Part 3: Embracing Change as an Essential Value
In leadership, you are bound to hear from your team members, “We’ve always done it this way.” The reality is that you are working with people who have developed a routine, schedule, and comfortable method of fulfilling their responsibilities. While the tried-and-true way may be effective, you may encounter the need to change a facet of your organization, whether localized or universal. And if you are married to a method, you can end up sitting on the dock of the bay as boats of innovation speed by.
One initial question to ask yourself is whether your organization is thriving or declining. Just consider for a moment that 52% of the Fortune 500 companies from 2000 are no longer in existence twenty years later… Why? There are several factors that strategists believe caused the fall of countless organizations, but I will focus just on one – fear of change.
It’s not true that people don’t want to change. Most of us choose to change many times. But we only do so when we can answer “Yes” to these three questions. Affirmatively responding to these criteria will tilt the balance of decision-making toward changing one’s thoughts and actions.
3 C’s: Criteria to Choose Change
1. Will it pay off for me and my organization?
2. As the leader, can I effectively make the change successful?
3. Is it worth the effort it will take?
In an organization, team members may not be knowledgeable or comfortable with any other way to do things. The group may have been so stable and done things the same way for so long that no one has considered that there might be another way to do it. If a team doesn’t perceive another method, then:
· Find a change that you’re sure meets the 3 C’s and then explain to your team members what you’re doing and why.
· Give them a chance to ask questions…and be patient. No matter how good you think your idea is, and how good they may later decide it is, making the change is going to make them uncomfortable and it may require time for the new idea(s) to simmer in their minds.
· If you can, wait to make more changes until the first change has had time to take root in the culture and the group is comfortable with it. If it was an effective change, they should be happy that you did it. This will make the next change easier. If you string together a succession of positive changes, change will probably feel more natural to them going forward. Then they’ll begin suggesting changes, and you’ll know that you’ve succeeded.
Embracing change as an essential value requires your team to embrace the change as well, owning it with not only their heads, but their hearts. It takes more than one person to lead change. You need a team.
Sometimes, team members like the way they do tasks and ardently resist change. In these cases:
· Don’t get angry at their stubbornness. If you let the situation disintegrate into “you versus them,” you’ll both lose.
· It helps if the change is in response to a clear problem or opportunity: “We’ve got to do something to reduce the number of errors or we’re going to be in big trouble.”
· Select a change that meets the 3 C’s.
· Start with a compelling reason to change. Call the group together; tell them that it has to be done and how you propose to do it. Then tell them if anyone has a better idea, you’ll be glad to consider it. If you don’t get any ideas from them, go ahead and do what you said you’d do. If you do get ideas—and sooner or later you will—do your best to implement them (at least in part).
· Identify a problem where the results will provide a short-term win for the team. This will produce an immediate payoff or win for the team and, as a result, boost morale and confidence.
· Remember, pick changes that clearly must be made and make sure they’re effective. This will start to build team members’ trust in you. Then you can start persuading team members to make changes that aren’t required or are as obvious.
Some final thoughts on implementing change:
1. Carefully examine the changes you’re trying to make. Are they what the organization needs right now? Can it wait for a different season?
2. Will they make the group more effective or efficient, or are you just changing to make the situation more comfortable for you as a preference vs. a productive initiative?
3. Forcing through a change that doesn’t work is disastrous. Be prepared to pivot instead of running the ship into the same rocks again and again.
That adage proves true: “We don’t change until we hurt enough to have to.” With so many churches and organizations closing their doors every year, it is obvious that something must…change! Change is an absolute requirement to move forward as an individual and an organization. This value can inspire the most apprehension and yet the greatest thrill. Good leaders think through change, prepare for it, explain it, implement it, evaluate it, and learn from it. More on this topic in the future...
Is the greater risk making the change you view as necessary, or staying where you are?