Coach to Change Before Change Starts

Ever wondered how top executives navigate the stormy seas of major organizational changes? Join us as we unravel the complexities of change management, from the introduction of cutting-edge ERP systems to the adaptation of new company policies. Through engaging conversations with business leaders and our own personal experiences, we take you behind the scenes of what it truly takes to prepare a workforce for transformation. Discover why a unified vision and a growth mindset are pivotal for implementing change successfully, and how these elements can make or break the morale of those involved.

Change isn't just about the process; it's about the people. This episode peels back the layers of the emotional journey employees experience during times of upheaval. We'll share a story of a friend caught in the whirlwind of poorly communicated corporate shifts, revealing the critical role of clarity and anticipation. Additionally, we'll explore the rapid tech advancements shaking up the L&D industry, preparing you to meet the challenges head-on with resilience. Expect a candid discussion filled with valuable insights that promise to shed light on the often-overlooked nuances of steering your team through the winds of change.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:37

recently I've talked to a number of companies that are going through major change initiatives from new systems, new ERP systems, to new procedures, new policies, new ways of doing business, and it's really interesting because everybody has their own way of doing things at different companies. And I've asked all the companies. I said well, how are you preparing people for this change? And typically what I hear is this tactical. Here's what we're going to do to drive change. Here's the change we're going to have. I think we would all agree somebody who is mentally prepared, somebody with a growth positive, open mind set, will be more accustomed to accepting and driving and executing and change than those that feel it's thrust upon them. So I was talking to a manufacturing firm and I asked them we're going through this change management initiative and I asked about four out of the eight top executives. I said so how do you see change management? How do you define successful change? They had four vastly different responses and one of the VPs said to me. He said wow, that's not good. So I don't think it's bad, I just think that you have to be in unison with one another so there's consistency across the board. Now there's change management models out there, like ADCAR and what have you. But I go back to change. Now. I'm going to give probably an off-the-wall analogy.

Speaker 1: 2:13

When I coach volleyball, I used to always tell my players before the season we're going to have ups and downs. How you react to them is important. When we lose and I said we're going to lose how you react speaks to your character. So I want us to think about change as our everyday opportunity. So our definition of successful change is reacting positively to adversity, with a smile and conviction. Does everybody agree? All the kids would agree, and that was our mantra. Those were the type of things I did every year, I think, before the season starts, the season of change implementation. We have to one, define it. Two, we have to come up with a plan of how to coach to it. And then, number three, we have to prepare people.

Speaker 1: 3:12

I'll give you another example. I was talking to someone about going through a major thing at their organization and this person, a good friend, started to tell me about how they felt and they said, oh, it's just not been communicated well. And I just I'm really getting frustrated. And I said well, you left me a message that you wanted to ask me a question. What's your question. Well, I guess I didn't really have a question, I just wanted to, you know, see what your opinion was. I said on what? You haven't asked me anything.

Speaker 1: 3:41

Well, they're going through this huge change initiative and it's like nobody knows what's going on. I said well, if nobody knows what's going on, how does anyone know that change is coming? And she smiled at me. She said well, yeah, I kind of took that out of context. Most of us don't know what's going on. I said what has the change started? And she said well, no, I said you seem really upset for something that hasn't started yet. And what it spoke to everybody is the uneasiness that it prompts in people emotionally. When it comes to change, we want to know exactly what it's going to look like, what it's going to smell like, how's it going to feel, and oh, I got to know how it's going to look like. What it's going to smell like, how's it going to feel, and, oh, I got to know how it's going to impact me. That's what change does to people. Now, in our own little world, here at Progress Coaching, ai is not coming. It's here. It is thrusting upon change in the L&D industry. As I'm off to ATD in the next 18, 19 days for the international conference down in New Orleans. We're going to see change exponentially down there.

Speaker 1: 4:50

So what do you do? Do you run from it? Do you fight it? Do you take flight? Do you work through it? You have to acknowledge change is inevitable.

Speaker 1: 5:01

Preparation for change is setting expectations, letting people know of stages or milestones, communicating what's going to go on and I always say this with change it will not go perfectly. There will be hiccups. How are you going to react to those hiccups? Positively are the questions I would encourage you to use. So, number one define it. Number two create those milestones. Number three discuss how you're going to coach to those definitions.

Speaker 1: 5:27

And number four prep people for change. Ask them what are they going to do to help execute change? What are they going to do to embrace the bumps in the road when change is starting to be implemented, because it's going to happen, and you know what's so funny. Starting to be implemented because it's going to happen, and you know what's so funny Organizations, when they go through change. It's a very scary thing because we need people to execute. Yet we will label things at a very global level. These projects, they never work. They never work. So you're out of business. So we take things out of context because we're emotionally reacting to change. So again at your organization, coach to change before change starts.