Who Rocked the Boat?

Leaders who are adept at storytelling can help employees navigate disruptive change.

Storytelling is a reliably effective method for conveying the principles, practices and upheavals?that affect people and organizations. Though major changes usually feel?tumultuous and unpleasant, they follow a consistent pattern. Understanding how that?process of change unfolds will help?you manage transitions in various circumstances, whether you’re leading a company, taking?charge of a team or forging a new direction in?life.

“Change success isn’t simply a rigidly followed process or communication plan; it’s first about people.”

Acknowledging how change unfolds makes you less likely?to blame others for “rocking the boat” and creating chaos.Finding fault is counter-productive. Successful change occurs when people?commit to collaborate on?an effective strategy for the shifting currents?ahead.

In this parable, a crisis upsets a serene voyage.

The captain and his mates?were enjoying?calm waters?and pleasant surroundings as they floated down the river aboard their?ship Results. They needed?to navigate?past a mountain to reach their destination and unload their cargo. The crew members had been together for a while and knew each other’s tendencies.?Move, the engineer, kept the steam engine functioning smoothly. Chief Mate Minimize was in charge of the cargo. Resist,?the second mate, focused on safety. Wait, a deckhand, helped wherever he was needed. And the twin brothers?Quits and Quit took turns piloting the ship.

“Everyone expected a smooth journey – the waterway was gentle, the scenery pleasant, and the skies clear and comforting.”

The ever-energetic?Move?thought the uneventful journey provided a good opportunity for the crew to brush up on?their skills and “learn something new.”? Resist objected to working harder for the same money.?Quits agreed with Resist, saying it wasn’t worth adding stress to an easy trip.

Each person will have an individual reaction to change.

Suddenly, the river’s current sped?up, and the crew heard a loud rumbling. The captain, suspecting a waterfall ahead, ordered everyone to put on their life jackets.?

The?crew members each had different reactions to the crisis.?Move started shoveling more coal into the boilers, hoping to arrive at the waterfall sooner to savor?the excitement. Minimize preferred doing the least he could and waited to see how events unfolded. Resist wanted to stop, frightened that the waterfall could wreck the ship.

“Before they could swing the boat around, the swift current pulled them into a rushing, churning rapid.”

Quits wished everyone luck, jumped into the water and swam for shore. Quit wasn’t sure if the jungle was a safer alternative. Instead of following his brother overboard, he retreated from the helm and grasped?the rail. When he told the captain he saw no point in steering in the swirling water, the captain took the wheel.

The good ship Results plunges?into unchartered waters

The ship plunged down the waterfall and crashed into a pool of water below. Some crew members flew overboard into the river. Those still onboard threw life preserves to the crew members who were swimming.?Results?stayed afloat, drifting with the current despite having suffering serious?damage. Resist asked the captain what they should do. The captain reassured everyone by explaining with confidence that they could overcome this unexpected challenge together. Move welcomed the opportunity, but his shipmates didn’t share his enthusiasm.

“I know this is not what any of us expected, but we’ll figure it out together.”

When the ship came to rest on the beach, Minimize proposed searching along the shore to see where the large pool became a river again. The captain explained the cargo had to go back up the mountain and then to port.

Quit didn’t care if the cargo spoiled. He wanted to get out of there.?Resist, full of sarcasm, mocked the idea of “magically” sailing the ship up the cliff. The captain asked Wait why the crew was reluctant to climb the rock wall. Wait explained that in every crisis he’d ever been through, everyone offers big ideas, but despite all the talk, no one ever worked with anyone else.

The captain spoke with the other crew members. Each had different concerns, but, ultimately, they all wanted to follow a well-designed plan that wouldn’t waste their time. After discussing available options, the captain proposed taking Results apart and transporting?the pieces up the mountain.?Minimize thought the idea had merit and envisioned a pulley system to make the job easier.?Quit and Resist believed it was impossible, yet they conceded that the crew?had no other course.

The situation weighs heavily on the crew’s minds and bodies.

The plan called for the crew to dismantle the ship, and then?build ladders and climb to the top of the waterfall with the necessary parts for constructing a winch, which they would use to pull all the parts to the top. Then,?they would reassemble the ship, put it back in the river and resume their journey.?The task was daunting and grueling, especially when the group?began scaling the mountain and searching for?suitable places to fasten the ladders.?They eventually reached the top, but they discovered, after assembling the pulley, that they weren’t strong enough to lift?the loads.

“It turned out, much to their dismay, that Quit had been right all along. The parts were too heavy.”

Quit couldn’t resist the urge to tell the crew he had predicted this failure. Move chose to look at the positives. He believed?the entire crew?deserved credit for getting this far. The captain concurred. When they gave the situation a little more thought,?the crew saw that their problem-solving skills had improved.?Buoyed by?new feelings of confidence, they?decided to repurpose?the ship’s steam engine?to power the pulley. They were strong enough to hoist the boiler parts to the top, assemble the pieces and begin the conversion.

“The captain smiled, noting it had been some time since they had a win like that. A very long time, in fact.”

The crew yelled in delight and exchanged high-fives when the steam engine began easily turning the pulley. They made repeated trips?up and down the rock face to retrieve their ladders.?The captain had underestimated the difficulty of scaling the cliff, but the crew’s unified effort worked.

The crew scales new heights with an innovative solution.

Everyone was in a celebratory mood. The captain complimented each crew member on his individual ideas, efforts and contributions. Everyone sought to figure out the best way to proceed.?Quit thought they should leave some cargo behind. Move thought he could modify the engines to produce more power. A speedier ship on a river with twists and turns was a bad idea, said Resist. The captain agreed, adding that perhaps they could somehow circumvent the river.

“What an amazing crew you are! It’s great to be back on track, but we sure lost a lot of time.”

What about an airship? Wait wondered. The captain looked over the piles of parts on the grass and saw the possibilities. With a few modifications, he thought, the crew could build a ship that flew instead of floating.?They fashioned the sails into a balloon, set up the boilers to heat the air in the balloon for liftoff, repositioned the propellors and used the rudders as fins. The ship rose up as Quit, standing at the helm, turned the craft toward its destination. The crew had demonstrated?resiliency, teamwork and innovation. Now they were soaring.

Change provides fertile ground for discussion and?contemplation

The story of the good ship?Results and its crew offers an opportunity to discuss and contemplate the effects of?change on?individuals, teams and organizations. Use the following prompts to explore your personal feelings about change:

• Think of a change you’ve undergone. Were you responsible for placing your boat in the water or were you reacting to an external factor?
• How do you picture?your change scenario after you scale the cliff??
• Do you have the motivation to reach the top?
• What would make the climb more palatable or possible?
• Which reaction among the crew members most closely resembles your likely reaction in a similar situation?
• Does your reaction make you comfortable or uncomfortable?
• If you were on the beach, what concerns would you have expressed to the captain?

The prompts below will provide insight into change from a team and organizational perspective:

• What feels comfortable and reliable about your normal “river routine?” What aspects of this change journey seem?stagnant and boring? Will the proposed changes in the operation address those issues?
• Who is in your boat, and who will experience?change? Are?any upper-level administrators going on the journey? Could any of them assist in scaling the cliff?
• Do you have everything you need?to climb the rock face? What other resources could you use?
• Are well-informed?about the journey? What five questions could you ask?the captain that would help him lead?the crew successfully?

Identifying?predictable patterns and reactions can lessen?stress.

The voyage of Results depicts the typical patterns and stages of transformational change.?Change is not ambiguous; it's?predictable. That means you can familiarize?yourself with?the process, and that will enable?you to formulate and execute a solid?plan to enable healthy, productive change.?Understanding change allows?you to “preempt fear” and devise a successful strategy.

“While change is a constant and driving force, it doesn’t have to be a mystery.”

Change is necessary for progress. Although everyone experiences change differently, the following reactions are the most common:

• “Move” – Embraces change and enthusiastically dive?into action.
• “Minimize” – Isn’t a change proponent?and won’t go beyond what’s expected of him or her.
• “Wait” – Hesitates to act until others begin changing.
• “Resist” – Doesn’t favor?change. Encourages others, in public or privately, to fight any new course.?
• “Quit” – Leaves the situation or stays and doesn’t participate.

The captain, or leader, must fight the temptation to regard?change as a regimented process he or she must?march?the team through with maximum efficiency. People should always be the leader's number one?priority, whether you’re dealing with your reactions or guiding others through change and toward a goal.?

Chart a path toward a new way of thinking.

The “Change Model” describes the four transitional stages, or zones, of change. With this knowledge, you can identify your current position and know better what to expect moving?forward:

• “Status Quo” – You’re comfortable with your daily routine, though change is around the corner. Now is the ideal time to plan for the disturbance?that is coming up.
• “Disruption” – You’re heading down the waterfall toward chaos and unfamiliarity. You?wonder?what’s happening and why.
• “Adoption” – Things are different now. You’ll need to make major adjustments to regain your footing. Your efforts may come up short, but you must keep pressing forward to find solutions.
• “Innovation” – You achieve?equilibrium and open?your mind to new, exciting possibilities. You adapt and embrace unconventional thinking. You are a successful change agent.