Harness the Momentum of Synergy to Realize Change Goals
This is the last post in my series on developing synergistic work teams. I have been describing a four-phase model that includes Interacting, Appreciative Understanding, Integrating, and Implementing.
Phase IV: Implementing
Finally, all the hard work of communicating, and appreciating and merging divergent views begins to pay off. The synergy process I’ve been describing has many benefits: more
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©2012 Conner Partners, Inc.
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Use Ethical Ploys to Change the World
In this series, I’ve been discussing the use of ethical ploys by practitioners to add value where it is needed, but not solicited. I define an ethical ploy as a “noble ruse” that guides someone toward seeing a point of view he or she might not have otherwise been open to.
In this post, I’d like to present two examples of ethical ploys that highlight the concept of enticing people, in an honorable way, to see more than they asked for or expected from a situation. As you will see, the results of either can have benefits far beyond the realization of the change goals. more
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www.connerpartners.com
When Change Agents Go Undercover
(2) Comments“While all deception requires secrecy, all secrecy is not meant to deceive.” —Sissela Bok
Have you ever known people who covertly try to manipulate others to achieve their own selfish desires? Of course you have. We all know that self-serving deception is bad under any circumstances. As professional change facilitators, we are acutely aware of the negative impact this kind of deceit has on the implementation process. Therefore, any kind of surreptitious activity to influence others is unacceptable, right?
Not necessarily. more
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©2011 Conner Partners, Inc.
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Tough Conversations—Know When to Push, and When to Stop
In this series, I’m discussing the importance of having tough conversations with clients when warranted, and describing a few of the dynamics in play when this happens. Because it’s unusual to intentionally take clients to the higher end of the Discomfort Continuum that I described in my last two posts, it is likely to be difficult and stressful for us as well. As change practitioners, when we fail to address important but difficult-to-discuss issues with clients, it’s almost always because we weren’t prepared to deal with our own emotions. more
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©2011 Conner Partners, Inc.
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Danger? Opportunity? You Decide.
In this series, I’ve been talking about the importance of being able to reframe a person’s mindset during a change initiative to shift how he or she sees and interprets certain things. There are five key reframing skills:
1. Address the “context” as well as the “content” of interpersonal communications.
2. Redefine the other person’s frame of reference (FOR) in a way that sheds positive light on the successful implementation of the change at hand.
3. Reset the person’s priorities.
4. Respond effectively when the other person reacts to the reframing attempt.
5. Confront the person with the real price it takes to achieve success.
I’ll focus on the fourth skill in this post.
Reframing Skill #4: The Ability to Respond Appropriately Based on the Person’s Reaction
The disruptive nature of major change produces a crisis in the sense that the status quo is no longer viable. The Chinese express the concept of crisis with two symbols.
The top symbol represents potential danger, the lower, hidden opportunity. By combining the two, the Chinese position change as a paradox. Observing how people respond to the stress produced by the crisis of change reveals two basic orientations that reflect similar characteristics. more
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©2011 Conner Partners, Inc.
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How to Redefine a Person’s Frame of Reference and Reset Priorities
In this series, I’m exploring the importance of being able to reframe a person’s mindset during a change initiative to shift how he or she sees and interprets certain things. There are five reframing skills. I will address skills 2 and 3 in this post, and skills 4 and 5 in subsequent posts.
Reframing Skill #2: The Ability to Redefine the Other Person’s Frame of Reference
A person’s frame of reference (FOR) is made up of six components. You can foster a shift in someone’s FOR by applying one or more of them. more
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©2011 Conner Partners, Inc.
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An Approach to Successful Culture Change
(1) CommentAs I wrote earlier in this series, the self-reinforcing nature of culture almost always guarantees resistance toward change. If there is a wide gap between the current culture and the culture required for success, expect a high level of cultural resistance. Quite simply, culture does not evolve on its own to support new strategic solutions. You can understand this better by looking at the role that momentum and critical mass plays in the implementation of change. (I have written a separate series on this topic.)
A Culture Shift Must Be Planned
When the current culture won’t support delivery of the promises of our clients’ new strategies and they determine not to “change the change,” our focus as professional change facilitators is to guide them toward changing the culture. You’ll need to help them build the momentum and critical mass necessary for success. The cultures that emerge more
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©2011 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
What’s Culture Got To Do With It?
(2) Comments“Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have—and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up.” ~James Belasco and Ralph Stayer
Flight of the Buffalo (1994)
In a recent series, I reviewed what I have learned about paradigm management and the role it plays in facilitating transformational change. A critical subset of the paradigm model I shared dealt with the interrelationship between “mindsets, behaviors, and systems.”
- Mindsets—conscious and unconscious understandings and expectations around what people hold to be true about themselves, others, and their work
- Behaviors—observable actions
- Systems—the interaction of mindsets and behaviors that have the aim of achieving an organization’s purpose
Expressed or unexpressed mindsets are reflected in particular behaviors. When they are configured and applied in a consistent manner they form systems. There are informal systems (the grapevine) and formal systems (the annual budgeting process).When these three elements of organizational life are focused on, it sheds light on a close cousin to paradigms…culture
Though there are some important distinctions, paradigm and culture are more
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Guest Interview—Dean Anderson
I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with Dean Anderson, a thought leader in the field of organization transformation. I have known Dean for more than 20 years, and greatly respect his work. His unique understanding of mindset, culture, and process gives him a deep strategic perspective, but he also has a depth and strength of character that very few people in the industry offer.
Dean’s current passion is helping senior executives become more “co-creative,” and less “command and control” so they can lead and build co-creative organizations. He is currently writing a book on co-creating and personal transformation.
Dean and his wife and partner, Linda Ackerman Anderson, are two of the pioneers of change management. They co-founded Being First, a leader development and transformational change consulting firm in Durango, Colorado. Their books, Beyond Change Management and The Change Leader’s Roadmap, are key resources for practitioners.
In our first segment, Dean describes the components of transformational change, and how he helps clients identify the type of change they’re dealing with and, in the case of transformational change, commit to breakthrough results that will achieve something extraordinary. more
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©2011 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
Lessons Learned About Building Commitment to Change
After three-and-a-half decades of being a professional change practitioner, I’ve seen my share of successful and unsuccessful attempts to generate enough commitment to reach full realization. If there is one thing I’m sure of it’s that the necessary momentum and critical mass of commitment toward desired outcomes is not easy to come by. Below are some of the more important lessons that have affected my practice.
1. The commitment process unfolds at both intellectual and emotional levels.
Usually, intellectual commitment precedes emotional commitment. Most people can grasp the implications of a change at a cognitive level fairly quickly. However, they often find that they need more time to make the necessary emotional adjustments.
This split-level commitment can produce confusion, mixed signals, and more
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