SCARF Model: Anticipating Organization Stress

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SCARF Model Infographic

The third in the Tried & True Series: Trusted Models that Stand the Test of Time.

Have you ever felt that your life was in immediate danger? You might remember feeling a burst of adrenaline as your heart race, and you moved into action or froze in your tracks.

Research shows that other situations, in which there is no physical danger, can trigger a similar response. This “fight, flight, or freeze” response decreases the ability to plan, make rational decisions, and perceive subtle social and cognitive signals. Unfortunately, these skills are needed during organizational change—just when people are likely to be triggered.

Surviving Resistance to Change

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Resistance to Change Infographic

The second in the Tried & True Series: Trusted Models that Stand the Test of Time.

Most leaders encounter resistance to change. The resistance can take various forms. People can protest the implementation plan, the approach, your leadership, the font size used in change communications, and the decision to change in the first place.

This new infographic on resistance highlights the work of three masters. Rick Maurer’s Three Types of Resistance is a classic method of understanding why people resist and how to respond effectively. Ingrid Bens teaches us how to have conversations about resistance in ways that work. The late Herb Shepard’s teachings offer wisdom from his years of work with organizations.

Change Communications that Stick

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The first in the Tried & True Series: Trusted Models that Stand the Test of Time.

Some tools never lose their value. The hammer. The umbrella. The wheel. These tools have been around for centuries and we trust them.

We have similarly trustworthy, proven tools in the organizational world. The Tried & True series shares trusted models that stand the test of time in graphical form.

For our first set of models, we’ve culled through the thousands of tools available on change. We’ve chosen seven that we rely on because they consistently do the job. The first of our tools is the Five Levels of Communication.

The Change Journey

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The Change Journey Graphic

Organizations still struggle with change. After all our collective years of experience and learning about change, it's still hard.

Part of the challenge is that we still insist on using techniques that assume organizations are like machines. Get the right tool, technician, and process, and the results will follow.

4 Steps to Getting to Yes

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Entrepreneurs are always asking. We ask for resources, ideas, funding, partnerships, and so many other things. Our success depends on our ability to ask successfully. This post, recently published on Inc.com, reviews four steps to acing your next ask and getting to yes.

The Employees’ Wishlist: Three Things Employees Wish Managers Would Do

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Power of networks

Your employees need you. But not in the way you think.

Leadership is no longer about being the center of decision-making, expertise, and problem solving. Instead, today’s leaders work in such complex, variable environments that they simply can’t be as central as they have in the past. If they take on this role, they risk becoming bottlenecks and getting in the way of progress. Today’s leaders need to do things differently.

Can You Trust HR?

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When trouble is brewing, it is important to have a safe place to turn for support, advice, and counsel. The trouble might be your own, or you might have trouble with one of your direct reports. Sometimes, it’s not possible to turn to your own manager for such support, or you might just want to talk your thoughts and ideas through with someone before involving your manager. Your first stop is often HR—but can you trust HR?

In this new post, recently published on the American Management Association’s Playbook, Keli Trejo and I give you the 101 on working with HR.

Two Leadership Rules for the Networked World

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connect and clarify

We have a problem. Most of us are using old leadership techniques that no longer work.

Here’s a case in point. I met Cyrus a few years back. He was a manager who insisted on being involved in every decision that concerned his department. He was still living in the old world, where one person could keep up with all the decisions concerning their department. Not surprisingly, he received horrible performance ratings and burnt out quickly.

Leadership Rules for our Networked World

Today, in our flattened, hyper-paced world, leadership is no longer about commanding staff and controlling work. Instead, leaders are called upon to influence people who don’t report to them, direct higher-ranking employees, and gain commitment from people with little interest in their vision.

Three Notorious Networking Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

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Networking for Women

We need networks to be successful. But don’t make one of these notorious networking mistakes.

Have you ever had the feeling that you’re not networking correctly? You might be making one of these notorious networking mistakes. They’re some of the most common ways people undermine themselves while networking:

  • Networking in ways that don’t work for you,
  • Networking only for today, and
  • Forgetting that networking is a two-way street.

    • Read on to see if you’re making these mistakes and, if you are, how you can correct them.

    For more, visit this article, which was just posted on Inc.com!

    The Bottleneck Effect: Are You Getting In Your Own Way

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    If you’re the black hole in your department, consider how to leverage your network to get out of your way and get more done.

    Managers are responsible for product delivery, project implementation, new ideas, and service improvement. But all too often, things don’t go as planned. If you’re in this situation, you might gain feedback like this:

    • You’re not performing up to expectations
    • You need to do better
    • Brush up on your time management
    • Your staff lacks skills and knowledge
    • Your department is under-resourced

    You may have worked on this feedback without satisfying results.

    What do you do? Consider this: You might be getting in your own way.

    Is your strategy stuck in the 20th century?

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