My first time in New Orleans didn’t disappoint! The annual conference of the Association of Change Management Professionals was lively, friendly, and fun. Didn’t attend? Scroll down for my take on what was new and hot at the 2017 conference. Prefer visuals to text? See the Visual Dispatch at the bottom of the page.
Using findings from neuroscience to help guide change is still hot. Speaker Josh Davis of the NeuroLeadership Institute spoke to a jam-packed room about how our brains respond to threats. Change management professionals can minimize those threats with a little education and foresight.
Too many leaders choose the wrong tool for the problem at hand. Our infographic, “What’s Your Problem,” explains the four different types of problems leaders face. Once you’ve read it, you may be left thinking: OK, I know what kind of problem I have. What tool do I use?
In this post, we share over 100 tried-and-true problem-solving tools. These are effective and elegant methods that you can use to address the four types of problems.
Simple problems have easily seen cause and effect relationships. Your job is to assess the facts, categorize the facts, and then apply the appropriate best practice.
Problems come in many shapes and sizes. Some are small (“I can’t find space for my 2pm meeting”). Others are large (“I can’t get forty coalition members to agree on goals”). All have the capacity to drive you nuts, especially if you’re not solving problems using the right tools.
Once you find techniques that work, it’s tempting to use them over and over again. Maybe you’ve had great success using Gantt charts. You might like performance charting, root cause analysis, or group dialogue sessions. Perhaps business ecosystem maps rock your world.
Network maps make the invisible world of organizational transactions, relationships, and knowledge flows visible. But what can they actually accomplish for an organization?
We recently published two case studies based on our work with clients. Each case study shows how one client used network knowledge to advance their strategy.
In 2013, a new leader was hired to transform the Public & Governmental Affairs (PGA) division into a truly global organization. The leader realized that PGA needed to operate as a network. She used network thinking to guide development in the organization.
The sixth in the Tried & True Series: Trusted Models that Stand the Test of Time.
Three things. That’s all you really need to do to be a successful change leader.
It’s surprising to think that the job could be so easy. After all, managing people, especially during change, is complex and dynamic.
Master consultant Stephanie Nestlerode distills that complexity into three basic tasks:
It might sound simple, but don’t be fooled.
The fifth in the Tried & True Series: Trusted Models that Stand the Test of Time.
Improve likelihood of change success by 10%? Sounds good!
I’m a big fan of the work done by Grenny, Maxfield, and Shimberg on what makes change initiatives successful. According to their research, initiatives are ten times more likely to succeed when the change strategy includes at least four of six approaches.
The trick is to address both people’s motivation and their ability. It’s not enough to want to change. They also have to know how to change. And they can have all the knowledge in the world but, if they don’t want to change, they won’t.
The fourth in the Tried & True Series: Trusted Models that Stand the Test of Time.
Why can’t people just get with the program? They question, they challenge, they complain… and it’s all perfectly predictable and normal.
Transition is the emotional process people go through when adapting to a change in their world. It doesn’t matter if the change is positive, like having a new baby or getting promoted. People still have to let go of some parts of their life (perhaps the luxury of sleeping late!) and learn new things (how to change a diaper while half asleep).
The process is predictable, according to the work seminal done by organizational thinker and consultant William Bridges.
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.
Sign up to receive the Strategic Resilience set: assess whether your strategy is stuck in the 20th century and learn about the four questions you need to ask to shape your strategy.
By signing up, you'll join our low volume list and receive more free tools in the future. We’ll never share your information with anyone.
