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One significant aspect of a successful manager is the ability to “change people’s minds.” Oh, it would be nice if employees in the manager’s business unit just followed instructions, directions and assignments without the slightest question or resistance. Not gonna happen. With the diversity of employee make-up and the generational variance between managers and members of the team, there is much persuasion to be done.

The ability to communicate changes and modifications in how employees think and act requires a number of relevant skills. Managers who master these skills and techniques will be in a much better position to execute and develop the business unit.

 1. Communication. It all starts with the ability to craft the “change communication”, whether for individuals or fro groups that are clear, precise, supported by facts and unequivocal. the manager must have 100% buy-in to the change required.

 2. Testing the Hypothesis. Where important change must take place, whether in the work or direction of the business unit, a shake-up in staffing or company re-orgaization, the manager must make the compelling case. One of the most effective methods to achieve this is to use a technique that scientists refer to as  “falsification.” It’s a fancy word for comparing the current situation or plan to the new change or direction that the business unit needs to make going forward.

This process starts by establishing the basis for what constitutes the “best solution.” Then, the current way of doing things and the new change way are compared to the best solution hypothesis and the change should prove out. The current way of doing things should prove false when compared to the case for change.

What the skilled manager is seeking is the opening up of minds and guiding people to accept the rationale for the change or need to change. This “buying in” to the change that must take place is a mental and emotional channel that each employee on the team must work through. The goal is to present the change-case in such a clear and compelling way that the mind-set  of the employees becomes, “You have presented a very good case for why the change is needed and the new direction seems a solid course of action. I am seeing why this is needed and I will need to adapt to the need for change.”

Bringing about this “buy-in” for both the Need to change and the new Course of action is just not easy. People resist change. People are human and any significant change is painful. Frankly, absolute necessity for people to change and adapt to a necessary new direction, to modify or shift their mind-set, can be very frustrating for the manager to bring about. Employees are absolutely thinking, “how will this affect me or what’s in it for me to make this change.” People are frightened of change. If employees have been around for very long, they have already gone through a number of changes brought down on them from above. It is not unusual for people to think, “oh, here we go again, another new program from management!”

The pressure on companies to change and evolve in order to stay viable and deliver ever increasing value to customers is almost relentless in today’s fractured economic environment. Company leaders are not always right. Previous changes may have gone wrong or not worked out. People are skeptical and resistant. The new plans, programs or organizational modifications will always go through a period of uncertainty and confusion. It takes time to bring about the change and only time will tell if the change is right or if modifications and revisions will need to be made. The results of change are the ultimate test. Reality, goals met or not, profits created or not, budgets met or not, customers created or not, are examples of the standards of reality for whether the change was successful or not.

Given that there are few if any absolute guarantees that the “latest big idea from senior management” will work, the real work is in creating the willingness of people to change or go in the new direction. It all starts with uncertainty. The manager must recognize the uncertainty and skepticism and build the best case for the need to change. You build the case as completely and clearly as possible. You create the “criteria” that both the existing situation and the change situation are compared to (the “falsification test”). The manager presents the case with complete command of all the issues and with the vision and commitment to re-position people’s thinking. Then, the manager works closely, and frankly, tirelessly, on getting the behaviors needed to bring about the change.

Change May Require More Than You Bargained For

Change management is now at the height of its life cycle. It is much discussed and sought after by companies both large and small. I often wonder, though, if all the implications of the change process are fully appreciated by those embarking on the journey of change.

The Prerequisites for Change

The fundamentals of the process rest upon a strategic understanding of where the host company wants to be in the next five years or so. Such a view must emanate from a profound understanding of both the external and internal environments. It requires paying attention to far more than the technical adaptations that are imperative for survival and competitive advantage. It requires a deeper understanding of the adaptive changes that must be made on the part of the leadership as well as at all levels within the organization. It requires that management ask itself uncomfortable questions about its role and the role of others in the organization. It demands tolerance for a high level of stress. It causes previously concealed conflicts and unproductive behaviors to be exposed. Above all, it requires the ability to deal with a high degree of uncertainty in a constructive, creative and productive manner.

How Do You Maintain Stability While You ‘Rock the Boat’?

The normal functioning of the organization cannot stop while everything is changed. The economic viability of the organization must be ensured, while change is being implemented at the deepest and most fundamental levels: the attitudes, expectations, roles and reward systems of an organization. There are no ‘quick fixes’ here. The process is long-term and will not succumb to pressure. Attempts to compress the change process into a shorter span of time will only result in the breakdown of present systems when the new ones are not yet in place. No doubt such radical changes can be made, but it really means totally closing down one entity and starting a completely new one. This, however, will only work if the leaders of the organization have undergone sufficient change in their own behaviors so as to beget a significantly different organizational entity. Maintaining stability while managing change is probably one of the most difficult leadership challenges. It requires walking the ‘razor’s edge’ between sustaining the appropriate degree of pressure to change, while offering support and opportunities to release pressure.

Change Means Putting People in Charge of Their Futures

The change process requires that management listen to front-liners with a different mind-set. It is all too easy to dismiss or squash criticism when we are at the top of the power-pyramid. It is, however, true that it is the front-liner who gets first wind of changes in the external environment and also of effectiveness of internal systems and management capabilities. Very often it is those who are most critical and those who dare to speak up that have the most promise of becoming leaders. Ironically, it is precisely these individuals who become most frustrated because they are constantly bringing up issues that top managers prefer to ignore because the subjects are uncomfortable or because the issues addressed threaten the established equilibrium of the company, or because the subjects broached cause some of the concealed conflicts between managers to surface. These persons, if they have the genuine good of the company at heart, or if they happen to be experts in the field they are critiquing, can become so unhappy if consistently ignored that the company eventually looses them to competitors. People at lower levels in the organization must be involved in the change process if it is to succeed.

The Vital Steps

The vital steps of any change process involve intensive communication, coaching and supporting and training in new techniques and systems. Communication is probably the most fundamental concept of the change process. Without sustained exchange of information on all organizational planes, change will be derailed or limited to a very small group of persons who do communicate. Communication is the key to keeping the change process on the rails and moving to the desired destination. The other basic requirement for success in any change process is training and development of persons at all levels of the organization without exception. This training and development, referred to from here on as education, can take a number of forms ranging from the very subtle process of educating through meeting and chatting to formal training and development modules. Without such sustained support in the acquisition of new skills, the change program will collapse because people will find the new ways too hard. Change must be facilitated by continuous and supportive communication and a climate that encourages learning as part of daily work life.

Conclusion

When you embark on the journey of change remember to take your entire workforce along with you. Some will undoubtedly excuse themselves and not complete the journey, but those who do will emerge much stronger and more united than when they started out. The leader must keep sight of the big picture and take the responsibility of guiding to the end.

These are certainly tough times to be running an organization of any kind. Chances are regardless of your business, financial pressures have taken a toll. And the future is anything but clear. That’s the new normal, as uncomfortable as it may seem.

In tough economic times, staff training is frequently a function that is eliminated. On the surface that makes sense because the cut may be easier to absorb there than something more directly related to the organization’s mission or goals. However, this is a very short-term view. Many leaders are really good budget-balancers but thinking long term and understanding a strategy to continue to grow, even in tough economic times is a taller order, but an important one nonetheless. Why is it that even in tough economic times, some organizations continue to grow while others go into hibernation. Here are some reasons why staff training could keep you growing.

1. You can do more with less. What better time is there to make sure that employees are learning new skills? Depending on your business, better trained employees might mean fewer employees or lower levels of supervision.

2. Training reduces turnover. In nearly every study ever done, staff training is the one event which universally reduces staff turnover. And we all know about the costs of staff turnover. It makes perfect sense. Offering training reminds employees that the organization is committed to their growth, resulting in increased feelings of loyalty. Actually, this factor alone could make staff training programs pay for themselves.

3. Training develops “bench strength.” If you have done a good job of staff training and development it will save you thousands of dollars in recruitment over the next 10 years; projected to see a major departure of the baby boomers into retirement. Look at your group of middle managers and front line supervisors. Who there is ready for promotion?

4. You become a learning organization. When everyone (very top to very bottom) in the organization is involved in learning, it opens the door to process and administrative improvement. Suddenly you become better at problem solving and at identifying avenues for improvement.

5. You are seen as an employer of choice. The more active your organization is in training, the easier and less expensive your recruitment effort becomes. Word gets into the community that you are an organization committed to the success of employees.

To be effective leaders in 2011, we need to understand both balancing the budget as well as planning and investment. More than likely, to worry about one or the other will put us on a path toward organizational incapacity, irrelevance, and demise. The October 15 issue of the Open Minds Circle (behavioral health consulting firm) talks about the importance of anticipatory leadership. “Proactive positioning involves thinking ahead and strategically positioning your organization for the market of the future.” So say the folks at Open Minds.