through a golfing magazine, I noticed a feature that caught my eye. It was of interest, not just because it covered ways to improve my 'short game', but because of the application I was able to make to my own personal leadership role.

 

The article discussed playing onto a green which has water surrounding it. Many golfers will tell you to ignore the water and try to block it out - reasoning that if you ignore the hazard then you are less likely to allow it to affect your shot, and the obvious risk of striking the ball into the water. However, the writer of the feature held a different view. He argued that this approach should be avoided, stating that a golfer should acknowledge the hazard and then carefully plan the shot, taking into account the facts and the risks. The likelihood of success is much greater when the player can visualise the flight of the ball, and the precise point where they will land the shot safely on the green. There is no point in trying to ignore the water - it is there and our brain knows it, however hard we may try to tell it otherwise!

 

So why did this lead me to reflect upon leadership. Well how often do managers make the mistake of trying to 'ignore the water'? Maybe there is an issue within a team that gets ignored or blocked out? Sometimes challenges are left to fester until they snowball into bigger, and more difficult problems.

 

If we take the advice on offer in the golfing magazine we can see the sense in recognising business hazards, risks and issues for what they are, and then planning for them accordingly. Dealing with the issues and problems that are in front of us in a positive, determined manner will ensure we are successful in achieving our performance goals. If we chose to ignore the hazards, we may get lucky once or twice and avoid the 'water', but inevitable at some point we will end up seeing the 'ball' splashing into the middle of a 'lake'.

 

So next time an issue arises in your business, take time to think about the best approach to take, and remember the advice to golfers - "don't ignore the water".