When presented with new challenges or opportunities people often say something like, “I’ll get to that when things settle down.” No, they won’t. That response generally means they’re more focused on the now and not embracing the future. They’re like still water. Successful organizations, teams, and individuals are in a constant state of change. They’re like rippling water.
There are lots of good reasons why organizations, teams, and individuals don’t change. Fear of the unknown is a common reason cited. People are often in a comfort zone where their desire to change is outweighed be whatever is holding them back. They’re stuck. They need a rippler.
Say, for example, there’s a new system being implemented at a workplace. The old system has been in place for many years, and a common lament from team members is, “it works just fine.” For them to leave their comfort zone and embrace the new unknown system something special needs to happen. Most importantly they need to see movement towards the new system by their leaders and their teammates. They need to see the ripples of change. That’s not an easy thing to create but it can be done. Its called change management.
There are many change management theories and methodologies. They are generally grounded in social science and are often both academically pure and commercially successful. Many PhD’s have been earned answering questions about change management and many consulting fees have been paid for helping to manage the people side of change. One common theme seems to be that someone needs to start the change wave which is sometimes referred to as change sponsorship. The higher up the organizational hierarchy, the better the impact of change sponsorship, but it needs to start somewhere. Someone needs to drop a pebble in the still water and make the water move for others to notice. That’s when their desire to participate in the change increases, and generally that’s when they begin to “get it and get with it.” There needs to be a rippler.
So, ask yourself, when it comes to change are you a rippler? If you think you might be, then consider learning more about change and change management. There are many great resources available to help you become a change manager. Dr. John Kotter developed a highly regarded change process as did Jeffrey Hiatt and Tim Creasy who founded a research and training organization dedicated to change management. Check out their stuff. Maybe you’ll become a (better) rippler!
Jules Fauteux 