surviving change strengthening our ability to survive (and thrive on) organisational change
TRANSCRIPT
Surviving Change
Strengthening Our Ability to Survive (and Thrive on) Organisational Change
Transcript: Radio conversation of a US naval ship with Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October, 1995.
Americans: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.Canadians: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.Americans: This is the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln the second largest ship in the United States' Atlantic FleetWe are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels. I demand that YOU change your course 15 degrees north, that's one five degrees north, or countermeasures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.Canadians: This is a Lighthouse. Your call.
Our Learning Objectives
1. Define resilience and its importance in an age of uncertainty
2. Describe the emotional roller-coaster of change
3. Identify the characteristics that enable someone to be resilient
4. Assess your RQ (Resilience Quotient) 5. Develop resilience in yourself and support its
development in others
It’s a VUCA World!!
V.U.C.A.
• VOLATILE• UNCERTAIN• AMBIGUOUS• COMPLEX
Insert change slidesThe Context for Change
EnvironmentalShifts
Customers
Competitors
Stakeholders
Economy
Government
Technology
Society
EnvironmentalShifts
Customers
Competitors
Stakeholders
Economy
Government
Technology
Society
THE WHYTHE WHAT
Organisational Responses
Strategy
Structures
Mission
Products
Services
Practices
Technology
THE HOW
Personal Implications
Roles
Responsibilities
Methods
Thinking
Values
Behaviours
Belgard, Fisher & Rayner Inc
Change Equation
Where
A = dissatisfaction with the present
B = a shared vision and shared aims
C = capacity to change
D = capability to change
E = first steps
F = organisational inertia/resistance to change
A x B x C x D x E > F
Beckhard and Gleicher
Reasons for Resistance
• Fear of Loss• Previous bad
experiences• Approach being taken• WIIFM?• Not convinced• Disempowering
• Fear of Failure• Lack of conference• Peer pressure • Attachment to the
status quo• Complacency• Too complex• Management wants it
Attitudes to Change
MissionariesBelieversPeople whopay Lip Service
Hiders andRefugees
Members of theUnderground
Resistance
HonestOpponents
Emigrants
Learning, acceptance & commitment
Enquiry, experimentation &
discovery
Fear, anger & resistance
Comfort & Control
Chaos
Looking Forward
Looking Backward
Stability
The Journey Through Change
After Leading Change model from Change Basics, Jeff and Linda Russell, (ASTD Press, 2006)
As we (individually and organisationally) move from stability to chaos , there is a greater need for resilience
Energy internally focused Energy externally focused
Holding on - Fighting disintegration Letting go
Moving on – re-integration
Shock
Denial
Turbulence and blame
Experimenting
Discovery and learning
Optimism and hope
Minimise shock; communicate intentions
Be patient; discuss implications& observe reactions
Listen, empathise, support, protect; don’t personalise
Get closure: rituals; create goals; coach
Encourage risk taking; give feedback; develop people
Evaluate and recognise progress; celebrate; prepare to move on
Reasons for failure
1. Too much complacency
2. Absence of leadership3. No vision4. Poor communication5. Fear of confrontation6. No short terms wins7. Ending too soon8. Ignoring the culture
John Kotter
Change is personal – it’s about YOU!
1. Capacity to learn
2. Power and influence
3. Role effectiveness
Roger Plant
Human Nature• We want control over
our lives. • Self-confidence and
psychological health results from stable and effective relationships with others.
• Our sense of control, comfort, and well-being being results from the degree of certainty we have about our life.
• Change disrupts our ability to predict what’s in store for us.
• The greater the change, the greater our confusion, fear, anxiety and self-doubt.
• Resilience enables us to survive, even thrive, on the challenges posed by a changing environment.
You respond to any storm the way you train
95% behaviour is unconscious
5% behaviour is conscious choice
Energy
“the capacity for vigorous activity; available power;
an adequate or abundant amount of such power the ability to act,
lead others, effect, etc., forcefully; the capacity to do work;”
Great Leadership is Renewing Energy
Energy is finite
Great Leadership is Renewing Energy
1. We must manage our energy more than our time
2. Growth follows energy investment – where do you want to be extraordinary?
3. We give life to what we give our energy to – what are you creating?
TYPES OF ENERGY
Physical
Spiritual
Emotional
Mental
Quantity - greatest
Quality - highest
Focus - clearest
Force - strongest
How deep is your well?
Resilience …
• What does it mean to be resilient? • Why is resilience important in an age of
uncertainty? – To us as individuals? – To our organizations?
What Enabled Your Resilience?
a) Reflect upon a time in your life that you found especially challenging and stressful . . .
b) What specific capacities within you that enabled you to work through the trauma, rise above the turmoil and stress, and emerge as a stronger person.
Resilience is a Mindset …• Resilience is less about who we are than about how
we think. • Our mindsets or “mental models” directly influence
and shape how we view the world and how we view ourselves in the world.
• This view of self, in turn, influences how we respond (our behaviours) to adversity and stress — with a healthy/productive response or an unhealthy/unproductive response
• The strength of our resilience mindset and the force of our behaviours enable us to, in turn, to influence or shape our environment.
Dimensions of Resilience
1. Feel Self-Assured 2. Create a Personal Vision3. Be Flexible 4. Get Organized 5. Be Able to Solve Problems 6. Be Socially Competent 7. Get Connected 8. Be Proactive
Self Assured
Purpose
Adaptable
Organised
Problem Solver
Interpersonal
Connected
Proactive
0 5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
Developing Resilience in Yourself and Others . . .
• What actions or new ways of thinking can you take/embrace to strengthen your resilience?
• How might you help others strengthen their resilience?
Strengthening Your Resilience
• Know what’s important to you — define your personal vision and your core values
• Reframe your mental models — challenge your assumptions about yourself and others
• Identify what you can change/influence and what you can’t and focus on what you can influence
• Assume a “can do, can do,” proactive attitude • Take care of yourself — mentally and
physically • Reach out to others — find new connections
and strengthen existing • Create/build a discipline that gives you the
structure/stability/order you need
Strengthening Your Resilience
Helping Others StrengthenTheir Resilience . . .
• Remind people what ISN’T changing • Increase opportunities for social connections • Increase communication about the coming
changes/challenges • Shift grousing and whining toward problem solving • Listen to their anxieties and fears • Acknowledge their losses • Engage staff in developing a shared vision of a
realistically optimistic future
• Encourage a healthy work/life balance • Hold “brown bag” seminars on health, wellness,
stress management, taking care of yourself, etc. • Promote EAP (employee assistance program) services• Explain the “whys” of the of the change/challenges • Celebrate the little victories along the way • Keep the team together • Break problems/challenges into bite-size pieces
Helping Others StrengthenTheir Resilience . . .
Change is inevitable, growth is optional . . . . . .
(Resilient people choose growth)
