The Little Black Book for Managers by Gomez Rafael Cross John Money Kevin & Rafael Gomez & Kevin Money

Author:Gomez, Rafael, Cross, John, Money, Kevin & Rafael Gomez & Kevin Money
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2013-08-13T16:00:00+00:00

Avoid

Threats. “John, unless you swing behind these changes and adopt them as your own, maybe this isn't the place for you anymore.” Understand that resistance is natural, so instead of making threats, ask for reasons why they have not yet been won over. But do not waver from promoting the change as absolutely necessary, stating your full support for it.

Too much paperwork. Paperwork is impersonal, people can't question the author, may not fully understand the motivation behind the changes or simply misunderstand the written word. Often I have read phrases like this: “In our constant drive to improve customer satisfaction, we have decided to …” Phrases like “In our drive to improve customer satisfaction” make the senior managers appear to be disingenuous. It has been used too often in the past as a mask to partially cover unwelcome news. Instead be direct, flood the issue in question with light and analysis, examine different options and then explain the reasons why the chosen course of action was preferred. People may not like the result, but they may come to understand it and grudgingly accept it.

New slogans. Unless the people affected have been directly involved in its development and evolution, avoid catchy phrases. A short slogan has a tendency to put people off and trivialize the issue. “Who on earth thought of that one?”

Once, when I was working for a large multinational company, I became involved in a plan to develop a set of company values. I felt it was necessary to involve as many of the staff as possible; getting representatives to work in a significant number of geographic teams; facilitating cross-team communication and interaction; allowing them to produce a final list of four or five for the board of directors to rubber stamp. I heard nothing for a couple of weeks until I received the five actual values from the board. They had been already decided. Unfortunately (and not unsurprisingly), many of the cynical staff responded with, “Well, let's see how long they live by them.” Because the values were handed down from on high, they weren't taken to heart. Avoid slogans.

Badges, coffee mugs, pens and coasters with any new messages. Often these publicity vehicles get widely distributed in the hope that the message on them will be promoted and discussed. It won't, so save your money.

Incentives of any kind. The change should be “the right thing to do”. If it is, then the people will gladly accept it. The vast majority of people want to do the right thing.

Keeping existing seating arrangements if the plan calls for new. If people need to be physically relocated then do it as soon as practicable. Retaining existing seating arrangements will slow the change. If at all possible, get the people involved in the new design. The idea being it becomes their design and not yours. But retain a sense of urgency.

So, to summarize, managing effective change is not possible without the appropriate level of preparation and leadership, and leadership isn't meaningful unless it creates significant change.

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