Transformation & Leadership - Insider Tips

The environment around us changes rapidly.  Intellectually we know this, yet often the understanding stops short of personal impact.  Over the past few weeks we have experienced change at an unprecedented pace that leaves many of us bewildered, anxious, and even fatigued.  The coronavirus outbreak has provided an unwanted opportunity to experience the difference between intellectually understanding change and feeling the impact at organizational and personal levels.

The impacts of this new environment vary widely.  As we begin to take preventative measures, one of the recommendations is to limit our human interaction.  This precaution means that we are faced with an important question: How do we keep our connections to each other and the broader world we live in?

Do we:

• Overcome our fear and anxiety and show more compassion to others when we interact?
• Listen to hear and not to respond?
• Take advantage of the technology available to reconnect with those whom we have lost touch?
• Tolerate inconveniences for the betterment of everyone (See an example here)

Offered below are a few organizational and personal actions to help navigate this difficult and disorienting time.

ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIONS

• Communication – Is not what we do but who we are.  It is an insatiable need that is now desperately searching for trusted, competent leadership to provide: clarity, guidance, support, and reassurance. 

• Working Virtual – Working virtual is not new.  Organizations have been doing this for thirty plus years.  If it is new to you, reach out for support.  This is an opportunity to demonstrate trust in your workforce and strengthen your leadership credibility.     

• Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery – Check when you last updated your BC/DR plan.  If that little voice in your head is saying, ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ it is time for action.

PERSONAL ACTIONS

• Communication – If you are not receiving the communication you need to make quality decisions then pursue multiple sources both domestically and internationally.

• Working Virtual –This is an opportunity to work differently and be productive while managing your social distancing.   

• Personal Readiness Plan - Check when you last updated your Personal Readiness Plan.  If you are saying, ‘what is that’ it is time to begin a plan. 

Looking at the glass as half full, we have a forced opportunity for solitude and reflection on the deep introspective stage of transition and change, healing, and energy renewal.  Making small changes to the way we choose to connect with those around us may be just what we need to thrive. 

The 2020 strategic planning session has just wrapped up and the CEO says to the executive team, “Let’s raise a glass and celebrate some really strong work.  Now that the ‘hard part’ is done all we have to do is drive these 28 initiatives through the organization.” 

Over coffee the next morning the CEO seems a little less sure if planning is the ‘hard part’.  He feels confident with the strategic plan and budget; but wonders if he has the talent and skills to deliver in today’s turbulent times?  How do you know if the implementation team’s capability is dated in the past, lodged in the present, or open to the future? 

Let’s consider a few straight forward questions to assess the era that you are taking a giant leap into: 

Past:                     Is communication and training the extent of your implementation approach?  Do you have the skilled resources in place to deliver beyond the basics?

Present:               Is your approach still locked into the tools and techniques from the 20^th
century?  Are you in an echo chamber of the same approaches and conferences that you have used for the last twenty years?

Future:                 Are you reaching out to new ‘voices’ and different perspectives to keep abreast of today’s rapidly evolving research in the arts and sciences?  Does your organization have the curiosity and mindset to be open to new approaches?

Questions for leading change in the 21^st century.  What era are you in?

Life is busy.  It constantly seems like there is more to do than hours in the day.  In an always on world, it is easy to run right past the signals telling us to recharge, until we are running on nothing but fumes.  Once we’ve reached the last of our energy reserves, we quickly understand that it will take quite a while to refill the tank. 

Consider these three things to maintain your energy reserves:

• Reflect on your daily and weekly schedule
  • Is everything you are doing adding value?
  • If it isn’t adding value, would it have a harmful impact if you stopped doing it?
• Participate in self-care activities regularly
  • If you participate regularly, good job, keep doing what you are doing.
  • If not, it’s important to remember that you are important.  If you aren’t functioning properly how can you care for others effectively?
• Build and maintain a strong support network
  • To build your support network, start small. Reach out to a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while, join a group, or volunteer. 
  • To maintain a support network, keep investing in your relationships.

Building and maintaining personal resilience can be challenging.  Meeting this challenge will allow you to have the capacity to take on whatever life throws your way. 

Life is busy.  It constantly seems like there is more to do than hours in the day.  This has a negative impact on your energy level.  Doing these three things can help you maintain the energy you need to take on next.

‘Under Water’

Do you ever feel like you and/or your team are ‘under water’ and don’t know why?  You may be experiencing change saturation.  Change saturation occurs when the threshold between capacity for change and the demands of implementing change is crossed. When this happens, people can experience a range of symptoms from confusion and frustration to physical impact.  It can also manifest as morale issues, scattered buy-in, wasted resources, or only superficial change.  Want to know if you’re dealing with change saturation?  Answer the following statements using a rating of low, medium, or high to get a high-level assessment of risk for change saturation.     

• The right amount of time has been allowed from the time the change was first discussed to when it was implemented.
• The change is being implemented in an organized way.
• The amount of change in addition to normal jobs duties is creating work overload.
• Impacted individuals are highly interdependent and rarely experience conflict.
• The change has significantly increased stress-related health issues.

After completing the survey questions, integrate your scores to determine the level of risk.  If the initial findings show a high risk, a more in-depth survey can be used to further refine areas of concern.  In closing, change saturation is a key people-related risk factor, should be included in the project plan, and action plans managed for risk mitigation.   

Have you ever been in this situation?  You’re in a meeting, and the colleague on your left starts talking about the next big idea.  The benefits are discussed and excitement builds to get started.  So you ask, how are you going to do that?  The colleague looks puzzled and says, “That’s not my job, my role is to come up with big ideas”.  Nervously, you glance at the colleague to your right.  Who responds, “That’s not my job, my role is to keep things running smoothly and the customers happy”.  So, the question remains, who is going to turn the idea into action?

The answer, a project team.  Great, one problem solved.  But, the follow up question is always, who should be on a project team?  The project team should be comprised of strategic thinkers, ‘operators’, and individuals with specific skill sets such as project management, process improvement, change management, and learning and development. 

The organization is placing a significant amount of trust and responsibility in this team.  Which means the members need to be carefully selected.   When selecting the team from the possible candidates, how can you tell the difference between the individuals that have been there done that and those that just talk a good game?  By asking questions about their past performance and, based on their answers, using the following model to determine their competency level. 

Novice

• No discretionary judgment
• Little situational awareness
• Rigid adherence to rules / plans

Advanced Beginner

• All attributes and aspects are treated separately and given equal importance
• Limited situational awareness
• Uses the same guidelines for all attributes or aspects

Competent

• Sees actions partly in terms of longer-range planning
• Conscious, deliberate planning
• Uses standard procedures

Proficient

• Sees situations holistically
• Sees priorities; decision-making is less difficult
• Uses situationally relevant principles for guidance

Expert

• Analytics used to solve problems with novel approaches
• Deep understanding of skill set, and has an intuitive grasp of situation
• Others seek them out as mentor

In a perfect world, you could fill a project team with experts.  However, it isn’t feasible for everyone on the team to be an expert (which could present its own challenges).  It is important to understand which roles are key to the success of the project, and fill those roles with qualified people.  The remaining roles are prime opportunities for high performing talent that need experience.