How we all revert to type - Organisations in change and people in crisis!

I am currently privileged to be one of the "stranded" number of UK citizens forced to find themselves on the foreign office list - I´m advised that my relatives and loved ones can call a helpline for further information. Or they can simply text or email me through this robust technological cloud...

Before I left for my 11 day holiday I wanted to write a few words about organisational change - but I followed my instinct which told me to turn the laptop off, leave the iPhone alone, and simply catch the plane! I was on countdown and my thoughts were elsewhere - how many of us have been there before trying to clear the "to do" list before we turn the key on the doors to our homes?!

But I resisted. I bought a book called "Time to Think" by Nancy Kline - and I recommend it to anyone who thinks they are an expert at listening. Because believe me, when you have read this book you will feel humble, unskilled and completely lacking in the key areas of competence that you once tried to sell or push onto others.

But amidst all of this, I now found myself completely out of control and in the hands of those who know more than I do. And I feel helpless - but surprisingly OK! We are caught up in the global confusion surrounding the volcanic ash and are thousands of miles away from family and loved ones. We are no longer experts that have a place in society - somehow we all smell of the same coconut sun oil, and eat at the same tables in the same restaurant! We swim in the same pool - we all take our breakfasts together. You would not think that there is any difference in our intellectual ability or societal view on the world. And there may well indeed not be - and who am I to even presume that there might be?

But in my role as organisational change specialist, I am struck by some fundamental observations:

* How is it that somehow we know who to talk to of the same language - and get it right every time?

* Why is it that union leaders emerge claiming to speak on behalf of others - when they have no mandate to do so?

* Why are those that speak the loudest always given the floor first to speak?

And so I turn to the title of my blog. In times of crisis and change - we revert to the behaviours where we are most comfortable. Those who have something to say first, find the nooks and crannies to get their voices heard. Those who believe they represent others, will never be put off their tracks to voice their worries on behalf of others - and believe me, they are as annoying out here in the Gran Canaria and 85 degrees as they are in the UK!

And those who listen acutely, observe others, and merely take in all the information are accused of being passive and unconnected to what´s going on. I happen to sit with this crew of people and make no apologies for doing so.

It´s clear to me that the behaviours I see out here are no different to what I see in organisations going through change;

* People all react differently - but each position is to be respected and acknowledged.

* We are not clones and cannot expect everyone to behave in the same way - we were different before the change so why should we be identical now?

* We should harness those different reactions - and build on them to take us through the change process.

What I am advocating is very much a people-centred process. As I write this, there will be civil servants at the foreign embassy mapping my individual position on a map in London. They will be scoping the collective mass of stranded UK citizens and no doubt arranging sea and ferry transport to bring us home if these worst case scenarios continue.

I would much rather our local tour operators simply talk to us face to face and allow us to chat more informally. Sorry, but here I go again - isn´t this simply what we´d expect of line managers in organisations as they take staff and employees through organisational change?

It feels simple - in times of crisis, start the debate - not the information exchange!

Responding to Recession – Running faster won’t deliver the answer!

There is an overwhelming and growing movement in the public sector that change is needed to cope with the bleak financial deficit that sits around the corner – please excuse me but we’ve all known that it’s been coming!

What’s surprising me even more though is the emerging view that we simply need to repeat more of what we are doing in organisations to get us through! To be fair, it’s not said quite like this in either my coaching, or wider organisational work. But what I am seeing and hearing, is simply a description of doing more of the existing ways of working. The only perceived difference is that it needs to happen in a compressed window of opportunity. Now surely there is something to learn here? - that if we haven’t succeeded in key strategic policy changes before, then working in the same way but much faster is not the answer!

I’m sorry but simply adopting a ‘running faster’ and ‘more of the same’ approach is not going to deliver the cost efficiencies that are being called for. The only way that the major financial challenge across the public sector is going to be addressed is through workforce rationalisation. In the NHS alone, 70% of its costs are attributed to staffing.

Please do not mention you are going into a ‘service review’, ‘programme management’ or ‘service redesign’ phase at this stage in the recession – you should have been there already. These approaches are not going to deliver the changes needed within the timescale laid down. They are assets we can call upon after the immediate financial crisis has been responded to.

The recession is forcing all of us who work in the public sector to deal with the emotional consciousness of organisations – the very thing that can sabotage our best laid plans. It’s where we’re most uncomfortable – but it’s where we will deliver on the financial challenge.

Running faster on this one will not win the race for us! We need to find breakthrough strategies unlike anything we’ve seen before……