Several years ago a mentor of mine said to me, To accomplish vision, change must occur in the organizational culture.
I’ve since learned that there are 2 types of change – only 2!
[Tweet “Change is at the core of leadership – if there is no change, there is no leadership.”]
I’ve been asked many times, How do you handle change? Since change is a constant in growing teams and organizations, I’ve found that change is best approached as an intriguing and energizing part of my work.
Effective leaders lead their teams to adopt the perspective that everything is an experiment. Many of our “experiments” work – some work wonderfully. Others that don’t succeed initially are tweaked and improved until we maximize the return-on-investment.
What I’m not saying
While change is at the core of leadership, everything and everyone doesn’t need to be changed. We’ve all seen or heard of a leader who came into an organization and made ill-advised changes which resulted in the loss of key personnel and millions of dollars in revenue.
Leaders should first ask, What is already in place and functioning well? Ask everyone at every level of the organization. Then invest heavily in what’s working.
Consider this – many organizations should allocate 80-90% of resources to initiatives that are already profitable or high performing and 10-20% of resources to innovation.
Incremental Change
An executive friend of mine offered – When I come into a new organization or department, I’m not interested in stepping on toes that don’t need to be stepped on. It’s important that we find out what our personnel at all levels think and develop an appropriate strategy together.
Incremental change:
- Occurs over time as a part of an organizations evolution and development
- Tends to be inclusive and collaborative
- Asks, What could be done better?
Radical Change
There are times when better is not enough. And when better is not enough the question becomes, What must be done differently?
Radical change:
- Brings dramatic alteration to teams and organizations
- Often occurs quickly
- Requires unwavering leadership
Some programs, processes, and products may need to be eliminated. Others may need to be launched. And leaders must have the courage to lead radical change.
So many live stagnant lives because they fear failure – the most common of all fears. To experience growth, we must be more afraid of missed opportunities than we are of failure. So go ahead – face the fear!
[Tweet “Your fears lose power when you confront them.”]
Life’s greatest memories are often discovered in the biggest challenges we face. And instead of fearing these opportunities to grow, we can embrace the change with energy and passion.
Never allow fear to keep you from growing. It won’t always be easy to lead change, but it will always be worth it!
Question: Which type of change has been most effective for you, your team, or your organization? Why? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Personally, I am sure the most effective change that should lead to an effective and fruitful results, are the personal changes that I would need to embrace, which is directly impacting my life and changing me first. Once this change process is in place, all other changes and changing others may follow. But first , I need to change myself.If and when I can change myself, then I will be able to change others. I have witnessed the impact of this personal transformation first hand, and thank God, it works..
Great thoughts! We can only change ourselves, but by doing so we can inspire and encourage others to grow as well. Have a great weekend!
I could not agree more, especially the part about changing in small increments. the importance of this is very fundamental. People do not like change and will reject if it is forced upon them in large drastic doses. The second is testing, Everything must be tested in such a way that changing course will not be detrimental to what is already working. Great story, very well written.
Thanks! Well said!
“Consider this – many organizations should allocate 80-90% of resources to initiatives that are already profitable or high performing and 10-20% of resources to innovation.”
I enjoyed the article. Curious about this line. – Is this number personal experience or the result of a study? It sounds like a solid figure, just curious how you came to it.
Great question, Jeremy. It’s anecdotal based on our experience. The coaching firm that I work with coaches executives in numerous industries from small business to Fortune 500 companies.
Thanks Michael. I’m going to bring it to one of the teams I work with in their weekly planning meeting. I think it’s a great idea to challenge our thinking and processes in a positive way. – appreciated
Perfect. I love your site, by the way – great content and presentation!
I guess we all probably think they’re a work in progress forever, but I really do appreciate that you checked it out and the kind words!
Have a great week!
Good point, David.
Incremental change—I’m a small church pastor, and it’s like working with blown glass: you work slowly, methodically, and only when the conditions are right. Otherwise, you break the whole thing and have to clean up the pieces.
Great analogy, Doug. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Michael,
Quite enjoyed this post especially, the last section. I embrace change because I have learned that change brings opportunity and, has been worth ‘whatever I had to face’ (fear). You put into words what I have learned.
To address your question, my experience is that incremental change is more successful. Radical change tends to be more command and control and thus requires that we fully trust the people that are leading us though the change. To be successful it requires strong leadership (unwavering as you have stated) that can communicate a vision of the company where each employee understands and accepts his/her responsibility in achieving the vision.
Agree fully with Tom that regardless of the type of change, change management needs to be implemented from the beginning.
Rgds,
Diana
Thanks for the thoughtful response, Diana. I agree with you and Tom.
I’ve been involved in three huge system implementations (SAP) which are the definition of RADICAL change. The key has been change management at all levels to manage the project. Big changes don’t have to by scary – but there are always a group of people who resist first and ask questions later!
I’ve had similar experiences, Tom. And it’s great to watch people “get it” along the way.
Incremental change has been the key we’ve used. We’ve found people are pretty adverse to radical change and would rather have it come little by little.
I’ve found the same to be true, although there have been a few tines when our teams recognized the need for radical change.
Good Stuff Mike.
Thanks my friend!