40: 12 Principals of Change

Change is not something that happens overnight or as a result of one action. It takes multiple actions and time. Learn the 12 Principals of change to help ensure things move smoothly.

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SPEAKER_02 0:01

Welcome to the Misha Rouser Show. I'm Misha, an organizational psychologist, and I'll be taking you down a path towards achieving professional success while still having fun. For over a decade, I have been guiding individuals and organizations through professional transitions. The goal is to help you, your business or organization create a successful, engaging atmosphere without sacrificing a positive culture. So let's get started. Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Meetcha Rouser show, and thank you so much for listening. Again, this show is all about leadership and professional development. Everything you need to know to be more competent and competent and confident in your professional life. Everything from we have negotiation skills, communication skills, emotional intelligence, change management, and so forth. And so the idea is by listening every week, you will be able to gain valuable resources, tools, and exposure to proven research to help you in your professional development. And Benny, how are you doing this morning?

SPEAKER_00 1:11

Doing very well. Yeah, you're very confident on your intro, so I'll give you kudos to that.

SPEAKER_02 1:16

Thank you. Yeah, I was trying to get out the competent.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

There was a lot of sneezing there. So you did your uh your exercises for the library, right? Exactly. All the pronunciation exercises. Yep, yep, yep.

SPEAKER_02 1:31

All right, so we are gonna be um talking about change today. But before I go into that, let me go over some logistics. Again, remember all of these shows are recorded, and you can get those from my website or from iTunes or Stitchers. If you do go to my website, um they are slowly being populated with all the transcripts as well, so you can grab those too. The website is misharouser.com, and again, that's M-E-I-S-H-A-R-O-U-S-E-R.com. Um Yeah, so go check out my website. And if um you have any questions or any comments or anything, please do. Um you can reach out to me via my website and send those over to me. And I've really been enjoying getting feedback from you all. Um that's really meant a lot to me. It's great to hear how these are making a difference for you, and I love getting the questions too. So please do go send those to me on my website. Okay, Doki. So we are just gonna jump right into it. Um so what we're gonna be talking about today is around change management and just one aspect of change management and thinking about, okay, big, big picture about change management. Um, what are some of the principles that we need to keep in mind when we are trying to instill change, trying to create change, trying to maneuver through change or manage through change within our workplace? Um, so the big thing is really remembering that change doesn't happen overnight. As much as we really wish we could just get it over with and get back to normal, quote unquote, that's not the reality. I think we're all kind of realizing that. Um and trust me, we're constantly going through change. And I think we all wish at some point, when do we go back to normal? And it's like, well, this is the normal. And so what I'm going to be talking about today is comes from a really popular um academic book that is used a lot in the organizational field, um, organizational development field, the leadership development field, and so forth. And it's by Gene Hall and Shirley Hoard, and it's called Implementing Change Patterns, Principles, and Potholes. And again, you um can always find that book on Amazon. It is like a hundred and twenty-something dollar book. You know, don't we love our academic books and how pricey they are? And for those of you who have kids in college like myself, yeah, we feel that every semester. Um, or you can just listen to this podcast and get the highlights out of the book. Okay, so that's what we're gonna be doing today. So let's start with the first one. So I have 11 principles that I wanted to reference. One is that change is a process, it's not an event. We really do think of change as an event. Um, it could be something as simple as moving. You know, one of my clients right now, they just merged and they are moving into a new location together. And it's funny, they would probably think of that as an event, but really it has been a six-month process, and it's probably gonna be, you know, even though they're moving this week, another week or two or three just to get settled. So sometimes it really helps to understand that change really is more of a process. There are very few shortcuts. We just gotta take our time and move through it. And so one of the things to think about then when you're thinking about change being a process, is to think about then, well, what are some of the key aspects of the change process that I need to be thinking about, or that maybe we can prevent, or that maybe we can be proactive about to help make this change a little more smooth and and to make the make it for a successful implementation. So that's one thing I I like about their principles is thinking again that change is not a process. I'm sorry, it is a process, it's not an event. Okay, the next one I'm gonna be calling let go. A lot of times when we think about what the change is going to be, either if we're initiating it or the organization's initiating it, we really tend to, and human nature just kind of create what we think is gonna be the outcome of it, which is natural, but it's also um learning to keep your sanity, it really helps to let go of what that's gonna look like then. So it's it's rarely ever does it turn out the way we thought it was gonna turn out. So it's that ability to be able to let go and allow whatever wants to emerge to be able to emerge with, though, a set intention of what we're hoping is gonna be the outcome. So again, many times what was developed as the means of change can turn out not to be applicable or realistic or appropriate. Um sometimes what we thought we needed to move through the change isn't gonna work. And so it's again, that's part of letting go then and realizing, okay, so for us to be able to get to where we're wanting to go or to create the change we're wanting to go, we're gonna have to take another direction. We're gonna have to go someplace else and take a detour. So it's being willing and knowing that that's gonna happen. And so we just gotta let go and not get all stressed and angst about it. It also takes a lot of passion and patience, too, to let go and persistence. So when I say let go, it doesn't mean let go and just say, oh, just forget it, we're not gonna do this. You still have your intention, you know, whatever change you're wanting to create, you still hold that in place. It's just how you get there and how that ultimately is gonna look like, that's what you need to let go of. Um so again, that takes passion, patience, and persistence. And the best thing though about allowing or allowing yourself to let go and holding on to that control is allowing for others to be able to step up too and for others to be able to take ownership, which is huge in the process of change. So it can't just be your baby. If it is, is you're probably gonna get a lot of resistance around it. So again, that was um principle number two is thinking about letting go. All right, another the next one. An organization does not change until the individuals within it change. So that's when we tend to always get caught up on. We tend to forget change is really about human nature, at least the type of change we're talking about. And so identifying the habits, the perceptions, the beliefs, you know, what is it within the organization that actually need to change? And then what are some of the fears that people may have around that? What are some of the hopes? What are some you know, anticipation and so forth? So a great one to think about with that is like mergers and acquisitions. You know, when two companies come together, there's a lot of disruption in the change, especially in the culture. So now you've had two cultures that are that are pretty unique. Um and now you're trying to merge those. And so it's not until the individuals inside are willing to merge, are willing to look at the other, you know, people, the to look at what is it, what are the values that the other other organization creates and and brings until you can kind of get to that point, you're gonna get friction and resistance. Um so and that's that's very natural too. Um so let's let's pause there for a second. I'm gonna bring in another tool that really I find complements change quite well. And so this is it's the origination of this um it's actually a a chart or a bell curve. And the origination of it is the innovation adoptive cycle. It was created, it's used a lot, and it was created, I believe, down from Silicon Valley about, okay, where you have your early adopters and your early majority, late majority, and so forth. And so a lot of you have probably seen this bell curve. So let me try to explain it to you and how you can also really use this bell curve in regards to change. So if you think about the bell curve here, so you'll imagine a straight line down at the bottom, so that's on your horizontal access, and then you're gonna have um what's called like a bell curve. So it's an upside-down bell where the line of change. So those people in the beginning, for example, then are usually what's called your innovators. They are only about 2.5% of the entire population. And so if we think about in your organization, so let's say we're you're gonna be creating some kind of a new process of way of doing something in your organization, and you're trying to get everybody on vault and on board with it, only about 2.5% of your group of team, population, organization, whatever, are gonna be all over it, say, oh, this is fabulous, yes, let's go for it. You can think about these innovators are the ones too, um, when we think about then, and this is where a lot of this came from, is like with new technology. So like when the iPhone comes out or the new release, then you always have those people that are just like, you know, lined up right outside of the store for 24 hours waiting to get this iPhone. And so that's that small 2.5%. And then from there it starts to go up to your early adopters. They are the ones that make up then about another 13 to 14%. And what they're looking at is thinking, okay, well, I do like the new iPhone. And so I'll probably, you know, I'm I'm I'm gonna go for it, but I'm not gonna, you know, go hang out and for 24 hours prior to it. I'll show up within the first week, probably. So in your organization, the early adopters are the ones who will also tend to be like, okay, I I can maybe get my head around this. Then we move into our early majority. So now that makes up another about 35%. So where these guys come on, then they've seen everybody else, how you know, okay, yeah, I kind of like that phone. Oh, that's pretty cool. Okay, I'm gonna go get that. They're the ones within the change that are saying, okay, yeah, I can see how this isn't gonna disrupt things too much, or I can, you know, my my concerns have been addressed, or I'm ready to go. That is the top of your bell curve once you get all those early majorities. Then you start going down back down the curve into your again, about another 34, 35 percent, which is your late majority. They're like, okay, everybody else has one, okay, I'll probably go ahead and get one. And then they're gonna get on board, and then you start to get down to the very last point, and you got the lagard, laggards, they call them, which is the last 16% of the population. Usually they're the last ones. You know, they're kind of like, okay, fine, because of no other choice, they had to get one. That maybe the organization said, you know what, you're getting an iPhone. So in the change, you're gonna get those people that eventually just come on. And then you have some of those, which again go back to about 2.5, where you're not just gonna, you're not gonna convert them, you're not gonna help them change, and more than likely they're probably gonna leave your organization. All right, so keeping all of this in mind, the reason I want to bring this up is because a lot of times when we're thinking about change, we are focusing on the wrong side of the bell curve. We're looking at the late majority, the laggards, trying to win them over. We don't need to be doing that. In change, what you really want to be doing is focusing on using your innovators, those people who are all over it, to help influence the early adopters, who then help influence the early majority. And that's what's gonna get you your tipping point when it comes to change. Okay, so we want to keep that in mind when I go back through the rest of these principles, but real quick, we're gonna take a break. You are listening to the Misha Rousers show on 1150 KKNW, and we'll be right back. Welcome back to the Misha Rouser Show. And of course, I am Misha, and today we are talking about change management. And so I just got done talking about using the bell curve of the innovation adoptive lifecycle. And so keep that in mind as I go through the rest of these principles, because I have about 10 more principles, oh, maybe about nine, ten more principles that I want to share with you about thinking about when we are creating change within an organization, within our team, and so forth. Okay, so the next principle we're gonna go into is that innovation comes in different sizes. So it really helps sometimes too to think about what type of change are you creating. And so one way you can think about is using the term first order or second order change. First order change is refers to kind of an extension of past practices. Um it's incremental, it tends to be linear, you're doing something maybe better, maybe you're doing something more of something, maybe you're doing something less of something. Um it could be something that you're gonna be doing for greater accuracy. So that one, for example, would be changing the way a process is done. Um like we're gonna change the way we contact our vendors and how we're gonna maybe we're using a new CR CRS system, you know, for sales management and so forth. That kind of change is first order. It's more of just kind of getting used to and making these incremental steps. It's not necessarily a huge behavioral change other than it's a change in habits of how we're doing something. Whereas second order change, now this gets much more complicated and it's more large scale. Um, this involves behavioral changes and and individuals' changes in their belief systems that impact the relationships within the organization and the culture of the organization. So a great example of this one would be again like a merger or acquisition, um, maybe a change in hierarchy. So now we're really the the people in the organization really have to change the way they're looking at things, their belief systems, and so forth. So it helps to understand when you're working through change too. Well, what kind of change am I working with? And what do I really need to be paying attention to? If it's gonna be a second order change, you're gonna be paying a lot more attention of the process of how to slowly start getting people to feel more comfortable about this process before you even get into the change, and then how you're gonna help them through the change and then support them on the other side of it. So much more complicated when you're thinking about second order. The reason I point this out too is a lot of times we get so spun up thinking that a first order change is really something more complicated than it needs to be, or vice versa, we think a second order change, something that is a lot more complicated because it takes such uh a change in behavior or belief systems, and we treat it like a first order system that oh, we're just gonna put in this new process, so this is how it's gonna be, and what we want you to start doing that on Monday. Um sometimes it really is a second order change and it needs more preparation to lead into that. Okay. Next one is interventions are the actions and events that are the key to success. Okay, so another one, in other words, how do you orchestrate constant conversations? So when you think about this, one-legged, what they call one-legged discussions, that's not gonna hold, especially when you're talking about it some type of larger second order change. Is the constant conversations over time. A one-legged discussion means, yeah, you know, what are you thinking? We're thinking about changing this, or we are gonna be changing this, yeah, it's gonna start this day. Okay, great. And you're just leaving it at that. No, we want to be thinking about, you know, when we think about one-legged, that doesn't give the stool or the table enough to stand on. You need to think about all the other aspects that you need to be talking about. And you need to be talking about them consistently over and over and over, and not only talking about them, but showing them too, showing people. Um maybe doing infographics, maybe doing some pi type of um presentation or slideshow or something where it's a visual too can really help people then um work and move forward to understand, okay, what's gonna be happening. All right, our next one is creating bridges. So when we think about that, what we're talking is uh sometimes the we're wanting people to to make a huge leap of faith or to you know cross this chasm. Again, if you're thinking like mergers and acquisitions, say, oh yeah, this other group is great, we're gonna be acquiring them and we're gonna reorganize and it's all gonna be just fine. Well, you guys all know. It's like, no, that's gonna evoke fear in everybody, like, oh my god, my life is totally gonna change. So these bridges, or sometimes I call them planning seeds, letting people know, okay, why why could this be beneficial for them? What's in this? What is this process gonna look like? How is it going to unfold so that they can start seeing the infrastructure and the w work of of the bridge that's gonna take place to move from this from where we are now to where we're gonna be going. And that's gonna help people a lot and feel much more in control and stable and and and feel more self-assured going through this. So again, when you're creating those bridges, think about what seeds are you planning, what's in it for them, what are the steps that we're gonna be taking to get there, and again, taking the time to explain those things. All right, the next one is thinking about leadership is so essential to long long-term change success. If you really do not have the leaders involved, you know, the higher higher ups, then it's probably not gonna hold. So bottom-up movements they will sustain. Um they uh they can for a little bit, but they will probably not be sustainable over a long period of time without leader support. So keep that in mind too, about you really do have to have leadership support. Now, with that, that brings in another one of that facilitating change is a team effort. So here's one of the other principles. Everybody needs a help, everybody has to be part of that process, which means then it's not just the higher-up leaders, but everybody in the organization, if we managers, supervisors, and team leads and so forth, they all need to be on board with the change as well. So going back to like our bell curve earlier, those are the kinds of people you want to be pulling in and working with as your early adopters and such, because they will help then shift and get those early majority on to then create that tipping point. Um so remember, everybody does need to embrace this. And that's why, too, this this may take a while to get everybody on board. All right, the next one appropriate interventions reduce resistance to change. So again, pay attention to the individual needs and concerns and and address their concerns of the people who are gonna be going through this change. So when we think about that, is then think about that process. How much time do they need? Some people are gonna need a lot longer. Okay, so for example, if you think about like when you have little kids, and um I remember like when I was when my kids were really young and I was taking them to the I was taking my son to the playground and we'd have this other play date with this other woman and her son. And it was so, you know, whenever we're getting close to the end, I would be able to just like, okay, you know, tell my son, okay, Garrett, we gotta go. Well, for her, she'd be having to do, okay, Jonathan, 15 minutes and we're gonna be going. And then I'm looking at Vinny, he's like, Yeah, I totally can't.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

I've had both those scenarios, like five minutes and then five more minutes because you feel bad, but then there's this time where you gotta go.

SPEAKER_02 20:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

You just we've gotta go.

SPEAKER_02 20:42

Right. And so for some people though, for some kids, and you can usually tell, and if you're this type of kid, like for her, she had to keep building up. Okay, Jonathan, one more minute, okay. And if she did not do that and she tried to pull him off with no warning, what would it be?

SPEAKER_00 20:57

Um probably a pure meltdown.

SPEAKER_02 20:59

Total meltdown. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 21:01

Saw it coming.

SPEAKER_02 21:02

So that's what we have too when we're thinking about change within the organization. Some people really need a lot of preparation, a lot of time to think through this. They need an outlet to talk to. They need to know, okay, what's really going on. And don't assume, oh, but we had a survey and then we sent them out a newsletter and we gave them all this information, and and we even had, you know, the a little time for them to talk about it. Believe it or not, for some people that's still not enough. It's still sometimes they need to come into your office or you need to pull them aside, or something to say, okay, what's going on? What else are you worried about? Um, so it's just really helping to take the time to address where is everybody at and addressing their fears and helping them and move through that transition. Okay, and then the last one is to always remember too that the context for the organization um influences the process of change. So, in other words, is everybody involved, do they understand the shared vision, mission, goals? You know, where are we going as an organization? Do they see the big picture? And is everybody on board with that? Um, with that then, too, means, yeah, we all see that, and then also really think about creating a learning organization, you know, an organization that realizes, okay, this is what our values, these are our visions, these are our goals, this is where we're hoping to go. We're, you know, creating this change. Will we make some mistakes along the line? Yeah, we will. You will, we all will. That's okay. But we're gonna keep moving forward in this direction, and we're all on board going in the same direction. So that's the last context to understanding organizational changes, making sure that everybody understands what is the big picture, what's my part in it, and it's okay. Things probably are not gonna go really smooth, and that's okay. You know, you learn from it, and you're just like, okay, ta-da, sorry, I messed up. Okay, what do we need to do? And how do we keep moving forward? All right, so those were some little bits of um information and some tips and tricks on how to work with change. Again, if you have any questions on anything, please reach out to me on my website. Would love to hear from you. In the meantime, you have been listening to the Misha Rouser Show, and of course, I am Misha, coaching you towards success. Thank you so much for listening.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

Thank you for listening to the Misha Rouser Show on Alternative Talk 1150. Join Misha every week, Tuesdays 9 30 to 10 a.m., as she takes you down a path toward achieving professional success while still having fun. Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your colleagues. Misha helps people and organizations be successful, all while staying on a positive path. Tune in next week for the Misha Rousser Show.