Want Change? Stop Paying So Much Attention to It

Most of those reading this are changemakers, change champions or change lovers of one type or another. It’s what we have studied, what we get rewarded for helping to bring about, and what captures our imagination.

There's nothing wrong with a focus on change except when it is the exclusive focus, especially when you are trying to achieve it. That’s right. Focusing on creating change can get in the way of actually achieving it – if you pay too much attention to it and too little elsewhere.

There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Often, we create our own resistance to needed change without even realizing we are our own worst enemy.

Welcome to the world of paradoxical change. My friend and colleague Barry Johnson brought this insight to me years ago. It’s based on Polarity Thinking?, an approach he pioneered and has been applying in organizations the world over for the past 40+ years.

Paradox: a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.

What seems absurd to demand our attention when it comes to change? Pay Attention to Continuity. This lever from my Leverage Change approach can be hard to grasp at first. Shouldn’t we focus on what we want to accomplish? Put SMART goals in place to achieve our desired results? Ensure project plans are all aligned to bring a laser-like focus to the objectives of our change work? Even develop new skills, processes and systems that support the changes you’re trying to achieve?

Therein lies the rub.

I worked with a CEO of a European retail operation who struggled mightily with this lever. He knew the changes needed in the business and took the logical path to achieving them. He was big on what he called “Blocking out the noise.” Anything off the stated agenda was ignored. Where was the trap? The sole focus on change was getting in the organization’s way of achieving it.

When we did interviews, we heard about the change fatigue that plagued the organization. One change effort after another. An onslaught of improvement initiatives washing over the organization, all driven by our uber-focused CEO. We heard about needed changes in the hallways, meetings, between meetings…everywhere, all the time.

The other striking dynamic in the business was the emotional mood of the workplace. People were stressed out. They were frazzled. Uncertain about the next new expectation they would be forced to accept. It became a badge of honor to be on several committees creating the future of the organization. The more involvement the better. And an increasingly predictable vicious cycle of exhaustion, providing fair warning of the resistance that was sure to follow.

The more change the CEO tried to drive through the organization the less of it he got. That’s where the Pay Attention to Continuity lever from my book came into play. How could paying attention to continuity help the company achieve change goals?

Continuity brings with it another set of emotions than change. Whereas change conjures up stress and uncertainty, continuity does just the opposite. With it comes clarity, confidence and conviction. These are things we know how to do and have done well in the past. That’s what paying attention to continuity means. I’m not arguing that everything from an organization’s past should be repeated in the future. Some things you did well in the past won’t serve you well in the future. That’s a given. Learn to let those go.

Our advice to the CEO was to follow a paradoxical path. Start paying attention to continuity. The CEO was at wit’s end and willing to try anything to make progress on his change agenda. He began to use this new mindset in every conversation, project review, and town hall meeting. He made the first question he asked his people, “What have we already been doing well that we should continue doing in the future in this area?”

This freed people up to reclaim a part of themselves and their success. What we saw was remarkable. That change-fatigued organization became much more receptive to doing business in new ways.

There was something else going on that worked in the CEOs favor. People were much more willing to listen once they had been heard. His starting by asking questions took people by surprise. They were used to getting orders and now they were being asked for insights. Their creativity was challenged – and they responded in unprecedented ways.

The struggle to implement the new strategy to secure a footprint in throughout Europe ahead of the competition took hold. New financial systems that had been on the drawing board for months began to actually be implemented in the business. Plans for how to best develop new skills needed for the strategy to succeed, suddenly took shape and were being acted on. Another all-too-common problem area with common approaches to change work were also remedied – issues caused by balls getting dropped in areas that used to be counted on as certain successes.

Making a list of the things to continue doing was completed in each work group. People who had sulked under the weight of the unceasing deluge of change work in the organization suddenly had more pep in their step when asked to pay attention to those things that weren’t going to change going forward. New previously untapped energy became available to the organization, and ultimately to the many change efforts that were still underway. Paying attention to continuity doesn’t mean ignoring change. It means bringing greater balance into conversations about how best to create your organization’s future.

Try the paradoxical path on your own and see what it does for you, your team, and your organization. Simply ask the question, “What have we done well in the past that we need to continue doing in the future?” Then start making that list. Pay attention to it. Celebrate it. Make sure you don’t drop these balls. Find ways to Pay Attention to Continuity and you’ll soon be on the path to successful change.

For more information on a "Power of Paradox" workshop for your organization, please click here to review the brochure for this program that involves lessons of leadership from below, part of which takes place on a submarine -- paradoxically the only ship built to sink!