surviving change strengthening our ability to survive ( and thrive on) organisational change

Surviving Change

Strengthening Our Ability to Survive (and Thrive on) Organisational Change

Transcript: Radio conversation of a US naval ship with Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October, 1995.

Americans: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.Canadians: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.Americans: This is the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln the second largest ship in the United States' Atlantic FleetWe are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels. I demand that YOU change your course 15 degrees north, that's one five degrees north, or countermeasures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.Canadians: This is a Lighthouse. Your call.

Our Learning Objectives

1. Define resilience and its importance in an age of uncertainty

2. Describe the emotional roller-coaster of change

3. Identify the characteristics that enable someone to be resilient

4. Assess your RQ (Resilience Quotient) 5. Develop resilience in yourself and support its

development in others

It’s a VUCA World!!

V.U.C.A.

• VOLATILE• UNCERTAIN• AMBIGUOUS• COMPLEX

Insert change slidesThe Context for Change

EnvironmentalShifts

Customers

Competitors

Stakeholders

Economy

Government

Technology

Society

EnvironmentalShifts

Customers

Competitors

Stakeholders

Economy

Government

Technology

Society

THE WHYTHE WHAT

Organisational Responses

Strategy

Structures

Mission

Products

Services

Practices

Technology

THE HOW

Personal Implications

Roles

Responsibilities

Methods

Thinking

Values

Behaviours

Belgard, Fisher & Rayner Inc

Change Equation

Where

A = dissatisfaction with the present

B = a shared vision and shared aims

C = capacity to change

D = capability to change

E = first steps

F = organisational inertia/resistance to change

A x B x C x D x E > F

Beckhard and Gleicher

Reasons for Resistance

• Fear of Loss• Previous bad

experiences• Approach being taken• WIIFM?• Not convinced• Disempowering

• Fear of Failure• Lack of conference• Peer pressure • Attachment to the

status quo• Complacency• Too complex• Management wants it

Attitudes to Change

MissionariesBelieversPeople whopay Lip Service

Hiders andRefugees

Members of theUnderground

Resistance

HonestOpponents

Emigrants

Learning, acceptance & commitment

Enquiry, experimentation &

discovery

Fear, anger & resistance

Comfort & Control

Chaos

Looking Forward

Looking Backward

Stability

The Journey Through Change

After Leading Change model from Change Basics, Jeff and Linda Russell, (ASTD Press, 2006)

As we (individually and organisationally) move from stability to chaos , there is a greater need for resilience

Energy internally focused Energy externally focused

Holding on - Fighting disintegration Letting go

Moving on – re-integration

Shock

Denial

Turbulence and blame

Experimenting

Discovery and learning

Optimism and hope

Minimise shock; communicate intentions

Be patient; discuss implications& observe reactions

Listen, empathise, support, protect; don’t personalise

Get closure: rituals; create goals; coach

Encourage risk taking; give feedback; develop people

Evaluate and recognise progress; celebrate; prepare to move on

Reasons for failure

1. Too much complacency

2. Absence of leadership3. No vision4. Poor communication5. Fear of confrontation6. No short terms wins7. Ending too soon8. Ignoring the culture

John Kotter

Change is personal – it’s about YOU!

1. Capacity to learn

2. Power and influence

3. Role effectiveness

Roger Plant

Human Nature• We want control over

our lives. • Self-confidence and

psychological health results from stable and effective relationships with others.

• Our sense of control, comfort, and well-being being results from the degree of certainty we have about our life.

• Change disrupts our ability to predict what’s in store for us.

• The greater the change, the greater our confusion, fear, anxiety and self-doubt.

• Resilience enables us to survive, even thrive, on the challenges posed by a changing environment.

You respond to any storm the way you train

95% behaviour is unconscious

5% behaviour is conscious choice

Energy

“the capacity for vigorous activity; available power;

an adequate or abundant amount of such power the ability to act,

lead others, effect, etc., forcefully; the capacity to do work;”

Great Leadership is Renewing Energy

Energy is finite

Great Leadership is Renewing Energy

1. We must manage our energy more than our time

2. Growth follows energy investment – where do you want to be extraordinary?

3. We give life to what we give our energy to – what are you creating?

TYPES OF ENERGY

Physical

Spiritual

Emotional

Mental

Quantity - greatest

Quality - highest

Focus - clearest

Force - strongest

How deep is your well?

Resilience …

• What does it mean to be resilient? • Why is resilience important in an age of

uncertainty? – To us as individuals? – To our organizations?

What Enabled Your Resilience?

a) Reflect upon a time in your life that you found especially challenging and stressful . . .

b) What specific capacities within you that enabled you to work through the trauma, rise above the turmoil and stress, and emerge as a stronger person.

Resilience is a Mindset …• Resilience is less about who we are than about how

we think. • Our mindsets or “mental models” directly influence

and shape how we view the world and how we view ourselves in the world.

• This view of self, in turn, influences how we respond (our behaviours) to adversity and stress — with a healthy/productive response or an unhealthy/unproductive response

• The strength of our resilience mindset and the force of our behaviours enable us to, in turn, to influence or shape our environment.

Dimensions of Resilience

1. Feel Self-Assured 2. Create a Personal Vision3. Be Flexible 4. Get Organized 5. Be Able to Solve Problems 6. Be Socially Competent 7. Get Connected 8. Be Proactive

Self Assured

Purpose

Adaptable

Organised

Problem Solver

Interpersonal

Connected

Proactive

0 5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

Developing Resilience in Yourself and Others . . .

• What actions or new ways of thinking can you take/embrace to strengthen your resilience?

• How might you help others strengthen their resilience?

Strengthening Your Resilience

• Know what’s important to you — define your personal vision and your core values

• Reframe your mental models — challenge your assumptions about yourself and others

• Identify what you can change/influence and what you can’t and focus on what you can influence

• Assume a “can do, can do,” proactive attitude • Take care of yourself — mentally and

physically • Reach out to others — find new connections

and strengthen existing • Create/build a discipline that gives you the

structure/stability/order you need

Strengthening Your Resilience

Helping Others StrengthenTheir Resilience . . .

• Remind people what ISN’T changing • Increase opportunities for social connections • Increase communication about the coming

changes/challenges • Shift grousing and whining toward problem solving • Listen to their anxieties and fears • Acknowledge their losses • Engage staff in developing a shared vision of a

realistically optimistic future

• Encourage a healthy work/life balance • Hold “brown bag” seminars on health, wellness,

stress management, taking care of yourself, etc. • Promote EAP (employee assistance program) services• Explain the “whys” of the of the change/challenges • Celebrate the little victories along the way • Keep the team together • Break problems/challenges into bite-size pieces

Helping Others StrengthenTheir Resilience . . .

Change is inevitable, growth is optional . . . . . .

(Resilient people choose growth)

www.annemcmurray.com

anne@annemcmurray.com