Change Matters

Change matters.

Those were the two words that kicked off another very inspiring Change Mindset Tribe session on Wednesday, the 21th of June 2023.

Change truly matters, according to Margit Takacs , Change & Culture Consultant, Trainer and Coach, who not only gave her first book exactly this title, but did also explain why, as she experiences that many organisations and people around the world are faced with the challenge of managing resistance when they want to bring about a change.

Starting point of the Tribe session was a personal story of Margit Takacs about her experiencing the emotional cycle of change during a jungle expedition in Costa Rica. She shared an excerpt from her book about her experience as a project manager in the Central American jungle, facing challenges such as maintaining morale whilst living outside of the comfort zone and dealing with a less cooperative team member. At one point a change in this team member’s behaviour was required to keep up the spirit and the wellbeing of the group. But the question was ‘how’?

Which strategies can be used for addressing these challenges? How can we bring people on board for a change when we are facing difficult behaviours? For making change happen?

What kind of leader are you?

One of the key roles is – according to the philosophy of Daniel Goleman described in his book Primal Leadership – choosing the right change leadership style.

Margit Takacs explained the six leadership styles described in her book and how they can be applied in various situations

1. Coaching Leadership - long-term development of others
2. Pacesetting Leadership - accomplishing tasks to high standards
3. Democratic Leadership - building commitment to new ideas
4. Affiliative Leadership - harmony among staff & leader
5. Authoritative Leadership - long-term direction and vision
6. Coercive Leadership - immediate compliance with the team

An extreme situation could for example be travelling by plane and hearing that the aeroplane is going down. How would you like to be addressed by the aeroplane staff? What kind of leadership from the pilot and flight attendants would you prefer at this moment?

The same goes for other, less dangerous situations which however ask for a certain leadership style, like for example corporate decision-making moments and system migrations. At times, to survive as an organisation, tough decisions have to be made and a more directive and authoritative approach is needed.

What to do for example when you find yourself challenged in a complex change environment with internal and external stakeholders?

Here the Prosci ADKAR Model can come in, as organisational change also requires individual change. “ADKAR” is an acronym for the five outcomes an individual needs to achieve for a change to be successful:

Awareness

Desire

Knowledge

Ability

Reinforcement

This model is based on the understanding that organisational change can only happen when individuals change. It focuses on individual change: guiding people through a particular process and addressing any roadblocks or barrier points along the way. And then a change leader can scale it up and bring more people along the journey.

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Organisational changes often fail because employees don’t understand (awareness and desire) the importance of getting on board the change, seeing their own benefits or how to successfully make the change with competence and confidence (knowledge and ability). Keeping up the momentum (reinforcement) is equally essential so people don’t return to the old ways of working. They simply see that a change is coming. The ADKAR Model enables leaders and change management teams to focus their activities on what will drive individual change and therefore achieve organisational results.

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Change Matters. Two words that kicked off this Tribe session, but can at the same time also be the overall conclusion of this session.

=== Extra information sources:

>?Catalyze change without borders. https://margittakacs.com/

> Book: Primal Leadership - Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman, Richard E. Boyatzis & Annie McKee

> ADKAR Model - https://www.prosci.com/methodology/adkar