ARE YOU LEADING CHANGE? HOW TO MOVE FROM COMPLEXIFY TO SIMPLIFY
Is there much change going on in your organisation?
If yes, as a leader do you need to get very involved in this?
Rhetorical questions.
Every organisation and every leader, whether they want to or not, are experiencing significant and ongoing change and the rate of change just keeps on accelerating. This is not news to you.
What I am noticing though, is that for many leaders it is quite confronting to have to continuously be the leader of change when there is so much of it. And it seems there is a tendency to ‘complexify’ things, rather than simplify them. This often leads to a sense of overwhelm for leaders and their people.
Not to mention the real success rate of change, where the change truly achieves the desired/required outcomes is still not high.
“
Real leadership is about transforming limitations into possibilities.
~Robin Sharma
”
So let’s try and simplify what you are facing.
In my experience it can be very useful to have a framework that helps you to chunk down the huge change and transformational work that you want to do. To focus on a simple approach and elements that mean you can take the first step, then the next step, and so on.
So here is my ‘keep it simple stupid’ approach to big change.
There are a number of elements involved, and some key questions to ask to help you develop your approach to leading change. Here is the outline of this strategic simplifying approach:
Why this change?
Where are you going?
What do you need to do to get there?
How? What are the capabilities you need to make this journey?
Who has the capability?
And finally, as the leader, you, how are you going to lead the change?
Let’s break it down into some questions that will get your thinking started for each of these core elements of change. Add further questions as appropriate, and build your approach to leading change.
- Why this change?
- Why now?
- What is the purpose of what you are doing?
- What are the benefits that are going to arise from it?
- What are the consequences?
- What are the impacts?
- What are the implications of not going ahead with the change?
- What is the burning platform for this change?
This is the why.
- Where are we going?
- What will it look like when we get there?
- What will it feel like when we get there?
- What will the experience be like?
So paint the picture of that destination you are heading towards.Where are we going?
- What do we need to do to get there?
- What are the major steps?
- What are the key milestones along the way on this journey?
- What is the pathway to where you are going?
This is about capability
- What is going to make it possible?
- What are the capabilities you need so you can go on this journey of change and be able to execute? Consider systems, process, people and policy.
- What will you need to be able to do to get where you are going, in service to the purpose of this change?
- Who are the people that need to be part of this?
- Who are the people that have these capabilities? Some will be in your organisation, some will be outside your organisation.
- How do you harness the people capability to apply to your change process?
You are the leader of this change. The catalyst of change if you like.
- What do you need?
- Who do you need to be to lead this change?
- How will you support yourself?
- What other support do you need?
- How will you stay the course?
- How will you maintain focus?
“
The task of a leader is to simplify. You should be able to explain where you need to go in two minutes.
~Jeroen Van Der Veer, Dutch Engineer and Businessman
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If you begin a significant change process by breaking it down into the core areas and start to reflect on some of these key questions (adding your own questions) it creates the opportunity to set up for success.
You create the space and opportunity to craft a vision and purpose, a pathway and a plan. Then to harness the people you need to be involved to get you on the journey of change, and to maintain and sustain that journey over the period of time it is going to take.
Change does not finish. We all need to figure out how to thrive in change. I believe anything you can make even more simple, becomes more supportable over the long term.
I’d love to know your thoughts.
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