CRITICAL THINKING SERIES NO. 28 - ARE YOU “PLAYING PIANO TO THE COUCH” WITH CHANGE MANAGEMENT? –

Have you ever heard the expression, “Push a rope?” “Playing piano to the couch?” (Thanks, Paola A. Torres, MPA !). “Never try to teach a pig to sing. Pigs can’t sing, and it only annoys the pig.” (Seen on a T-shirt in college.) All these phrases describe efforts with impossible outcomes. Everyone is familiar with similar phrases with the same meaning. And have experienced examples of such fruitless endeavors.

However, when it comes to change management, many efforts have as much likelihood of success as “Playing piano to the couch.” Ever hear, “Walk before you run?” There are stages of maturity / sophistication in an organization that determine what level of change management is needed as well as what level of change the organization is capable of accepting. Too often, change management is rolled out to a workforce or team, without first checking whether the team is ready for it. “Let’s start training for a marathon!”, says leadership. “But we haven’t even completed a 5K!” says the workforce. This is where Critical Thinking, and especially Assumptions Challenging, Bias Analysis, and Pre-Mortem Analysis, can come in handy. Use Critical Thinking to assess the current state of the team, how much change they’re willing to accept, and how to break down barriers to success at the appropriate level of maturity of the organization.

For example, take LEAN transformations. Company executives have heard about LEAN, and decide this is just the thing to reduce waste and improve productivity. So they:

1)??? Form a KPO (Kaizen Program Office), to establish leadership of the program.

2)??? Develop and distribute LEAN training materials.

3)?? Hire or train some LEAN Leaders or Black Belts.

4)?? Hang posters on the wall confirming “We are now LEAN!”

And then wait for the productivity and efficiency benefits to start rolling in.

But is it really that simple? If one examines the Toyota Production System Quality Temple diagram, you’ll see that the foundation in these diagram is “Stability”. This term refers to stability of the workforce and culture. Respect For People (RFP). Psychological safety. Empowered employees. Before any successful change can occur, the employees must be motivated, educated, and energized in order to first accept, and then, to embrace and implement the change.

How can Critical Thinking be applied to enable better Change Management?

BIAS ANALYSIS –

What biases are in play in the organization?

• Bandwagon Effect? (The likelihood to pursue an initiative if other companies are pursuing a similar initiative.)
• Confirmation Bias? (The tendency to give more value to information that supports what we already believe.)
• Loss Aversion? (The tendency to accept avoidance of loss instead of pursuing an award.)

ASSUMPTIONS CHALLENGING –

• Does the company have an environment of psychological safety?
• Can employees openly disagree with the status quo without fear of retribution?
• Is dialogue between employees open, honest, and transparent?
• Is the work environment such that all employees’ voices are heard?
• Is knowledge within the organization shared openly, or hoarded by individuals to preserve and maintain authority?

PRE-MORTEM ANALYSIS –

Assume the endeavor is a complete failure 18-24 months down the road.

• What does failure look like? What are the impacts?
• What are the decisions that led to the failure of the effort?
• What decisions need to be made differently to avoid failure?
• What information not known today is needed to avoid failure?

When a pilot goes to fly an airplane, do they just hop in the cockpit, turn the key, and takeoff?

No. Responsible pilots go through a detailed checklist.

• Are all the systems, radios, and gauges working?
• Am I familiar with the aircraft systems and controls (especially emergency controls)?
• Are all the fluids topped off?
• Is there bad weather in-between here and the destination?
• Where can I touch down in case I have a problem?

A similar checklist should be conducted prior to launching any change management effort.

• What is the goal?
• Why is senior management or the team launching this effort?
• Have the organizational changes been identified and put in place?
• Have training programs been established for employees?
• Are new facilities, software, procedures, manufacturing equipment, etc. in place?
• Has a program been established to energize employees and explain to them why they should support the initiative?
• Has a risk mitigation plan been established to address potential shortfalls and gaps in the strategy?

There is never a business climate that is stable for very long. VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) always exist in varying degrees.

As Jack Welch stated, “If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near.”

Successful change management is a differentiator between successful and failed companies. Applying Critical Thinking is a key enabler of successful change management.