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The team’s feedback indicated that I had room for improvement on “Leading & Managing Change” (rated 3.5 on a 5-point scale) with the following write-in comments:
- You implemented a fair amount of change when you became manager. While I believe you stayed connected with the people, the work itself was not ‘managed’ well. Expectations and priorities were not really established based on the number of capability of the resources, leading to frustration in the office.
- Brady could pace the level of change he wants to implement so that its doable and sustainable.
- Can add too many projects/assignments for the office without having enough resources or a good plan for follow-through.
As a result of that feedback, I took the American Management Association’s course on “Planning & Managing Organizational Change.” From the course, some of my key takeaways included:
- Understand the type of change being implemented and whether or not it can be implemented quickly or slowly. I recognize now that I was attempting to implement some changes quickly in the organization that needed the “crock pot” approach.
- Assess the organization’s readiness for change. AMA provided a “Change Readiness Assessment” tool, which is valuable to me now.
- When soliciting input from across the team in 1-on-1 sessions (which I did), make sure you follow-up one-on-one with individuals to let them know why their particular feedback was used in the final decision/plan or why it was not (which I didn’t do).
I shared this learning with the team while I was on a one-year development assignment in Washington, D.C. because I knew they would be apprehensive about my return to the organization. I think it’s important for leaders to hear input from their people, make adjustments, and move forward…
To further enhance my “Leading Change” skills, I picked up a copy of William Bridges’ classic on Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change (2003). Let me share a few highlights from that book. He points out that it’s not often the changes that do you in as leader, it’s the transitions. Bridges describes three phases of managing transition:
- Ending: Letting go of the old ways and old identity. This is the time leaders help people deal with losses. Transition starts with an ending…
- Neutral Zone: In-between time when old is gone but new isn’t fully operational
- New Beginning: New sense of purpose that makes change work
Bridges emphasizes that to help people let go, leaders must give them information, and do it again & again. They must define what’s over and what isn’t, treating the past with respect but marking the endings.
Leaders must pay attention to the neutral zone. Oftentimes, we can get caught up in the excitement of the new vision that we don’t manage the neutral zone well…and we end up losing some critical employee engagement in the process…
How are you managing transitions for yourself and your organization?
As for me, I’ll continue to shoot for the stars!