“You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.” ~Edwin Louis Cole

In my last post, I wrote about what happens when initiatives become “stuck.” Challenges and obstacles to implementation are a regular and expected occurrence in any change initiative. They become problematic, however, when the attending change agent doesn’t have a plan he or she believes in, or even an idea, of how to solve the problem.

There is a framework practitioners can use to determine how to get unstuck, regardless of the nature of the desired outcome, or the implementation approach used (Kotter, Bridges, Anderson, Prosci, Conner, etc.), or the specific actions they call into play. This post provides a way to look at a generic intervention process and how to apply it to any change or execution methodology.

Patterns Are Important—Pay Close Attention to Them

In a previous series on patterns, I wrote about the set of fundamental dynamics for implementing change that runs beneath all initiatives and practitioner approaches. Blockages of a stuck initiative can only be addressed properly at this level. These dynamics cluster into certain patterns of behaviors and mindsets. Some of these patterns are associated with change success, while others are linked to failure. How the patterns play out in a particular change initiative can be ascertained by using one or more “lenses” to observe and interpret what is going on. We can select the correct lenses by listening carefully to and observing the symptoms of being stuck.

Before Intervening, Know the Situation

The situation is the specific setting in which practitioners intervene. Because situations can be large or small, strategic or tactical, the intervention sequence I’m about to describe can play out at many levels. In addition, I make two critical assumptions about the situations in which we change facilitators are involved. The first is that we are there in service to and in partnership with the person or group with whom we are working. We are not there to impose our will on them or to act as a “pair of hands,” merely doing as we are told. This means that as we apply the sequence, we work with our client and others involved, rather than for them. The second assumption is that the joint goal for the client and us as practitioners is full achievement of the true purpose behind the initiative. This helps us focus on the things that are most important, both for the organization and for the individuals involved.

Intervention Is a Four-Step Process—Observe, Interpret, Plan, Influence

To properly intervene, we must first observe a situation to determine whether sufficient progress is being made toward desired outcomes or whether something has become stuck. If we can observe symptoms of being stuck, we can then try out various “lenses” (interpret) until one or a combination of them bring some clarity as to what patterns (behaviors and/or mindset) might have contributed to the initiative becoming stuck. When considered as they are intended to be used, these same patterns are also key to creating a plan for mitigating the “stuckness.” Executing against that plan is how the situation is influenced.

So, to summarize, practitioners observe symptoms that can be interpreted through the appropriate lenses, which, in turn, allows them to plan how they’ll use patterns to influence and hopefully promote a positive shift within the underlying dynamics.

Symptoms > Lens > Patterns of Behaviors and Mindsets

Successful Interventions Help Clients Reach Their Goals

The intervention sequence presented here is designed to help you become more conscious of the process you use when working to unstick an initiative (i.e., influence people and situations so they can deliver the desired outcomes). It outlines a general set of steps—observe, interpret, plan, influence—used across a wide range of settings and found in virtually all approaches to change. The steps in the sequence are applied by using:

• Lenses to help us interpret what we see and identify the issues that need to be addressed
• Patterns to help us gain a deeper understanding of how the initiative is stuck and select the most effective mindsets and behaviors for addressing these issues

Whatever approach to implementation you are most comfortable with, it can be thought of as a road map that leads you through a multitude of situations calling for the intervention sequence. Your approach offers concepts, models, tools, and other resources to help you observe the situation clearly, suggest lenses and patterns that are useful in interpreting the situation, provides input to the planning process, and furnishes guidance on the most effective ways to influence situations to increase the likelihood of a successful intervention. By being mindful of this process, we increase our chances of helping clients accomplish their intended outcomes.

Go to the begining of this series.

Next Series: Guest Interview With Peter de Jager