1. Communicate so people get it and spread it.
The “it” is not a pre-cooked, hard-boiled message. Instead, it is a conversation that spreads, a dialog that arouses the social network. We learned to spark cascades of conversations.
2. Identify and energize your most valuable players.
People are at the heart of change. We always took the time to engage. We went after people and gave them exciting ways to be part of the action.
3. Understand the territory of change.
Every organization has a different culture, different ways of figuring out how to go forward. I systematically listened to others for five important indicators:
i – Red flags – showstoppers
ii – Yellow flags – potential obstacles
iii – Educational deficits – information gaps
iv – Themes – common concerns
v – High-value opportunities – options that provide valuable returns
4. Accelerate evolution through communities.
We built “Thematic Groups” that advanced our cause, creating systemic pull.
5. Blow through bottlenecks and logjams.
Obstacles, hurdles, challenges are all part of a change initiative. We had a SWAT Team mentality.
6. Create dramatic surges in progress.
Special face-to-face events accelerated our program. We created gatherings that brought players together in high-value, high-leverage experiences designed to push things forward in leaps and bounds.
7. Keep your focus when change comes fast.
Things happened so fast it was sometimes disorienting. Our small team used each other and people in other organizations engaged in similar initiatives to keep our focus.
I hope this has been helpful and of course the Adaptive Talent team would welcome the opportunity to help you and your team improve your results and adaptability via our culture and organizational development consulting, communications and coaching / mentoring training, total rewards consulting, assessments, leadership coaching and development programs and retained search to help you land high-impact talent. Search our blog for additional posts on change and culture. Each organization is different and we love working with leaders to figure out strategic and pragmatic solutions.