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……

It’s all in the name of change!

Any organisation worth its weight in gold, will want to engage with its workforce when leading them through major organisational change. But for heaven’s sake, can we please move away from this constant safety net of bringing all staff together in one big room, all in the name of ‘staff engagement’!

We’ve all been there! A CEO or MD stands at the front and:

• Tells everyone that they don’t yet know what the future looks like.
• Asks staff to voice their views and concerns.

and of course…….

• Tells the entire workforce that they are the most important asset to the organisation.

The organisation defends its change management strategy by these behaviours – and is proud of the fact that staff have been given the opportunity to attend, hear, listen and speak!

But let’s just stop and think - how could this be done more creatively?

Think about a time when you have had the best conversations in an organisation; when you have walked away inspired; when you have perhaps gone away and made a difference for yourself as an individual and also the wider organisation. And when you look back over your shoulder at those times, does any of the following ring a bell?

• That the best conversations you had happened in small groups (world café?)
• That you felt inspired after talking about things in a positive frame (Appreciative Inquiry?)
• That you felt motivated when you could see the part you play in a much bigger picture (Isn’t this just good local line management?)

My call to organisations is simple. There is a place for large scale events and meetings in keeping the workforce informed – but there is a much wider opportunity to create smaller organisational conversations. Only in these structures will staff feel more able to give the feedback that organisations really need to drive large scale change effectively.

Think big…..Act small!

Confusion through to Clarity... Just have the conversation!

I’m always amazed by an organisation’s unwillingness to take people into uncomfortable conversations – when they know only too well that they need to have them!

Threats to job security. Organisational mergers. Cost reductions in services. Uncertainty all around. It’s plain to see how the public sector is responding to the pressures of the economic downturn and global recession. But on an individual level for people working in these organisations I feel and see utter confusion! Confusion about:

* What questions they dare ask!
* Where will they be in 12 months time?
* How will this affect home and personal lives?

And not for one moment do I suggest that the answers sit anywhere! But people do need to mull over what’s happening and have the space to tread water somewhere safely. For anyone working in ambiguous and fluid environments, it’s accepted that following confusion comes the clarity…..and won’t it feel much better when we get there and have the structure to guide everyone through?

Mmmmm. Confusion is uncomfortable for many, but it does start to give some context and initiate a level of curiosity for what is happening around us.

For those faced with turning organisations around, find the courage to have those difficult conversations with people!.........Build the resilience to take staff through uncharted waters………..Help people to find their own answers through the confusion.

Organisations may not know the answers in times of such uncertainty, but they do know that their staff have emotions, thoughts and feelings…….and if they had one ounce of corporate social responsibility, they’d find ways to explore this healthy turmoil!

Emotional fire in the belly stays with frontline staff!

I’m more and more convinced through my public sector work, that the core body of such organisations are losing their will to connect on an emotional level! The growth of technology in human capital led organisations is simply eroding all emotional connection and breath.

The once needed rapport between people is no longer sought after. The freely given corridor chats are a thing of the past. The curiosity to find out what exists outside of the plethora of performance management frameworks, is simply absent. Conversations which help us to share and explain our emotional connections, have become shorter and less connected to the business of the day.

Technology has flooded us with apparatus that no longer needs two people to meet; no longer needs a group to converge in the same space, or at its simplest no longer needs one office worker to turn around and talk with the other. Think about it! How many of us have seen the invisible emails bouncing around an office as team members talk silently and make decisions in cyberspace!

Those who manage to escape this blanket of a technological cloud are those located closer to the end user – the frontline staff. They have the much needed opportunities to enter into rich and meaningful conversations. They are closer to the organisation’s main customer and user, and furthest away from the technology that is so stifling for the inner core. They hang onto the emotional fire in their bellies that drives and satisfies their personal motives – and we all need some of that!

Surely the challenge is how to grab back the emotion of days gone by? We all deserve some fire in our bellies no matter where we are in an organisation!