My Big Fat Change Program Left Me Crushed – Now What?

Change initiatives are reactions to perceived or real inflections within an ecosystem to reposition or strengthen the organization's capabilities. The key phrase was “reactions” there are few proactive major repositioning with organizations due to costs associated and investments into unknown futures. This is why it can feel like a hurried hot mess when going through it. Leaders and teams find themselves responding to critical or worse, deadly changes and are trying to keep them from happening.

Every organization is susceptible to the factors of change. The problem with most change initiatives is that they are often trying to improve one aspect and end up tearing up other areas or make them more fragile. This seesaw effect of change management tends to make employees scared, and leadership frustrated.

Solving the Pain of Change Management Initiatives

Would it surprise you to learn that weaknesses are innate within all organizations? These weaknesses are an insidious problem within change programs. Often the change program is sponsored and started without knowing the user or customer’s ability to cope with the change. Would you be surprised that human factors drive a wedge in many change programs?

Change investments carry inherent risks. However, many times the human and behavioral factors around the change are usually only paid marginal attention. According to Borges & Quintas (2020), who studied reactions to organizational change, the evaluations conducted during the change planning of the companies centered around evaluations systems that, for the most part, are informal and primarily management opinions and feedback. The literature further suggests the employees, who were interviewed responded that they supported aspects of the change program but not others. Anxiety over performance needs and capability to work where the old processes were available left them feeling vulnerable to being fired for inability to perform.

These reactions to change are not the only problems surrounding the burgeoning fear fest called “change projects.” Grenny et al. (2013) suggest that a lack of understanding and looking at the vital behaviors in people change and environmental changes only breeds resistance and prevention of adoption to a new way of doing or thinking.

As reflected in the literature, people are the change-makers and breakers of the change process. Then being able to internalize the need for adding the human factor to help drive change will always be necessary. At least till they fully automate McDonald's and you are going through the drive-through to pay your friendly AI emotionally intelligent robot (Ugh!).

What is the Secret Sauce in a Breakthrough Strategies Group Solution?

At Breakthrough Strategies Group, we begin with the end in mind (starts with people). We motivate our clients and work hard to bring positive outcomes. You know, the kind of hope and results most clients want but never really get. We heard you, so we start by reimagining your organization from the 360 perspectives (leaders, management, team, and users). Through our tools, techniques, and high adaptable processes, we help drive change within the organization that strengthens it and makes it ready for good and bad times. Change is hard, but still, it can be done. We look at the behavioral aspects of the change and seek to ensure transparency, empowerment, and engagement from all those affected by the change.

We look at the world differently. We are working futurists and combine this work along with our advisory, coaching, and execution strategies. Additionally, we believe in death to fragility and propose antifragile ecosystem development over what most providers rely on - resiliency. Resiliency is for the old ways of thinking – today, you want to be Antifragile.

What do antifragile ecosystems mean?

The theory behind the antifragile was developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Anti-fragile ecosystems are those systems within an environment that when stressors, complexity, and catastrophic (black swans) events occur, the organization can thrive and grow despite the circumstance (Taleb, 2016). Anti-fragile allows for continued growth and an ability to overcome and learn from any challenge. Resiliency is restoration to what was before the incident and accepts that the systemic weaknesses still reside within. Going back to ground zero is not a place to restart so why go there.

What you can Expect????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Breakthrough Strategies Group assists our customers and users maximize benefits from our outlined systems and approach to engagements. Each engagement phase covers the tools and techniques, and quality checks to help make the transitions run more smoothly. Our BSG acronym breaks into the following engagement strategies the outfitter, pathfinder, and the mover. We break it down as below:

Breakthrough (The Outfitter)

The breakthrough (the outfitter) sessions are about the discovery process, modernization, and multiple futures. Much like the old western day, the outfitter was where all the store wares existed. Along the same line of thought inside, we look at the data, behaviors, and cultural aspects of the organization before the change. By conducting audits and assessments, then prepare the initial findings. Next, we look to the future and see what emergent impacts could (can or can) affect your organization. In data-centric environments, we can use AI/ML to help derive insights to help make better decisions. We also analyze to discover the Fragility Quotient?. This is much more than a resiliency factor but moves you to an antifragile ecosystem. Finally, we work with the stakeholders and leaders to discuss the findings.

Strategies (The Pathfinder)

The pathfinder takes the outcomes of the breakthrough phase and takes it to the next level. It is about creating the strategy and roadmap to get to where you want to be. This includes reimagining your organization's state of operations, culture, people, processes, strategies, and technology. This is about creating agility and dynamic models within the organization that creates an antifragile strategy. Wargaming, simulations, and other tools are available to help drive strategic values.

Group (The Mover)

The mover is the phase in which coalition-building and implementation meet. When working with stakeholders, communications is huge. Communications we must be transparent and create an environment for everyone to be in the know of what they need. Communications and transparency are critical to making better decisions. With communication channels handled, implementing technologies becomes more achievable as stakeholders see where things are going. Using Agile leadership and program execution as the project progresses, the stakeholders remain informed and advocate for the team and outcomes. The road along the critical path is measured via outcomes, key results (OKR), KPI, reviews, retrospect, and lessons learned are created/shared, along with dashboard metrics providing critical decision-support information.

The Future vs. the Present

The present is much like the future in that it has many complex currents flowing through it and around it, always working on and against you for most traditional organizations. In an antifragile ecosystem, the currents become the wind beneath your wings that allow our clients to soar to new heights. So, the decision is yours. Are you ready to become one of the antifragile organizations of the “future fit;” or one of the tired and forgettable organizations

It is Your Turn Now!

We love to share! So, if you want to know more – we are happy to conduct a complimentary one-hour discovery session with you to help map out and empower you with actionable knowledge to help you understand the next steps. To reach us, you can contact us here: Take the Red or Green Pill – It’s one hour of your life that could change how you see your future.

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References

Borges, R., & Quintas, C. A. (2020). Understanding the individual's reaction to the organizational change: a multi-dimensional approach. Journal of Organizational Change, 33(5), 667-681. Retrieved from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JOCM-09-2019-0279/full/html

Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillian, R., & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The new science of leading change (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.

Taleb, N. N. (2016). Antifragile. New York: Random House.