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To Change... Or Not To Change
February 8, 2023 By: ILBS, LLC
About the Author
With over 15 years of experience as a business consultant firm, I’m Listening Business Solutions, LLC Is amongst the leading business strategy consultants in the Southeastern Louisiana Area, specializing in identifying a company’s weak points and turning them into its main strengths.
Behavior Blog
Employee’s (collectively and individually) are the key component in generating and sustaining change. To generate and sustain change, employer should use models of change management to help them manage the process and get the best result. We, (I'm Listening Business Solutions, LLC), use the three steps of change detailed by Denning’s. Stephen Denning, author of an article titled, How Leaders Can Use Powerful Narratives as Change Catalysts. The article examines changes in organizational design. Denning provides three steps in which an organization can implement effective and durable change.
The first step is “getting the audiences attention.”
The second step is “eliciting desire for a different future.”
The third and final step is “reinforcing with reasons.”
The First Step: Establish a Connection With Them
Captivating the attention and emotions of the employees is usually done through warning or a story about the collective problem that the employees or the organization is experiencing.
The Second Step: Get Them Excited
Eliciting desire for a different future take a lot of finesse. Most leaders have the charisma to pull this off. For those leaders who need a little help, they can sponsor a company wide event that (for example) resembles a school pep rally. The main objective is to create excitement about the change among the employees to ignite a desire in the employees to make the change. According to Dennings, this is the most important step.
The Third Step: Give Them A Reason
Organization leaders need to offer legitimate reasons of why the change is imperative. A sound explanation for the change will (in theory) condition employees to behave in accordance with the mission and vision of the change initiative.
How To Measure The Success of Your Change Plan
Lastly, summative assessments are used to evaluate and summarize an individual's current performance. After the change, a summative assessment should be used to first assess the employees performance and satisfaction levels to pinpoint the current and projected productivity levels for the organization.
Last But...Not Least
Executing a sound change management plan, like the aforementioned three steps of change, will make the transitioning process much more enjoyable for the organization personnel. Ultimately, leaders will be able to set change management goals, implement a sound plan, and measure its success.