Motivating ChangeAfter spending the past few weeks in this class I have learned quite a bit in regards to what it takes to move from good to great and often that involves a change. There are ways to communicate changes effectively and ineffectively. There is a way to speak to particular audiences depending upon their age and job function. There are also many ways to not communicate change. My studies have forced me to reflect on the leaders of my past and think about the proper ways not only to lead in a time of change but how to communicate as well. First, I want to touch on the leaders of my past to set the basis for my opinion. I want to relate their actions to what I have learned and then speak about the makings of effective communication in a time of change.
I started with the task of changing an organization. I had to think about the history of the organization, get it right together, and develop in the beginning. Then, the leaders of that organization spoke about the organization and they became increasingly aware of my changes and I was asked to talk to them about what the organization had learned from me in the past. In some cases I asked them whether I really liked the leadership position, the organization’s leadership style, and if it was more like the way they worked.
However, I knew I wanted to change the organization for its needs and to get people engaged and to make it a better place. In that way, I had no reason to change the way I knew it, only to ask them to change me. My changes were not as effective as the ones I was doing with other people on this team. I started by adding in some of the things that I consider to be the best things I have ever done and by building from the top down and making them the ones I feel they are needed for. I also wanted to go deeper into a question and learn what I don’t now understand at the time the question is presented. I found that a lot of it came down to a problem I had about organizational design, the idea that organizations create their own roles and should be responsible for their own needs and they cannot have the leadership of individual people making the decisions for them. That approach of simply stating your priorities is one that has to change. I learned a lot about this problem when speaking to others in this program and when talking with others myself. It changed my attitude.
There is something called “The Master Plan.” The idea is that you have to set something up so that when you change the direction, this will all be done with purpose. I am not saying you’ll have to have the whole system set up and set a number to say exactly what needs to change. It is also important to tell yourself: What will be our goal in working with and how we plan to accomplish these goals. I am asking you to consider when you set the goal and what is important to do. Is your new goal to bring people of all different skills, abilities (from the past), and experience, and to improve their skills and abilities while also creating a plan based on what’s important to you? I hope you can see that I’m asking you to give real understanding of not just our goals, but also our mindsets. I hope you can help us to identify weaknesses in our plans for what needs to be improved.
We know that you have to follow a strategy of not being too big in your priorities. This is why the first stage of change has a way of being larger. Sometimes you feel good, but you make things worse. Sometimes you are tired or frustrated, you feel like it must be hard, or you feel like you need help. That said, it is important that you keep some things on track and not worry too
I started with the task of changing an organization. I had to think about the history of the organization, get it right together, and develop in the beginning. Then, the leaders of that organization spoke about the organization and they became increasingly aware of my changes and I was asked to talk to them about what the organization had learned from me in the past. In some cases I asked them whether I really liked the leadership position, the organization’s leadership style, and if it was more like the way they worked.
However, I knew I wanted to change the organization for its needs and to get people engaged and to make it a better place. In that way, I had no reason to change the way I knew it, only to ask them to change me. My changes were not as effective as the ones I was doing with other people on this team. I started by adding in some of the things that I consider to be the best things I have ever done and by building from the top down and making them the ones I feel they are needed for. I also wanted to go deeper into a question and learn what I don’t now understand at the time the question is presented. I found that a lot of it came down to a problem I had about organizational design, the idea that organizations create their own roles and should be responsible for their own needs and they cannot have the leadership of individual people making the decisions for them. That approach of simply stating your priorities is one that has to change. I learned a lot about this problem when speaking to others in this program and when talking with others myself. It changed my attitude.
There is something called “The Master Plan.” The idea is that you have to set something up so that when you change the direction, this will all be done with purpose. I am not saying you’ll have to have the whole system set up and set a number to say exactly what needs to change. It is also important to tell yourself: What will be our goal in working with and how we plan to accomplish these goals. I am asking you to consider when you set the goal and what is important to do. Is your new goal to bring people of all different skills, abilities (from the past), and experience, and to improve their skills and abilities while also creating a plan based on what’s important to you? I hope you can see that I’m asking you to give real understanding of not just our goals, but also our mindsets. I hope you can help us to identify weaknesses in our plans for what needs to be improved.
We know that you have to follow a strategy of not being too big in your priorities. This is why the first stage of change has a way of being larger. Sometimes you feel good, but you make things worse. Sometimes you are tired or frustrated, you feel like it must be hard, or you feel like you need help. That said, it is important that you keep some things on track and not worry too
In the past I have found myself working with leaders that were of the “Hem” or the “Haw” mentality from the book “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson. This leader does not have the ability to make a decision with clear focus or big picture mentality to move from “Good to Great” as the book by Collins outlines. They are the person that second guesses every potential decision and has a fear of change, therefore cannot implement it with a clear plan. The “Hem” or the “Haw” in my opinion is not a good candidate for a leader in the first place but sometimes they are put in the leadership role and must manage a change process in an organization. This leader does not have the ability to motivate the employee because they clearly lack the focus it takes to move forward in the right direction of success. To be a leader with the ability to move and change a company from good to great you must have a “just do it” type of mentality it is just in you to see things and keep moving. You are self-motivated to move forward at all costs for the greater goal or win, you are okay with changing to get where you need to be. One manager I had was unsure of his actions, and lacked the ability to have focus. He knew he had to do something, but feared the changes and potential for ups and downs along the road to success. As a team the employees that worked under this manager learned to then ask questions about the verbal changes the manager gave in email format to hold him accountable for the direction before acting on changes. This was not an effective way to get changes moving in an organization, there was a complete lack of trust. This caused an overall lack of motivation, stunted employee morale and did not take that group into the world of greatness. I also worked for another leader that lived by the wait and see approach before implementing a change. He admitted that the economy was tanking, knew we would need to adjust but refused to plan or change. He was unable to show the group that he understood and accepted the risks of not changing. If my manager had the foresight that Corky Walgreen did as it was pointed out in the book “Good to Great” by Collins he would have had