Change: Multi-faceted Rotoni
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Change is good. Change is inevitable. Change is the only constant. Life is change, Change is law. Nothing stands still. Embrace change. And, so on.
As I prepare to impart wisdom (or something passing for that) on leading change*, I’m focused on all things change. Is change something done to us or is it something we do to others? If the latter, we may be more willing to embrace change than if we are in the “done to” group. So, how we see change and how enthusiastic we are depends in large part on where we are when.
There’s a country song that comes to mind when I'm in a “done to” change effort: “How Can Anything That Sounds So Good Make Me Feel So Bad?”
Often, we are not leading change; we are in fact following. Change comes upon us and we have little choice in the matter. In library land, the roll out of the Internet profoundly changed the way libraries were and are being used. Not long after the first self-service DVD, the OPAC, and the Yahoo search engine, we all knew there was a coming sea change. But, many of us confirmed - through our actions - the Kübler-Ross model when confronted with sudden change: Denial.
The best libraries, with the best leaders and followers, changed their services with a far greater emphasis on out-reach. One benefit of fewer students at the reference desk was that there was more staff time to go to classrooms and to teaching departments. Another positive in the move from paper to electronic was that our faculty colleagues were bemused and bewildered by what was happening. They knew paper, but now they needed our help to understand and use the electronic; again, the best led libraries, were the most effective in providing that assistance. Faculty and librarian relationships evolved and improved. Those libraries led change and avoided being run over on the information highway.
This shift from paper to electronic also, gives insights into the timing of change. When do we see the matter as urgent? Do we begin the change in good times or when we are about busted? It may be easier in the latter – it’s all doom and gloom, so there’s little resistance – but the best time for change is when the blue bird of happiness is a-wing and all is rosy. That’s the best time for creative thought and when the best leaders begin to build support for the future.
The better a leader (or follower), the better he or she anticipates and interprets the signals from what is barreling down the road. However, early efforts to get the organization moving forward come with risk. Some will ask: “Why fix something not broken?” The implication is that there is no need to change and that you (the person seeking change) are wrong.
I came across a change formula, one that I will use in my workshop. I think it compactly explains the essential elements (and difficulties) in changing something and it also suggests the leader’s responsibilities:
C = D x V x F > R
C = Change
D = Dissatisfaction with the current organizational system
V = Clear vision of the organizational goals for the future
F = Practical first steps
R = Resistance to change that is present in the organization
One of the most popular change metaphors is Kurt Lewin’s freeze, thaw, and refreeze. Imagine a square cube of ice that you would like to make into a triangle. Simple: Thaw into water, pour the water into a triangle form, freeze and there you have it.
Imagine now an organization, say of 50 people, - very square - going about doing their business, sort of, but not as well as they should or could. That’s the frozen state. So now, we unfreeze it; we want something more nimble and less expensive. How do we do that? How do we get those 50 people into a liquid state – metaphorically speaking, please – so they can be re-frozen into inter-linking circles or a multi-faceted rotoni shape? How do we even know what shape we want?
So, change is not simple. Nor are the complex guides to change as transparent as we would like or as easy to apply. If anything, because the helpful ones recognize the complexity of change, they obscure the very process they claim to clarify. Do I mean to suggest that John Kotter’s 8 steps for change is not much better than Lewin's melted ice cube? Probably, yes. Under Kotter’s theory we are expected to do the following, pretty much in the given order. I’ve added in brackets, another consultant’s more casual take on these 8 steps).
Create Urgency (Increase urgency)
Form a Powerful Coalition (Build the guiding team)
Create a Vision for Change (Get the right vision)
Communicate the Vision (Communicate for buy-in)
Remove Obstacles (Empowerment)
Create Short-Term Wins (Create short-term wins)
Build on the Change (Don’t let up)
Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture (Make it stick)
I’ve been part of many change efforts. Some succeeded, – we were lucky – while others failed. I am sure I could look at Kotter’s list and find reasons for failure or success. That’s helpful. No doubt I could have become a better change agent had I spent some time reflecting on Kotter’s theory and my personal experience. And, that’s pretty much the advice I'll offer the seminar participants.
* ”Leading Change”: A seminar on leading and following change in libraries and other organizations. Sponsored by the University of Latvia. August 25-28. By John Lubans & Sheryl Anspaugh. At Ratnieki Conference Center, near Sigulda, Latvia. Instruction in English. Cost: 170 €. Includes tuition, accommodation, meals and transport from Riga.
On August 29th there’s a special reason to be in Latvia: the grand opening of the National Library of Latvia in Riga!
Copyright John Lubans 2014
John Lubans - portrait by WSJ