Leading Change
REASONS
ReasonsFOR
for NON-PERFORMANCE
Non-Performance
1. They don't get it -- They don't understand what's
important and why
2. They don't care -- Or care enough to make a
difference
3. They don't know how -- They don't have the skills
or strategies needed to make a difference
Those skills are 90% change management – how
to move the hearts and minds of a group to a new
set of assumptions and goals
Basic Premise
• The amount of significant, often
traumatic, change in organizations has
grown tremendously over the past two
decades (www = 1991)
• Powerful macroeconomic forces are at
work here, and these forces will grow
even stronger
• A significant amount of the waste and
anguish associated with change is
avoidable
Two Things Rotarians Don’t Like
1. The current situation
2. CHANGE
Errors in Leading Change
1. Allowing Too Much Complacency
(Rotary’s #1 Enemy)
2. Failing to Create a Sufficiently Powerful
Guiding Coalition
3. Underestimating the Power of Vision
(or the vacuum if one is lacking)
4. Undercommunicating the Vision by a Factor
of 10 (or 100 or even 1,000)
5. Permitting Obstacles to Block the New Vision
(including elder naysayers)
6. Failing to Create Short-Term Wins
Error #1 - Allowing Too Much
Complacency
1.
2.
3.
4.
Insufficient sense of urgency
Lack of visible crises
Low expectations
Acceptance of mediocrity
Error #1 - Allowing Too Much
Complacency
Error #2 - Failing to Create a
Sufficiently Powerful Guiding Coalition
1. Not including influential “thought leaders”
from the membership
2. Getting hijacked by group dynamics vs.
conversations with individuals
Error #3 - Underestimating the
Power of Vision
1. Plans, programs, procedures and
campaigns in lieu of Vision
2. A Vision that takes more than 5 minutes
to describe
3. A Vision that isn’t sufficiently compelling
to excite and inspire the membership
Error #4 - Undercommunicating the
Vision by a Factor of 10 (or 100 or 1000)
1. Making only a few announcements or
sending out only a few emails
•
Surprised when people don’t seem to
understand
2. President making speeches – Board
silent
•
Not enough reinforcement
3. Visible members’ behavior is counter to
the Vision
Error #5 - Permitting Obstacles to
Block the New Vision
1. Lack of organizational support
(an effective membership committee)
2. Lack of recognition systems
3. Lip service (or worse) from influential
members
4. Elder naysayers
Error #6 - Failing to Plan for & Create
Short-Term Wins
1. Don’t plan for achievable short-term
results
2. Doesn’t boost the credibility of the
change initiative
3. Fail to establish intermediate goals
4. Ignore those who achieve the objectives
5. Fail to reward those involved
6-Stage Process for Change
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Establishing a sense of urgency
Creating the guiding coalition
Developing a Vision and Strategy
Communicating the change Vision
Empowering (expecting) a broad base of
members to take action
6. Generating short-term wins
Antidotes for Change Failures
Antidotes
Classic Error
Solution
Allowing Too Much Complacency
(Rotary’s #1 Enemy)
Establish a Sense of Urgency
(Eliminate "Happy Talk", Create a Crisis)
Failing to Create a Sufficiently
Powerful Guiding Coalition
Create a Powerful Guiding Coalition
(a small group of thought leaders)
Underestimating the Power of Vision
(or the vacuum if one is lacking)
Create a Vision
(Characteristics of an effective Vision)
Undercommunicating the Vision by
a Factor of 10 (or 100 or even 1,000)
Communicate the Vision
(Key Elements of effective communication)
(Situation, Problem, Implication, Need)
Permitting Obstacles to Block the
New Vision (including elder
naysayers)
Empower others to act on the Vision
(Confront those who undercut the Vision)
Failing to Create Short-Term Wins
Celebrate Short-Term Wins
(Congratulate achievers, build momentum)
Workshop Breakout
Exercises