February 26, 2013
NO COMMENTS
In this series, we’re exploring the implications of Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey, by following the story of a fictitious change practitioner named Sara. In my last post, we looked at the first of the four stages, Departure. In this post, Sara goes through the Initiation phase of the Journey, where she is tested, but then crosses a threshold that causes profound change in her. I’ll also offer some questions to help you explore whether this phase has relevancy for where you are in your quest.
October 30, 2012
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Change practitioners who take on the provocateur’s role must be confrontational when necessary, willing to handle the deep emotions of change, and have tough conversations if called for.
In this final post of the series, I continue with my list of ten things that can inhibit change agents from engaging the provocateur’s stance. I also describe what to do about them.
May 24, 2012
(3) COMMENTS
In this series, I will talk about how to respond to a client who wants you to give him or her a straightforward, broad perspective of what an organization will have to do to fully realize the goals of a large change initiative. I will share my responses to two hypothetical questions: “What is a realistic set of expectations I should have about embarking on this change?” and “Can you give me some general DOs and DON’Ts that will likely apply to what we’re facing?”
March 13, 2012
(3) COMMENTS
From time to time, both internal and external change practitioners are asked to help select key leaders who will have critical roles as an organization embarks on a vital transition. Unfortunately, many practitioners don’t give enough thought to what might be included in a change leader’s selection criteria. They toss something together quickly or access a generic list someone else has published that doesn’t take into account the particulars of the organization, the demands of the changes at hand, and the personalities involved. Leader appointment is an important aspect of change success and, as professional change facilitators, we are obligated to be as prepared as possible when asked to participate in the selection process.
In this series, I will share an extensive list of criteria I consider when asked to provide parameters for change-related leader selection.
July 26, 2011
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I recently interviewed Dean Anderson, a thought-leader in the field of organization transformation. Dean’s 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. During our conversation, Dean talked about the correlation between success and leaders’ mindsets, whether change should be managed from the top down or bottom up, and the number one way to make resistance to change go away.
March 1, 2011
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Change practitioners who understand the eight stages of building commitment can apply them to help generate momentum and critical mass during various engagements. In this post, I talk about barriers to success at each stage, and actions that can be taken to move people to the next stage. Also included is a downloadable table.
January 26, 2011
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Some organizational initiatives are so big, it isn’t easy to judge when there is sufficient forward movement. Activity and enthusiasm are great, but they don’t always translate into genuine, sustainable advancement. Even measurable headway toward the intended outcomes can be suspect if we can’t tell that enough movement has occurred to ensure backsliding and regression won’t take over at some later point.
Practitioners can use many approaches in this kind of situation. In this blog post, I’ll share with you how I deal with these kinds of questions.
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