Tarot, Death, and Change Management

 

Imagine a carnival on a cool summer evening. You pass through heavy velvet drapes to walk into a dimly lit booth. It smells faintly of incense, and there are colorful gauzy scarves draped over everything, including the old woman who beckons you to sit across from her.

Tarot cards are spread on the table before her. She flips the first card for you… it shows Death.

For some people, several expletives jump to mind here… I mean, really? Death? Seriously?

For others, the card isn’t all that scary… after all, it doesn’t actually mean ‘death.’ It means ‘change.’ (Then again for some, change is even scarier than death.)

In her book “On Death and Dying,” Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross described the five stages of grief:

• Denial
• Anger
• Bargaining
• Depression
• Acceptance

These stages represent the emotional response that most people experience when dealing with grief or loss. However it didn’t take long for these stages to be repurposed to understand human response to any major transition, particularly in the workplace. Change can be shocking or difficult, even if it’s an exciting opportunity such as a new role or promotion.

We all go through these stages of change as we adjust. It’s important to know that this is not a linear process – once you’ve moved on to Bargaining, there is no guarantee that you won’t feel any Angry about the change again. That’s OK, it’s completely normal, and it’s all part of the process.

As PMs, it’s critical that we understand this process of transition and its potential impact on our stakeholders, our teams, and ourselves.

Let’s start with stakeholders. Every project is change, so a project plan should include some change management as well. It’s often baked into your communication plan or launch/roll out plan, but it can also appear as a training need, support documentation, or any number of other ways. A well-organized transition plan (or Day 2 plan) can work wonders in the success of a project. And it’s all just a normal part of your job already, so you’re already good at managing change… which is pretty cool. Go add it to your resume. I’ll wait.

Planning doesn’t mean it’ll all be easy. Sometimes your stakeholder wasn’t the decision maker on your project. Some leader somewhere decided you’re moving forward, and now you’re working with a team that will have to adopt a new tool or process that they feel is being pushed on them. They may need to let off steam, or they may not even believe it’s going to happen. (Sound familiar? That’s Anger and Denial.) When that happens you should keep the conversation going, although you’ll be doing a lot of the listening. They need to let it out, so actively listening to their concerns can be a great approach.

Even when your stakeholder starts to accept the situation, they may still test the boundaries a bit – can this feature be tweaked, can that process be adjusted for some scenarios? That sounds an awful lot like Bargaining, which is a great time for a discussion. Maybe you really can tweak this or adjust that, maybe not, but you need to be crystal clear about where there’s wiggle room (and where there isn’t). You may have a change plan, but make sure you approach it with compassion and empathy.

Now let’s move on to teams. The team is the one doing the work, so they should be totally fine with the outcome… they’re building it, right? In reality, that can depend on a range of factors, including how the project itself it working out. New work processes, shifting business priorities, sitting with a new co-located team – any one of these can lead to a bit of churn on a project team. More change often leads to more churn. As a PM, part of your job is to help the team adjust to whatever the situation throws at them.

Engagement is key here. The best way to help your team through a change is to be a part of the team, really understand what’s happening because it’s happening to you too. Stay involved, stop by workstations to check in, keep the same hours as the rest of the team. This is far easier in a single location, but effective engagement and communication across remote locations is now made far easier with a plethora of technology solutions.

Your team isn’t just a team, it’s made up of individuals. Team discussions are great for larger themes, but each person goes through their own change experience. Regular one-on-one discussions with each team member can be crucial in the midst of change – and again, these can be face to face, by video chat, or phone. Avoid email, IM, or text for a meaningful discussion (although these tools are excellent for a quick check in). Don’t forget what each team member is experiencing – just like with stakeholders, their stage in the process impacts how you can help.

And finally, don’t forget to manage your own change. You’re part of the team, and an individual on it, but you’re also the PM and a leader. This is going to be harder, because you have to manage your own process while helping others.

When you’re talking with the team, whether formally or at happy hour, fully participate in the discussion. Your concerns are just as valid as everyone else’s, and your engagement and openness will help the team share as well. Now here’s the tough part – you’re a leader too, so part of the job is to align with the vision and strategy that have led to the change. Share your doubts, but look for solutions as well, and guide the team to do the same. If you’re not aligned, take some time to get there.

Alignment isn’t agreement. You can share your thoughts on points where you disagree with the change vision – share them in an appropriate way with the right people. Have the discussion openly and honestly, and then decide for yourself on your next steps. Unless you’re choosing to walk out the door, you need to find a way to align with what’s happening, even if you don’t agree with it.

With our busy schedules, you may only have a few moments to assess and align. It’s difficult, but it’s also reality. Take a few deep breaths, or pop into an open meeting room for a moment and gather your thoughts before talking to your team. Take this time for yourself – more time if you have it available – and acknowledge where you are in the change process. You may still be in Denial, and it’s ok to talk about that with your team. But be careful not to dwell on the ambiguity or negativity. Tap into your emotional strength, and have an open, honest conversation about what’s happening, how it impacts all of you, how the team is feeling, and how you’re going to take action.

There’s no magic cure to make it easy, but you can never go wrong by planning, staying calm, and keeping lines of communication open.

Next time you find yourself in that dimly lit booth and an old woman shows you the Death card, just smile and tell her “I’ve got a plan for that.”

Have any change management tools or techniques you can share? Whether they’re for stakeholders, teams, or for you, pop them into the comments.