The challenge of change

Why the one change you want your company to make never happens and how to fix it

What is the one question plaguing you at the office today? Comment below.

It's all too often the case that you're abundantly clear on what changes need to be made, but you're struggling with gaining support to do anything about it. Even if you've managed to secure some time to look into a problem, you seem unable to gain any traction. Sound familiar?

Consider this:

Everyone around you knows what change is needed in your firm and are equally powerless.

Challenge yourself: 

Ask your closet colleague - what one thing would you change here at the office, and what’s stopping you from making that change?

It’s not that anyone is wrong. Everyone is right (more often than not). Each of your colleagues has a different slant on potentially the same problem. The solution to which is biased towards your own viewpoint, and that’s OK, except you’re view is going nowhere. Even if you have the power to make such a change, you are likely battling to gather support. Why is that seemingly ‘always’ the case?

Think of it this way:

• If you’re a people manager, your slant will typically be around getting the best for your team.
• As a financial manager, your slant will typically be about maximising the profits for the company.

They sound very different and yet they likely both share the same core truth, for example: increasing company performance.

Whilst the heart of your goal may be identical, try having a conversation about people with someone who only thinks about numbers. Vice-versa and with any number of different skill sets. There isn’t anything wrong with each having a different view point. It’s absolutely right. It’s why one works with people and the other with finance. This is what is needed for the workplace. And yet, if you are unable to articulate your solution in the exact same way as your peer from another department, you’re very unlikely to gain traction. And that’s the real problem with progressing change.

Understanding this is a valuable life lesson. You could stop reading here and already consider your own plan to influence your colleagues into making changes. Yet there is another lesson, one that we all know far too well, but always believe we can overcome: Ownership.

No one knows what you know

For a change to take place someone needs to take ownership. We’re all terribly transparent when it comes to this topic. It’s the backbone of office gossip. A people project clearly cannot be successfully carried out by a numbers person. Flip the tables and the same is true. The one simply doesn’t understand the other. They don't know what you do. Decisions will need challenging, and any decision that affects your own role, without your say-so, will be deemed wrong.

There’s also much to be said about committees (for change programmes - no, conformance to process - yes); and more said about those with sloped shoulders - avoiding responsibility (manager by title, not by nature). This would derail the main direction of this topic, so lets park this for now. Feel free to pick this up with me in conversation.

You need someone

To drive change in an organisation, you are going to need someone. Someone independent of tactical roles. You need that someone to find the core problem and then seek out the solutions (always more than one) to achieving change. That someone needs to be able to converse with all the potential stakeholders, the customer and the staff. That someone needs to be agnostic to the solutions - the benefit is not for them, but for resolving the core problem. That someone needs to be able to frame the solution in a way that appeals to all stakeholders. Not seeking compromise, but seeking engagement. No one is held hostage over a solution. No one feels controlled. Everyone shares in the vision and addresses the challenge with their own expertise.

This is truly the way to ensuring that the company culture frees up its employees to address challenges around a shared vision. Each do, what’s in their power, to resolve a common problem and make changes (within the bounds of budget and reason). There is no numbers person running a people project. Finance looks after finance, people after people. And the strategy in place is one that ensures that each area of expertise are supported in how they tackle their area independently. All in support of the core challenge, with complete autonomy and without conflict.

Someone

If this topic resonates with you, and you believe you have a need for such a someone to help your business influence change, then I want to hear from you. I have an arsenal of techniques and years of experience to achieve such engagement and proof of change with a number of organisations. Feel free to look through my profile and read the recommendations to be certain I’m right for your company. Most of all, get in touch and challenge me!

Challenge me... or face all out war!

? Copyright 2017 - Matt Jones - uservox

Image source: https://www.mensa.org.uk/news/tv-show-seeking-extraordinary-talents