Transformational Change – Workshop 2 (Embracing Potentiality)
The Appleton Greene Corporate Training Program (CTP) for Transformational Change is provided by Ms. Ruta Certified Learning Provider (CLP). Program Specifications: Monthly cost USD$2,500.00; Monthly Workshops 6 hours; Monthly Support 4 hours; Program Duration 12 months; Program orders subject to ongoing availability.
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MOST Analysis
Mission Statement
The focus this month will be on providing participants with a framework to embrace the art of possibility in support of a culture of growth, innovation, co-creation and response-ability. Participants will strengthen their skills in invoking their imagination to think outside the box by focussing on the what and not the how and detaching from the old way of doing things. Participants will become familiar with the cycle of creation from a mindset perspective– that is understanding how thoughts repeated over time become beliefs, how beliefs in turn trigger emotions, and how those emotions in turn drive action or inaction and ultimately the results we are achieving. Therefore, to change results, one needs to change actions which means changing beliefs and the emotions around those beliefs, and fundamentally one’s thoughts. How we do that successfully is by refiring and rewiring the brain (neuroplasticity) by focusing on what really matters from the heart, having a definitiveness of purpose, passionately believing in the possibility, embodying the vision in the present and deliberately taking action on that vision each day. It also means showing up in that expanded state individually and organizationally, internally and with stakeholders. Participants will be introduced to the six steps of R.E.F.I.R.E. to REWIRE by Dr. Sarah McKay that can enable individuals to tap into one’s capacity for brain plasticity and mastery, to change old patterns of beliefs and habits to embody new possibilities particularly when change is deemed important and rewarding. Overall, Month 2 is about understanding why imagination, positive mental attitude and feeling of expansiveness are significant levers to achieving success in transformational change. The case work will draw on the current strategic framework of the organization and ask participants how they are showing up — as leader, manager or employee? Do they have a vision for their role or department’s role within the broader corporate context? Can participants provide examples of definitiveness of purpose for the organization from the perspective of pure potentiality? In so doing, participants will explore the concept of basements and ceilings to extend boundaries. They will also reflect on their current beliefs and emotions around transformation and change in the organization. The workshop will conclude with some initial thoughts on what to include in making the case for new transformational strategies at a conceptual level.
Objectives
01. Mindset Matters: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
02. Challenging Beliefs: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
03. Unconscious Mindsets: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
04. Fixed vs Growth: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
05. Transformational Philosophy: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
06. Understanding Why: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
07. Prioritize: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. 1 Month
08. The Influence Model: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
09. Positive Attitude: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
10. Personalize Change: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
11. Transformation Culture: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
12. Transformation Fatigue: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
Strategies
01. Mindset Matters: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
02. Challenging Beliefs: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
03. Unconscious Mindsets: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
04. Fixed vs Growth: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
05. Transformational Philosophy: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
06. Understanding Why: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
07. Prioritize: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
08. The Influence Model: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
09. Positive Attitude: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
10. Personalize Change: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
11. Transformation Culture: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
12. Transformation Fatigue: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
Tasks
01. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Mindset Matters.
02. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Challenging Beliefs.
03. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Unconscious Mindsets.
04. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Fixed vs Growth.
05. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Transformational Philosophy.
06. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Understanding Why.
07. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Prioritize.
08. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze The Influence Model.
09. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Positive Attitude.
10. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Personalize Change.
11. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Transformation Culture.
12. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Transformation Fatigue.
Introduction
The most recent research in neuroscience demonstrates how to cultivate the proper mindset for driving ongoing transformational change.
Today’s enterprises are under tremendous strain from unprecedented and seismic forces of change in the outside world, such as exponential digital technologies and existential global risks. They will have to transform their people, processes, and goods repeatedly. Leaders in every organization, regardless of size or industry, need to have a “transformation mentality” in order to change quickly. The majority, though, have a “legacy mindset”—not because they aren’t intelligent and successful, but rather because they are.
Before innovation and business transformation, well-established legacy firms were capable of generating predictable long-term profits. Now, businesses that are unable to continuously change what they do and how they do it will surely collapse, whether through spectacular bankruptcy, mediocre underperformance, or dishonorable takeover. There is no denying the need for ongoing innovation in markets that are VUCA: volatile not stable, uncertain not predictable, complicated not simple, and ambiguous not clear. This is especially true in light of COVID-19 and the climate issue.
The majority of leaders, however, have been shielded from the harsh realities of ongoing evolutionary pressures as a result of decades of success in markets that were predictable, simple, stable, and clear — where prior resources and means allowed well-established organizations to maintain market dominance for extended periods of time. Many leaders have lost access to the creativity and insight necessary to lead transformation not just once, but multiple times in order to stay relevant after being lulled into a false sense of security. Their mentality must first change.
How Mindsets Matter
The mindset of a leader decides whether their organization ignores and rejects the forces of evolution to adapt or metabolizes them into innovations that create value and influence the direction of their industry. Just take a look at companies like Kodak, Nokia, AOL, and Yahoo, as well as Uber, which has ethical and worker issues, and Deliveroo, whose IPO failed due to investor concerns about unfairness and inequality. All of these organizations’ leaders believed that their recent success (in the immediate past) was a guarantee of future success.
Our mindset, or how we sense, feel, think, and then act, is our main source of competitive advantage in today’s rapidly and radically changing situations, and it’s the one thing we can fully control. We cannot rely on “things,” not even the most advanced machine-learning algorithms, to protect our company because every organization has access to the same technology and capabilities. We have no influence over what our customers or our rivals do. A pandemic or a mass extinction are uncontrollable. The only thing we have control over—or, maybe, mastery over—is our mindset.
We can and must take responsibility for our mindsets as leaders. In order to repeatedly reinvent ourselves and our organizations as the VUCA reality takes shape, we must decide to evolve, develop, and mature it over time.
Legacy Mentality
The legacy mindset that has imprisoned so many leaders is molded by the conviction that our ability to survive and thrive in the future depends only on our ability to leverage our power, success, expertise, and best practices from the past. It persists, in part, because VUCA realities can be overwhelming for our brains, which tend to experience pain when things change, become chaotic, or are uncertain. For example, when we perceive a threat, even if we are not physically in danger, our mind’s wiring causes us to fight or flee from sudden changes in our markets rather than approach them with an open mind and heart. When we most need insight and creativity, we lose them.
The legacy perspective leads us believe that doing what worked yesterday – just better, harder, and faster – will be enough to make it large tomorrow because we always want to seem right and feel in charge. We develop a righteous attitude about the leadership behaviors and underlying assumptions of our successful company models. Even when our firm loses competitiveness, its culture deteriorates, and its capacity for innovation wanes, we choose to disregard the need for transformation.
The legacy mindset causes us to project outmoded meaning-making frameworks and narratives onto the rapidly changing reality since we were taught management experiences and theories from a world that was not as digital or disruptive, or complex or chaotic. It smooths out the “anomalies” and “weak signals” that disruption, innovation, and transition inevitably entail. The legacy mindset causes us to cling to outdated beliefs as if they were unchanging facts, while others may have the insight to recognize and the determination to act on those signs.
A Dartmouth business professor named Sydney Finkelstein examined the demise of more than 50 firms. According to him, failures are brought on by “flawed executive mindsets that throw off a company’s perspective of reality” and “delusional attitudes that hold this false reality in place,” according to Why Smart Executives Fail. In other words, top executives unintentionally fostering a legacy mindset are to blame for pretty much every organizational disaster. Because of this, Yale professors anticipate that by 2030, the majority of the Fortune 500 corporations will no longer exist.
The Transformation Mindset
A growth mindset is the conviction that our talents can be developed by “hard work, good strategies, and input from others,” according to renowned Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck. This is a fundamental advancement, but it cannot withstand the rapid changes of the VUCA world. The growth mindset is expanded upon by the transformation mindset. We are aware that our abilities are far from fixed and that we must constantly adapt and evolve in order to match the viciously and relentlessly changing external environment.
A leader with a transformation mentality sees the VUCA world as a never-ending invitation to spearhead transformative change of antiquated goods, procedures, and people. Instead than attempting to ignore, repress, or reject the significant changes in our environment, we attune our entire self to completely engage in them. The fact that we own these changes, even if we did not initiate them, is crucial. By absorbing these changes internally, we may metabolize them into inventions that exponentially increase value.
When it is appropriate, we can continue to make improvements in the way we complete tasks while maintaining a transformation mentality. However, we may also spearhead ongoing changes when flexibility and adaptability are required. The ability to transition between these two equally valuable approaches of problem-solving is at the heart of the transformation mindset.
Two Different Mental States
It takes more than just intelligence to have a transformational mindset. Recent research has actually shown that when we are creative, our prefrontal cortex, which has long been thought to be the seat of human reason, is really less active than usual. In other words, we are less in control, less focused, and less conventionally brilliant when we are innovating to solve difficulties brought on by the VUCA world!
It turns out that human brain has two quite unique neural networks that enable fundamentally different methods of problem-solving and world-sensing. Every leader has access to two separate modes of consciousness that offer quite different, yet equally valuable problem-solving approaches. This claim is based on the developing science of these two brain networks and incorporate wisdom from philosophy and lived experience. Each mode has a different brain architecture, is well suited for particular types of tasks, and results in a unique set of subjective experiences.
Protect & Control Mode
We try to manage the inherent chaos of life in the task-oriented and effective first mode by anticipating what we should do next to survive and defending ourselves. We are highly motivated and productive; we move quickly toward certainty; we draw on technical know-how to address well-known challenges; we gauge success by metrics; and we are both rigorous and risk-averse. In this mode, we enjoy making ongoing adjustments to the status quo in order to offer predictable results, such as constant profits and upward career mobility.
Creating and Connecting Mode
The second mode enables us to interact with others, including clients, partners, users, and investors, in order to gain the novel insights we need to produce value-creating solutions that address brand-new issues raised by the VUCA environment. We are inquisitive, imaginative, and empathic mode when creating and connecting. We are willing to pause and reflect on complex problems rather than rushing to find solutions; we are able to create safe psychological environments where different opinions can be shared; we welcome others to respectfully challenge our leadership style and business model assumptions; and we place more value on possibility and agility than certainty and stability.
Control & Protect Mode is a very effective problem-solving strategy in environments that are stable, straightforward, predictable, and clear because it spares us from having to put forth the tremendous emotional and cognitive effort required to come up with novel insights and consciously create new ideas. However, it may not work well in contexts that change quickly. It is linear and task-oriented and makes an effort to apply power and best practice—which are by definition outmoded because they are based on technical knowledge, experience, and training from the past—to emergent transformational problems that have never been resolved before.
We must employ Create & Connect Mode to translate evolutionary pressures into exponentially value-creating innovations when faced with such transformational issues, so-called because they necessitate business and leadership transformation to be resolved. To deliver our ideas on time, within budget, and with the desired quality, we still require Control & Protect Mode. In actuality, a difficult harmony between modes is a necessary part of the difficult process of conceiving and then carrying out high-value ideas. Creative people are better able to co-activate brain networks that typically function separately, according to Dr. Roger Beaty of Penn State.
From Intelligence To Wisdom
A leader with a solid yet flexible transformation mentality is aware of the appropriate mode at any given time. Furthermore, they are adept at changing modes. This is trickier than it first appears because, according to neuroscience, our emotional and physical states—and not our will—decide which mode we are in most of the time. We cannot just resolve to change; rather, we must learn to control and transform our feelings and physical sensations.
We need to be intelligent, not simply brilliant, in order to dance with complexity and wrestle breakthrough from the jaws of chaos. An unwavering emotional stability within is necessary for radical degrees of behavioral agility. In order to foster flexible, fluid, and free minds in ourselves and the team members we depend on to contribute to and implement future-proofing ideas, the transformation mindset requires previously unheard-of levels of embodied wisdom. As we grow in embodied wisdom, empathy, insight, and imagination broaden our cognitive capacity and tame our egos.
We must deliberately cultivate a transformation mindset if we are to successfully address the transformative issues raised by the VUCA reality. Success is more about fostering an environment where cross-functional teams may produce innovative breakthroughs than it is about technological brilliance or managerial skill. The days of having to be the sharpest person in the room are long gone. To confidently and intentionally guide our people, companies, and systems toward a prosperous future, we need to be wise, not merely smart.
Four Methods To Develop Your Company Using A Transformational Mindset
The pandemic brought to light what was always true: for businesses to succeed, they must be prepared to adapt. A transformation attitude may help companies of all sizes seize opportunities, according to new SAP study.
Without a doubt, modern firms benefit from being able to react swiftly. Brands can emerge from the epidemic and into whatever comes next by working to change and adapt with the market and by embracing what is referred to as a transformation mentality.
How therefore can leaders use technology to foster a transformational attitude and advance their company in this altered and evolving environment? Des Fisher, the head of innovation at SAP, offers his perspectives.
1. Acknowledge That Change Is Necessary For Growth
The persistent emphasis on expansion among midsize business leaders is reflected in new research from SAP. Although the desire to boost revenue is nothing new, the survey reveals a movement toward identifying new, superior methods of doing so, such as through sustainability and enhancing the customer experience.
According to Fisher, the pandemic only served to emphasize the need for businesses to be flexible if they want to succeed. They must have the internal resources and culture to enable change, as well as be not just willing but excited about it.
He claims that “Covid was a deep realisation event.” “It made everyone realize they had to start acting differently right away. Right now, not when it suited them.
After COVID, firms will focus on being agile and nimble enough to roll with the punches and will owe their long-term success to their transformation success. “They may be thinking, ‘What if the supply chain fails? How can we increase the number of our suppliers or improve our electronic communication? Additionally, there is a push to build resilience and learn to ride the waves.
Fisher claims that high growth is actually stimulated by curiosity. Organizations with inquisitive staff will ask why they are doing things and then change to do them better, according to the study. They enjoy putting the status quo to the test.
2. Tap Into The Potential Of Your Data
Only when a decision-making process is combined with evidence-based reasoning can a transformation mindset result in successful transformation. To be able to act fast without compromising success, it is essential to be aware of what is happening in every area of the organization.
When many segments of the organization are aware of a choice, Fisher claims, that is when data-driven decision-making is valuable. The majority of critical thinkers will advise people to consider both the immediate and long-term effects of their actions before acting.
Every aspect of the business is affected when one lever is pulled, and successful transformation depends on foreseeing those effects. According to Fisher, “having data that spans many business components and being able to analyze the impact of changes is profoundly valuable.”
Fisher emphasizes the need of having communication between all departments, from manufacturing and procurement to finance and HR, given that 34% of midsize businesses want to provide new products or services and 34% want to grow through increased sustainability. Data-driven decision making will be more effective the better connected your organizational units are.
Businesses may utilize their data by employing platforms like SAP to use it to make the best decisions. However, having access to insights is only one piece of the solution; data mining and human problem solving work best together to produce the greatest outcomes.
Because machines can run continuously, Fisher claims that you may instruct them to be hypervigilant. It implies that people don’t always need to be looking for new discoveries. Instead, they can adopt a decision-making role.
3. Make The Most Of Technology
According to Fisher, technological improvement will make it possible for people to make these choices. He has a strong interest in the amazing things that technology is capable of as the innovation principal. He remarks, “It’s getting so much closer to human.” Things are actually inventive in that we can get by with doing practically anything using machines.
According to Fisher, businesses will never be able to gather all available data. However, organizations will identify the sweet spot for transformation between what technology can offer and how a human being can perceive it. It is possible, he says. Asking technology to fill in the gaps is an option.
According to Fisher, human contribution to technology can be enhanced by prediction, inference, sentiment analysis, and natural language processing. With the data available, analysts and thought leaders can spot chances to expand, reduce risk, or boost efficiency knowing the data backs up their decisions.
“You’re missing a trick if you’re not embracing technology. Nowadays, we’re asking people to handle technology on a daily basis rather than doing more manual labor.
According to Fisher, cloud computing “democratized” technology for companies of all sizes. Small and medium-sized businesses who want to increase their use of technology now have easy and affordable access to tools and services that were previously only available to giant corporations. Automation can be implemented in every area of the organization, including billing, logistics, payroll, and e-commerce, using a platform like SAP.
Most significantly, he claims, technology gives people more time to accomplish what they excel at: having big dreams.
4. Motivate Your Group To Accept Transformation
Fisher asserts that having a solid grasp of both business and technology is a requirement for success. The road to developing novel and improved methods of doing things is the ability to apply innovation to issues.
“An organization won’t hold their interest if it doesn’t allow its personnel to consider their own mission in the context of generating income. Those workers will only carry out tasks out of necessity. People ought to act in an engaging and inventive manner because they want to and because they are aware that by doing so, they are improving the world.
With the appropriate technology in place, a company’s employees may access what’s most crucial without needing approval to think otherwise. “It almost becomes a personal obligation to consider the question, ‘Why are we doing this? I think there’s another way we might approach this.'”
According to Fisher, the key is to strike a balance between an organization’s values and guiding principles and its workforce’s interests.
When you combine both of those things in a beautiful, intellectual way, he advises, you’ll be amazed at what you can do. What part do technology and innovation play in innovation? It is guiding it.
Executive Summary
Chapter 1: Mindset Matters
When the epidemic struck, businesses all around the world underwent an instant transformation, driven by adrenaline, survival instincts, and a workforce that was unified with management in the face of a shared peril.
The C-suite now faces a very different danger as they try to start transformation programs to adjust costs to new economic realities: Employee perspectives have changed. Dramatically. What is most concerning is that the top managers who must take the lead, rally the troops, and carry out transformation efforts are probably the ones with the biggest distance from the C-suite. In fact, almost a quarter of middle managers and a third of higher managers report feeling hostile toward change at work.
Leaders must move quickly to comprehend the mentality of employees today since this divergence is not only shocking but also a significant liability. Because engaging employees in the mission is what produces meaningful change, not issuing orders.
The Survivor Mode’s Rules Are No Longer Valid
During the height of the pandemic, businesses were obliged to make quick, radical changes in order to survive. The C-suite will now need to concentrate on longer-term reforms to support new business models and expand capabilities, including technology and talent, while avoiding silos and customizing costs to do so. It is certain that this company change will not resemble ones in the past, though. Major changes have never been able to provide lasting change. Now that the C-suite is getting ready to start transformation programs, the threat is that employee mindsets have changed. Significantly.
More than 80% of managers claim that the COVID-19 has changed the way they view work in general and the leadership of their organizations.
The stakes are raised by this new dynamic. It necessitates a change in how the C-suite approaches change projects, with a better grasp of employee mindsets and fresh, more effective approaches to dealing with them. Employees and management came together during the pandemic as allies battling a common foe. Employees now demand more from their bosses more than a year later. They’re also worn out. Many people are looking for meaning in their employment. In addition, they are raising important queries regarding the significance of work in their lives. Top-down directives from the C-suite are no longer used.
Employee Attitudes Have Changed
People are rethinking their priorities as a result of the protracted realities and stress of work and life without outside distractions. As a result, many people are moving. They’re not only quitting their jobs, either. They are changing occupations, rearranging their work schedules and commutes, moving across the country, or taking early retirement to completely stop working.
Stop Educating. Begin Recruiting
Beyond the repressed urge to change employment, there is an obvious dynamic at work. Employees are rethinking their goals and how their work lives fit into their larger lives after a year of lockdowns. They have also redesigned their professions and careers.
This new dynamic cannot be ignored by leaders. Employees are just as vital as customers, as we all know. However, many leaders continue to treat them like a captive audience, using top-down communications that are more concerned with informing them than with involving them in the transformational efforts. The differences between the two are pronounced.
Employees must be participants in the transformation for it to be successful, yet many are not. Critically low levels of engagement may result from failing to effectively involve employees in transformation initiatives. Most worrisome The highest levels of management, who are both employees and key players in leading the fight, organizing the soldiers, and enacting change, are where the most dissension is found. They are the group least likely to support transformational actions. Close associates of the C-suite make up one-third of individuals who are either change-resistant or alienated. The same is essentially true for one-quarter of middle management. It is unlikely that the mission will be effective if people working on the front lines, such as managing directors, senior vice presidents, or factory managers, are not on board.
Chapter 2: Challenging Beliefs
People will act when they firmly believe that they must and will change when they firmly believe that change is absolutely required, but they won’t readily adopt that belief if it contradicts what they currently believe to be true. This is because, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, it is not in human nature for people to give up their convictions.
You must comprehend how beliefs operate as a leader and what it takes to alter them.
What Exactly Is a Belief?,” a Psychology Today article from 2018 asks. The author refers to beliefs as “our brain’s approach of making sense of and navigating our complex reality” in his book (And Why Is It So Hard to Change?). They are “mental representations of the ways our brains expect things in our environment to behave, and how things should be related to each other—the patterns our brain expects the world to conform to.” The article claims that beliefs have various advantages:
• We often “intertwine them with how we define ourselves as people,” including our reputation and/or the structure of key aspects of our lives.
• They also mean we don’t have to constantly create a new worldview, which is “effortful, time- and energy-consuming.”
• They “act as templates for efficient learning and are often essential for survival.”
Therefore, by having our own personal belief system, we are able to learn more effectively, filter out noise, quickly assess potential hazards, prevent overworking our brains, and keep a consistent sense of who we are. In addition to all of these other advantages, many of our views are ingrained in us from a young age by our parents and other adult authority figures, which makes them particularly hard to change. So much so that rather of rejecting information that threatens our firmly held ideas, we will respond passionately to it and explain it away.
In the context of what a belief framework accomplishes for us, the Psychology Today article introduces another word—homeostasis: “Beliefs sustain a kind of cognitive homeostasis—a steady, familiar approach to processing information about our world.” By taming what might otherwise be wildly erratic swings in our moods and actions as we process new information, they assist us in maintaining our equilibrium. According to the Guardian report, “the brain determines whether or not to assimilate new sensory information by comparing it to these knowledge units when it is received.”
Your family, your neighborhood, and your workplace all have belief systems that facilitate communication, reduce noise, hasten learning and decision-making, and aid in the development of a common identity. These collective belief systems require time and effort to alter, just like personal belief systems do. In mission/purpose statements, fundamental values, and other places, they are mentioned. They support culture. Similar to personal views, they are frequently picked up from coworkers, managers, mentors, bosses, and other authoritative figures quite early in a person’s time spent with the group.
A company’s basic values, such as its mission and purpose, can endure thanks to its belief system. Shared values also encourage sticking with tried-and-true methods that have consistently increased earnings and satisfied customers, even when institutional resistance to change is the price of consistency.
Long-held principles of your organization serve as a kind of homeostat by keeping your workers focused and unaffected by “ripples in the force” surrounding them. However, they also serve as an anchor when they become unchangeable and unassailable, when being a “good team player” takes precedence over advocating for change, when abiding by the rules is rewarded while taking risks is punished, and/or when hierarchy shields the proverbial naked emperor from being exposed.
Chapter 3: Unconscious Mindsets
Unconscious beliefs can harm interactions between managers and teams in the workplace. Reduced morale may result if someone is prejudged before they have an opportunity to share their viewpoint. Biases can lead to conflict and unproductive behavior, making it challenging to move a difficult issue toward a constructive resolution. The propagation of harmful unconscious attitudes across a team can result in a style of thinking becoming accepted, typical, and unquestioned, which can reduce productivity. The “rotten egg” of a perceived manner of functioning can “infect” every team member, much like a virus.
Having Second Thoughts
Changing your mentality can be really challenging. Your mind needs to repeatedly adjust to new, better behaviors in order to make up for unfavorable unconscious thoughts. It also needs to be aware of the potential effects you may have on other people. It is feasible for people to alter their thinking and become less judgmental with the proper training. Usually, everything comes down to self-awareness. Instead of having a “knee-jerk” reaction to a situation, take the time to listen to the other person, pause to analyze the information they have provided, answer appropriately, and possibly repeat the information to ensure you have fully comprehended. Likewise, if the other person responds in a similar way, this will ultimately result in positive communication between the two parties.
Think About Team Meetings Without Unconscious Mindsets
It can occasionally feel like you’re walking on eggshells when leading a team meeting with vocal personalities. This is probably a result of some of the people in the room having deeply ingrained views. Their unconscious bias fuels their emotion, frequently encouraging confrontational behavior, inhibiting creativity, and hindering clear thinking. The person makes assumptions and behaves accordingly. It can seem impossible to resolve disagreement and carry out effective crisis management if people are not listening objectively and are instead “zoning out” as a result of their internal discussions and biases.
What if we all took a moment to contemplate the viewpoint of the other person, objectively and without bias? Think about how much more efficiently team meetings would run if everyone took the time to listen to one another and put out the effort to completely comprehend what was being said. With the appropriate training, changing conscious and unconscious mindsets is feasible. It’s a tried-and-true method for developing a vibrant and upbeat workplace culture.
Chapter 4: Fixed vs Growth
The mentality we adopt in life plays a crucial role. Because our attitudes have the power to either expand or contract how we interact with the environment and live our lives.
Additionally, based on the strength of our particular vision, we build the realities we live in (mindset). Because of this, we frequently see what we anticipate seeing, and the constraints we experience in life are typically brought on by ourselves.
Let’s say you don’t think you can do something or that a chance won’t come your way. In such situation, it will control how you behave in terms of investing time and energy in that thing.
As an illustration, you have been preparing for the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test). But you struggle to understand the content, get disheartened, and give up on learning entirely. Your attitude about the test changed, and soon your actions did too. And if you approach the test with a defeated mindset, failure is likely to be the result.
If you approached the same MCAT test with the conviction that, despite the material’s potential for difficulty, you are determined to give it your all. You can very easily receive a different result when grades are given. Additionally, you can pass the test with confidence knowing that you gave it everything you had even if you fail. This kind of thinking might even motivate you to study more and retake the exam.
In essence, this illustration demonstrates the distinction between a fixed and a growth mindset.
Two fundamental mindset categories—a fixed mindset and a development mindset—shape our lives, claims Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck. How we view our skills and capabilities can have an impact on our performance in job, school, the arts, sports, and nearly all other spheres of human effort, according to the author of “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.”
In this chapter, we will define each before outlining nine key distinctions between a fixed and growth mentality along with concrete examples of each.
Let’s review two definitions to get things going.
A Fixed Mindset: What Is It?
People who have a fixed mindset frequently concentrate on the known and believe that their skills can never change (they are fixed). This kind of thinking leads to the idea that investing time in development, learning, or training is pointless.
For instance, you’ve had health problems that have restricted your mobility. However, your doctor has been advising you to get outside and take a short daily stroll. Sadly, you don’t because you believe you can’t walk that far and even if you could, your physical condition wouldn’t improve.
No amount of motivation from your loved ones, friends, or doctor will convince you to do it. You think that your body has physical boundaries that it cannot cross by walking a half-mile. If your mind convinces you that your capacity for performance is fixed, your mindset is immutable.
Additionally, when you have a fixed mindset, you believe that your current intelligence and skill set will enable you to achieve the achievement you seek. This attitude is seen in professional sports.
A lot of sportsmen succeed in the professional ranks thanks to their “God-given skills and abilities.” Additionally, they strive to survive throughout their careers on those skills. These athletes frequently refuse instruction and training that would help them develop their skills and put in the necessary effort.
The unfortunate result of this is that many talented athletes’ careers are cut short when “Father Time” causes their ability to deteriorate. They are described as being “stuck in their ways” when their skill level declines and they refuse to acknowledge that they need to improve their games. In the world of sports, this may mark the end of a career.
Coaches and media celebrities draw attention to the fact that some players fail to recognize their current limitations. They also fail to recognize that having a flexible mindset might help them improve on other facets of their game, which may help them advance their careers.
What Exactly Is A Growth Mindset?
Instead, having a growth mindset is being open to taking on new tasks. Many refer to it as being open-minded. This demonstrates your readiness to absorb fresh information that becomes more pertinent to you than the earlier information you were using. For instance, facts on seat belt use and cigarette smoking have emerged over the past 30 years, which have largely transformed society’s perspective in the US. No matter the shift in perspective, accepting it might not be simple. However, it is undoubtedly feasible, particularly if we adopt a growth mindset.
Additionally, those who have a growth mindset think they may gradually get smarter, wiser, and more skilled. They form positive habits and believe that “practice makes perfect.” People invest more time and energy when they think they can be more inventive, successful, and accomplish amazing things.
“People with a growth mindset have an underlying belief that their learning and intelligence may grow with time and experience,” said Carol S. Dweck in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
Additionally, if you have a growth mentality, you think that your fundamental skills serve as the foundation for your potential. And the possibility for you to go further increases as you learn and develop. You don’t think everyone is the same, but you do think everyone can improve.
Chapter 5: Transformational Philosophy
Running a group, an organization, or a company successfully requires a sound leadership philosophy. You’ll stay committed to your goals and be more likely to regularly inspire and encourage your team when your leadership style is grounded on a solid foundation of values and beliefs.
It’s likely that you already know this. That doesn’t mean you can develop your leadership philosophy statement with assurance. It can be difficult to fully comprehend how to develop a philosophy that serves as a foundation for ongoing success.
It is necessary. You’ll be able to construct your own leadership philosophy by analyzing examples of other people’s practices. But first, it’s critical to understand just what a leadership philosophy entails.
Tips & Tricks for Writing a Leadership Philosophy
You might be asking how to write your own leadership philosophy now that you are more aware of examples. Fortunately, you can use a few hints and shortcuts to get going.
Establish Your Leadership Style
Finding your style is the first step in creating a leadership philosophy. Are you more of a transformative or a strategic leader? Do you like taking a more hands-off approach or getting more involved in a company’s daily operations?
Consider your own personal values.
Make sure to match your leadership philosophy with your values if you adhere to any of the following principles: empowerment, vision, communication, passion, dedication, or respect. Remember that the foundation of your leadership philosophy is your work ethic.
Take After Your Heroes
Consider the leaders you respect. You can simply mimic traits that you admire in your role models by paying close attention to them.
Establish Your Goal
What makes you want to lead? What is the foundation of your leadership? By responding to these inquiries, you can create a leadership philosophy that is genuine and individual to you.
Seek advice from your team
Ask your team for feedback on the leadership style you wish to use because everyone needs to support your choices and key principles. Not to add, your team members can provide you with insightful feedback on how to develop and improve your leadership style.
Make it workable.
Your leadership guiding principles ought to be more than just words on paper. It ought to be something you constantly think about and breathe in. Ensure that your leadership philosophy is applicable and that you make an effort to uphold it at all times.
Examples of Leadership Philosophies Main Points
• A leader’s actions and decisions are influenced by their leadership philosophy, which is a set of values and beliefs.
• Authentic, democratic, transactional, and transformational leadership are just a few examples of the various sorts of leadership ideologies.
• Finding your leadership style is crucial when creating your own leadership philosophy. Consider your personal values, consider your role models, and decide what you want to achieve.
• Do not forget to consult your team and confirm the applicability of your leadership philosophy.
Chapter 6: Understanding Why
Why success depends on having a cause for change
Consider beginning a journey.
You leave your home with the intention of traveling to a distant city, but you haven’t made up your mind as to why you want to go or what you’ll do when you get there.
You make a pit stop at another town along the way. You search the area for a place to eat, then you start visiting the sites, taking in the scenery, and discovering some undiscovered treasures. Before you know it, you’ve forgotten the entire purpose of visiting the city and are either remaining in the town or returning home.
In contrast, if you go out with a specific goal in mind, you are much more likely to stick with your route and arrive at your destination without becoming sidetracked along the way.
How Does This Relate In The Workplace?
One of the first questions we ask whenever we are asked to assist a company undergoing transformation is, “Why?”
Why? is the key to any successful transformation process. You can’t possibly hope to get the How, When, Who, or Where correct if you don’t know your Why.
Success requires a cause for change, and this is vitally essential. You have the best chance of continuing on the path toward achieving your goals if you understand why change is necessary.
Think about it: everything else in the process is affected if you don’t know why you need to make change.
If you are unable to explain the motivations behind your initial goal-setting, it will be difficult for you to choose the most suitable final objective.
If you don’t fully get why the change is required, your approach to accomplishing your goal may be faulty.
If you aren’t confident in them yourself, it will be impossible to persuade your colleagues of the benefits of what lies ahead.
How Do You Determine The Change’s Goal?
The first step in making a change is realizing that it is necessary. It’s remarkable how many people, who push through the shift nonetheless and eventually lose sight of their original goals, fail to see the wider picture at this early stage.
We advise beginning off by carefully reviewing your project. Try responding to the following queries: What element of your company needs to change?
What exactly isn’t working right now?
What will success in the future look like?
The answers to these questions taken together will reveal your change-related purpose.
How To Convince Your Team To Accept Change
After you’ve determined your purpose, it’s critical to gain your team’s support for the change. Assisting them in comprehending the change’s purpose will be the key to your success.
We frequently see managers who believe that by just informing their staff of what will happen, they are relieving them of the additional responsibility of having to comprehend why. Although they have the best of intentions, the team members end up feeling dictated to rather than buying into the future. Unavoidably, the transition process is less effective.
When they have a cause, people adapt more quickly. People will become more receptive to the new working methods more rapidly if you can explain why your organization needs to change. We can accept the smaller process adjustments as reasonable if we have faith in the why.
You might be surprised by your team’s enthusiasm if you explain the goal of the change to them. They are much more inclined to participate actively in accomplishing it if they can clearly envision the final result and what success will mean to them in the future. Not only will they be more eager to comply with directions, but they might even give their own insights and help the project take on a new facet.
Next, what?
Turn your attention to the paths to success once you have defined your objective and won your team’s support. There will typically be a number of options for implementing change, each with a different cost, timeframe, effort, and other factors. As mentioned above, your team might also present fresh ideas that you hadn’t even thought of.
Before deciding on a course of action, consider them all in relation to the success you need to attain.
You can completely reshape the project and greatly increase your chances of success by defining the change’s purpose.
Chapter 7: Prioritize
How To Set Priorities When Everything Is Crucial
These prioritization tactics can help you make the most of your working day because “busyness” doesn’t always equal progress.
Tasks are frequently prioritized (or not) during the workday based on the demands of others or the proximity of deadlines. This can also occur in our personal life, when we spend less time on things that are truly important and more time being “busy.” Effective task prioritization, done with purpose and in accordance with future objectives, can change this, ensuring that every work you complete adds value and preventing irrelevant chores from piling up on your to-do list.
You may significantly alter the course of your working day by putting prioritization tactics into place, allowing you to maximize both your time at work and at home. You can examine and establish your top priorities with the aid of these techniques.
Making an agenda, assessing the tasks, and assigning time and resources to deliver the most value in the least amount of time are typical steps in the thoughtful prioritization process. Prioritization should be flexible because you may need to put off less important work in order to complete urgent obligations.
Initiatives Should Be Prioritized
Because the organization’s resources are being stretched too thinly across too many initiatives, some transformation efforts fail. As a result, the decisions an organization makes regarding what to do and what to avoid doing are equally significant. However, a prioritization process must have a wide scope in order to aid in the success of a transition. As an illustration, ongoing initiatives must be reviewed with the same rigor as new ones because zombie projects waste valuable resources, particularly the attention of the leadership.
recognizing hazards. A solid data basis with a clear grasp of the magnitude and nature of each opportunity, its timeliness, and any delivery obstacles serves as the foundation for any effective prioritization process. Prioritization often uses the two lenses of value and simplicity. Although this strategy has some promise, the “easy” criteria are frequently arbitrary and encourage bias. Teams may as a result undervalue prospects that initially seem less promising and underestimate risk on projects they find appealing.
Determining the risks connected to each change in the transformation portfolio rigorously, often based on probability and severity, is thus a crucial stage. The whole range of unexpected consequences that can hinder implementation or seriously harm the company should be covered in a risk analysis, including benefit leakage, customer or talent attrition, safety or regulatory compliance, and compliance with regulations. When done correctly, the review combats the allure of large numbers and the ensuing propensity to ignore problems. Additionally, it prevents the promotion of pet projects during the prioritization process by taking into account the viewpoints of a wide range of stakeholders.
Reclassifying and mitigating. Leaders can gain a portfolio perspective by taking mitigation methods (such as preventative measures, backup plans, and monitoring) into account and then racking and stacking initiatives in accordance with their risk-adjusted value. They can decide on the goals of the firm based on that knowledge and the overall incremental risk they are willing to tolerate. The risk-effort trade-offs were made much apparent at a large refining company using this strategy, which changed the conversation from “That’s too hard” to “How do we make this easier?” As a result, projects that are of high priority are carried out more quickly than those that are straightforward but have unintended dangers.
Prioritization shouldn’t be a one-time thing; rather, it should be a key tool for flexible resource allocation based on the information at hand. Pilots for effective implementation are crucial investments because of this. Organizations that execute well frequently have well-honed strategies that not only tightly control pilots but also guarantee that the most important lessons are learned from the experience. Successful firms use the pilot as a crucial go/no-go gate as well as an opportunity to refine an endeavor, as opposed to using it as a ritualistic box-ticking exercise.
Chapter 8: The Influence Model
One of the many potential frameworks one may use in a case interview is the McKinsey Influence Model for change management. Of course, it applies to you if you are a young professional dealing with a significant transition at your place of employment. Alternatively, if you are an experienced professional in charge of planning or directing a corporate transformation. When an organization needs to start operating much differently than it has in the past, the influence model provides a framework for change management that you may use to navigate the changes in people, processes, and focus.
Let’s talk about the model in greater detail from a theoretical or academic standpoint. We’ll then use the model in a real-world business scenario. Finally, we will go over the benefits of the concept and why it has to be thoroughly understood.
Overview Of The Influence Model
Starting off with defining “organizational change” might be beneficial. There are several instances where a company undergoing significant transition necessitates that its executives and staff adopt new behaviors.
Imagine what would occur if a corporation decided to sell one or more of its business divisions in order to focus solely on the reduced number of surviving ones. Or consider a scenario in which a business decides to acquire a significant rival. Last but not least, consider a company that used to manufacture its goods in the United States, sell through brick and mortar retail shops, and spend its entire marketing budget on conventional news, radio, and TV commercials. However, that firm has now made the decision to develop a digital marketing strategy and start manufacturing abroad. In each of these cases, the organization is undergoing change and needs to figure out how to handle it as skillfully as possible.
The components of this McKinsey change management model are as follows:
1. Promoting comprehension and conviction
2. Using formal methods to reinforce changes
3. Developing abilities and talent
4. Role modeling
The concept is that when continuously applied together, these four sorts of behaviors, which build upon one another, will alter employee mindsets and favorably affect behavior. These comprise the Influence Model’s foundation. It is also known as an influence model for change for this reason.
Chapter 9: Positive Attitude
Which is your strongest trait—pessimism or optimism? How do these words make you feel?
If you’re unsure, the inquiry can be better phrased as, “How do you feel about your life?” How do you envision the future? More rainbows and butterflies or more suffering and misery?
Being inherently optimistic is quite tough in today’s environment. It would be cynical to claim that happiness is now simple given our hectic, fast-paced lifestyles and the continual negativity, scarcity, violence, and terror we are exposed to on TV and online. Given the current state of our economy and the uncertainties surrounding the future, the coronavirus epidemic added yet more burden to our already heavy plates.
In certain situations, it is possible to unconsciously fall into a negative frame of mind. One day, you simply awaken and wonder, “When did it all go south?”
A negative outlook will inevitably lead to overall life dissatisfaction and alienation from others. If you’ve tried to alter or affect the world around you and had a few disappointing encounters, it’s possible that this has just led to more dissatisfaction. However, there is always one thing you can alter in yourself, which is a big task but doable if you really want it. How?
Through developing a positive outlook.
Although it may sound trite, numerous scientific studies have proven the advantages of having an optimistic outlook. A positive outlook can change the game because it will further enhance and improve your attitude and behavior, as well as make you happy overall.
This course manual focuses on explaining the what, how, and why of developing a positive outlook on life.
“Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Chapter 10: Personalize Change
We can all agree that managing change is more important than ever in today’s chaotic world. Organizational change is necessary as businesses react to THE crisis, and it forces them to drive employee adoption, usage, and efficiency of new business procedures, systems, and technology. However, there is also a personal change management component; they are looking for their leaders to immediately join in and enlist the help of their subordinates. Understanding how people experience change and the change process is crucial for the personal transformation dimension. For the sake of the organization and, most crucially, the individuals who make up the organization, two interdependent processes should run concurrently or in tandem.
This is the key idea: Individual change comes before organizational change. Employees and executives alike must be capable of and ready to manage themselves. They may adjust more readily once they comprehend how change operates. They may navigate change more successfully and flexibly for themselves and, even better, assist others in doing the same when they are aware of how to handle the natural emotions, ideas, and behaviors that are brought on by each stage. They start to observe how much more swiftly and effortlessly positive things occur when they learn to work with change rather than against it. As a result, the organization is better able to prepare on a broader scale and has access to competent personnel when they are most needed. Organizations will not only be successful in paving the path towards a brighter future, but will also demonstrate to their employees how much they care, along the way, when they recognize the difference between personal change abilities and the process of organizational change.
Chapter 11: Transformation Culture
For a long time, change management has been considered a dark horse in the race for executives looking for the secret sauce of successful organizations. Many CEOs and leaders have adopted the idea of prioritizing people in businesses, but there is still a gap between what leaders consider change management to be and how to effectively create the groundwork for achieving their intended outcomes for success. I frequently observe a mindset in organizations where the leadership is convinced that change is necessary and that they must get their employees ready for the future, but they are unsure of where to begin. This is understandable because change can be a daunting concept in and of itself, but it ultimately starts with culture.
Our working practices are evolving quickly. It goes without saying that enterprises need to become more flexible and adaptive to compete and stay relevant in the future workforce given the widest generational divide in the labor force, rapid technological breakthroughs, and a younger workforce that is ready to embrace change. The prevalence of these elements makes it impossible for leaders to ignore them, yet the mounting pressure to change can breed a culture of “change for change’s sake” in businesses.
For instance, leadership evaluates the organization’s areas for improvement and decides to adopt a new software system to help staff members work more productively and effectively. The boss decides on a particular brand based on features and price, but worries about staff members using the software and all of the features they are paying for. The team leader makes the decision to incorporate change management into the implementation process in order to reduce the risk of low user adoption. It’s all really amazing. Leadership expects their workers to feel the same way that they are bringing their people forward and creating progress, but instead they get pushback and opposition. This can be disheartening and perplexing; after all, the leader had excellent intentions, cared about the organization’s future, and made every effort to minimize risk—so why is change so damn difficult? I think that by omitting the essential components of effective change management, organizations have already doomed themselves to failure before this process even gets started. Long before a change is ever decided upon, change management begins.
The danger of “change for the sake of change” is that it can lead to organizations becoming reactive in their decision-making and making choices that don’t support their ultimate vision. Organizations must avoid having a reactive mindset and adopt a proactive one while making preparations for the future. The workplace of the future needs to undergo significant change, but before taking these steps, leaders must first build the groundwork for significant change by altering the culture.
Chapter 12: Transformation Fatigue
According to a SAP research, 84% of executives think that change is essential to their continued existence. However, just 3% of them claim to have finished the transformation process. Many businesses are beginning to exhibit indications of fatigue despite having the best of intentions when they first started. But what might be impeding their development?
Many companies made the error of hopping on the transformation bandwagon without considering the level of dedication needed to make it successful. They incorrectly believed that by making a few updates, they could check the appropriate box and proceed to the next value-added project. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that easy, because digital transformation is a process rather than a finished product.
People Come First, Not Technology
Businesses of all sizes exhibit a resistance to change in the corporate culture. Employees will find it challenging to embrace change if you don’t help them along the way. It also causes other issues that make it difficult for you to accomplish your objectives.
It is true that technology is advancing quickly, and keeping up with the speed can be challenging. The fact that it won’t ever move this slowly again is an even more unsettling reality. Businesses must adopt a digital attitude across the board if they are to continue to evolve.
People are the lifeblood of every business. To satisfy the increasing demands of their clients in both B2C and B2B situations, executives must bring every team together. Many businesses have failed to solve the challenges they set out to answer because they were sidetracked by the glittering appeal of technology and were unable to get employees to see their vision.
The key ingredients that make every digital transformation a success story are people, procedures, company culture, and mentality. These crucial elements are among the main causes of the failure of your digital strategy.
What You Measure Is All That You Can Improve
Digital projects remain a top focus, according to research firm Gartner’s study of CIOs. Only 4% of businesses actually lack any digital initiatives at all. Many people are striving to become digitally mature as the topic becomes more popular.
In contrast, a prior Gartner poll from 2017 revealed that almost half of CEOs lacked any metrics about their attempts to change their businesses digitally. Most business executives concur that you can only get better at what you measure. Without a baseline or useful measurements in place, many people adopted the evolutionary disrupt before you get disrupted method despite being aware of this.
Many businesses first saw fast, transient improvements. But they are currently unable to achieve long-term success due to the lack of comprehensive measures. What needs to be monitored and improved can be determined by removing data silos by implementing digital tools that make information more accessible throughout a whole business.
You can report one version of the truth in metrics that track your progress using real-time data. In order to accelerate your transformation efforts and finally get away from technology that overpromises and underdelivers, data-based decision making is essential.
Curriculum
Transformational Change – Workshop 2 – Embracing Potentiality
- Mindset Matters
- Challenging Beliefs
- Unconscious Mindsets
- Fixed vs Growth
- Transformational Philosophy
- Understanding Why
- Prioritize
- The Influence Model
- Positive Attitude
- Personalize Change
- Transformation Culture
- Transformation Fatigue
Distance Learning
Introduction
Welcome to Appleton Greene and thank you for enrolling on the Transformational Change corporate training program. You will be learning through our unique facilitation via distance-learning method, which will enable you to practically implement everything that you learn academically. The methods and materials used in your program have been designed and developed to ensure that you derive the maximum benefits and enjoyment possible. We hope that you find the program challenging and fun to do. However, if you have never been a distance-learner before, you may be experiencing some trepidation at the task before you. So we will get you started by giving you some basic information and guidance on how you can make the best use of the modules, how you should manage the materials and what you should be doing as you work through them. This guide is designed to point you in the right direction and help you to become an effective distance-learner. Take a few hours or so to study this guide and your guide to tutorial support for students, while making notes, before you start to study in earnest.
Study environment
You will need to locate a quiet and private place to study, preferably a room where you can easily be isolated from external disturbances or distractions. Make sure the room is well-lit and incorporates a relaxed, pleasant feel. If you can spoil yourself within your study environment, you will have much more of a chance to ensure that you are always in the right frame of mind when you do devote time to study. For example, a nice fire, the ability to play soft soothing background music, soft but effective lighting, perhaps a nice view if possible and a good size desk with a comfortable chair. Make sure that your family know when you are studying and understand your study rules. Your study environment is very important. The ideal situation, if at all possible, is to have a separate study, which can be devoted to you. If this is not possible then you will need to pay a lot more attention to developing and managing your study schedule, because it will affect other people as well as yourself. The better your study environment, the more productive you will be.
Study tools & rules
Try and make sure that your study tools are sufficient and in good working order. You will need to have access to a computer, scanner and printer, with access to the internet. You will need a very comfortable chair, which supports your lower back, and you will need a good filing system. It can be very frustrating if you are spending valuable study time trying to fix study tools that are unreliable, or unsuitable for the task. Make sure that your study tools are up to date. You will also need to consider some study rules. Some of these rules will apply to you and will be intended to help you to be more disciplined about when and how you study. This distance-learning guide will help you and after you have read it you can put some thought into what your study rules should be. You will also need to negotiate some study rules for your family, friends or anyone who lives with you. They too will need to be disciplined in order to ensure that they can support you while you study. It is important to ensure that your family and friends are an integral part of your study team. Having their support and encouragement can prove to be a crucial contribution to your successful completion of the program. Involve them in as much as you can.
Successful distance-learning
Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes or workshops, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. But unlike traditional internal training courses, it is the student’s responsibility, with a distance-learning program, to ensure that they manage their own study contribution. This requires strong self-discipline and self-motivation skills and there must be a clear will to succeed. Those students who are used to managing themselves, are good at managing others and who enjoy working in isolation, are more likely to be good distance-learners. It is also important to be aware of the main reasons why you are studying and of the main objectives that you are hoping to achieve as a result. You will need to remind yourself of these objectives at times when you need to motivate yourself. Never lose sight of your long-term goals and your short-term objectives. There is nobody available here to pamper you, or to look after you, or to spoon-feed you with information, so you will need to find ways to encourage and appreciate yourself while you are studying. Make sure that you chart your study progress, so that you can be sure of your achievements and re-evaluate your goals and objectives regularly.
Self-assessment
Appleton Greene training programs are in all cases post-graduate programs. Consequently, you should already have obtained a business-related degree and be an experienced learner. You should therefore already be aware of your study strengths and weaknesses. For example, which time of the day are you at your most productive? Are you a lark or an owl? What study methods do you respond to the most? Are you a consistent learner? How do you discipline yourself? How do you ensure that you enjoy yourself while studying? It is important to understand yourself as a learner and so some self-assessment early on will be necessary if you are to apply yourself correctly. Perform a SWOT analysis on yourself as a student. List your internal strengths and weaknesses as a student and your external opportunities and threats. This will help you later on when you are creating a study plan. You can then incorporate features within your study plan that can ensure that you are playing to your strengths, while compensating for your weaknesses. You can also ensure that you make the most of your opportunities, while avoiding the potential threats to your success.
Accepting responsibility as a student
Training programs invariably require a significant investment, both in terms of what they cost and in the time that you need to contribute to study and the responsibility for successful completion of training programs rests entirely with the student. This is never more apparent than when a student is learning via distance-learning. Accepting responsibility as a student is an important step towards ensuring that you can successfully complete your training program. It is easy to instantly blame other people or factors when things go wrong. But the fact of the matter is that if a failure is your failure, then you have the power to do something about it, it is entirely in your own hands. If it is always someone else’s failure, then you are powerless to do anything about it. All students study in entirely different ways, this is because we are all individuals and what is right for one student, is not necessarily right for another. In order to succeed, you will have to accept personal responsibility for finding a way to plan, implement and manage a personal study plan that works for you. If you do not succeed, you only have yourself to blame.
Planning
By far the most critical contribution to stress, is the feeling of not being in control. In the absence of planning we tend to be reactive and can stumble from pillar to post in the hope that things will turn out fine in the end. Invariably they don’t! In order to be in control, we need to have firm ideas about how and when we want to do things. We also need to consider as many possible eventualities as we can, so that we are prepared for them when they happen. Prescriptive Change, is far easier to manage and control, than Emergent Change. The same is true with distance-learning. It is much easier and much more enjoyable, if you feel that you are in control and that things are going to plan. Even when things do go wrong, you are prepared for them and can act accordingly without any unnecessary stress. It is important therefore that you do take time to plan your studies properly.
Management
Once you have developed a clear study plan, it is of equal importance to ensure that you manage the implementation of it. Most of us usually enjoy planning, but it is usually during implementation when things go wrong. Targets are not met and we do not understand why. Sometimes we do not even know if targets are being met. It is not enough for us to conclude that the study plan just failed. If it is failing, you will need to understand what you can do about it. Similarly if your study plan is succeeding, it is still important to understand why, so that you can improve upon your success. You therefore need to have guidelines for self-assessment so that you can be consistent with performance improvement throughout the program. If you manage things correctly, then your performance should constantly improve throughout the program.
Study objectives & tasks
The first place to start is developing your program objectives. These should feature your reasons for undertaking the training program in order of priority. Keep them succinct and to the point in order to avoid confusion. Do not just write the first things that come into your head because they are likely to be too similar to each other. Make a list of possible departmental headings, such as: Customer Service; E-business; Finance; Globalization; Human Resources; Technology; Legal; Management; Marketing and Production. Then brainstorm for ideas by listing as many things that you want to achieve under each heading and later re-arrange these things in order of priority. Finally, select the top item from each department heading and choose these as your program objectives. Try and restrict yourself to five because it will enable you to focus clearly. It is likely that the other things that you listed will be achieved if each of the top objectives are achieved. If this does not prove to be the case, then simply work through the process again.
Study forecast
As a guide, the Appleton Greene Transformational Change corporate training program should take 12-18 months to complete, depending upon your availability and current commitments. The reason why there is such a variance in time estimates is because every student is an individual, with differing productivity levels and different commitments. These differentiations are then exaggerated by the fact that this is a distance-learning program, which incorporates the practical integration of academic theory as an as a part of the training program. Consequently all of the project studies are real, which means that important decisions and compromises need to be made. You will want to get things right and will need to be patient with your expectations in order to ensure that they are. We would always recommend that you are prudent with your own task and time forecasts, but you still need to develop them and have a clear indication of what are realistic expectations in your case. With reference to your time planning: consider the time that you can realistically dedicate towards study with the program every week; calculate how long it should take you to complete the program, using the guidelines featured here; then break the program down into logical modules and allocate a suitable proportion of time to each of them, these will be your milestones; you can create a time plan by using a spreadsheet on your computer, or a personal organizer such as MS Outlook, you could also use a financial forecasting software; break your time forecasts down into manageable chunks of time, the more specific you can be, the more productive and accurate your time management will be; finally, use formulas where possible to do your time calculations for you, because this will help later on when your forecasts need to change in line with actual performance. With reference to your task planning: refer to your list of tasks that need to be undertaken in order to achieve your program objectives; with reference to your time plan, calculate when each task should be implemented; remember that you are not estimating when your objectives will be achieved, but when you will need to focus upon implementing the corresponding tasks; you also need to ensure that each task is implemented in conjunction with the associated training modules which are relevant; then break each single task down into a list of specific to do’s, say approximately ten to do’s for each task and enter these into your study plan; once again you could use MS Outlook to incorporate both your time and task planning and this could constitute your study plan; you could also use a project management software like MS Project. You should now have a clear and realistic forecast detailing when you can expect to be able to do something about undertaking the tasks to achieve your program objectives.
Performance management
It is one thing to develop your study forecast, it is quite another to monitor your progress. Ultimately it is less important whether you achieve your original study forecast and more important that you update it so that it constantly remains realistic in line with your performance. As you begin to work through the program, you will begin to have more of an idea about your own personal performance and productivity levels as a distance-learner. Once you have completed your first study module, you should re-evaluate your study forecast for both time and tasks, so that they reflect your actual performance level achieved. In order to achieve this you must first time yourself while training by using an alarm clock. Set the alarm for hourly intervals and make a note of how far you have come within that time. You can then make a note of your actual performance on your study plan and then compare your performance against your forecast. Then consider the reasons that have contributed towards your performance level, whether they are positive or negative and make a considered adjustment to your future forecasts as a result. Given time, you should start achieving your forecasts regularly.
With reference to time management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual time taken in your study plan; consider your successes with time-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; consider your failures with time-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to time planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your time expectations. You need to be consistent with your time management, otherwise you will never complete your studies. This will either be because you are not contributing enough time to your studies, or you will become less efficient with the time that you do allocate to your studies. Remember, if you are not in control of your studies, they can just become yet another cause of stress for you.
With reference to your task management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual tasks that you have undertaken in your study plan; consider your successes with task-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case; take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; consider your failures with task-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to task planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your task expectations. You need to be consistent with your task management, otherwise you will never know whether you are achieving your program objectives or not.
Keeping in touch
You will have access to qualified and experienced professors and tutors who are responsible for providing tutorial support for your particular training program. So don’t be shy about letting them know how you are getting on. We keep electronic records of all tutorial support emails so that professors and tutors can review previous correspondence before considering an individual response. It also means that there is a record of all communications between you and your professors and tutors and this helps to avoid any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation. If you have a problem relating to the program, share it with them via email. It is likely that they have come across the same problem before and are usually able to make helpful suggestions and steer you in the right direction. To learn more about when and how to use tutorial support, please refer to the Tutorial Support section of this student information guide. This will help you to ensure that you are making the most of tutorial support that is available to you and will ultimately contribute towards your success and enjoyment with your training program.
Work colleagues and family
You should certainly discuss your program study progress with your colleagues, friends and your family. Appleton Greene training programs are very practical. They require you to seek information from other people, to plan, develop and implement processes with other people and to achieve feedback from other people in relation to viability and productivity. You will therefore have plenty of opportunities to test your ideas and enlist the views of others. People tend to be sympathetic towards distance-learners, so don’t bottle it all up in yourself. Get out there and share it! It is also likely that your family and colleagues are going to benefit from your labors with the program, so they are likely to be much more interested in being involved than you might think. Be bold about delegating work to those who might benefit themselves. This is a great way to achieve understanding and commitment from people who you may later rely upon for process implementation. Share your experiences with your friends and family.
Making it relevant
The key to successful learning is to make it relevant to your own individual circumstances. At all times you should be trying to make bridges between the content of the program and your own situation. Whether you achieve this through quiet reflection or through interactive discussion with your colleagues, client partners or your family, remember that it is the most important and rewarding aspect of translating your studies into real self-improvement. You should be clear about how you want the program to benefit you. This involves setting clear study objectives in relation to the content of the course in terms of understanding, concepts, completing research or reviewing activities and relating the content of the modules to your own situation. Your objectives may understandably change as you work through the program, in which case you should enter the revised objectives on your study plan so that you have a permanent reminder of what you are trying to achieve, when and why.
Distance-learning check-list
Prepare your study environment, your study tools and rules.
Undertake detailed self-assessment in terms of your ability as a learner.
Create a format for your study plan.
Consider your study objectives and tasks.
Create a study forecast.
Assess your study performance.
Re-evaluate your study forecast.
Be consistent when managing your study plan.
Use your Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) for tutorial support.
Make sure you keep in touch with those around you.
Tutorial Support
Programs
Appleton Greene uses standard and bespoke corporate training programs as vessels to transfer business process improvement knowledge into the heart of our clients’ organizations. Each individual program focuses upon the implementation of a specific business process, which enables clients to easily quantify their return on investment. There are hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products now available to clients within customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office, or an unlimited number of international offices, we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization enables us to provide clients with a truly international service with that all important personal touch. Appleton Greene corporate training programs can be provided virtually or locally and they are all unique in that they individually focus upon a specific business function. They are implemented over a sustainable period of time and professional support is consistently provided by qualified learning providers and specialist consultants.
Support available
You will have a designated Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and an Accredited Consultant and we encourage you to communicate with them as much as possible. In all cases tutorial support is provided online because we can then keep a record of all communications to ensure that tutorial support remains consistent. You would also be forwarding your work to the tutorial support unit for evaluation and assessment. You will receive individual feedback on all of the work that you undertake on a one-to-one basis, together with specific recommendations for anything that may need to be changed in order to achieve a pass with merit or a pass with distinction and you then have as many opportunities as you may need to re-submit project studies until they meet with the required standard. Consequently the only reason that you should really fail (CLP) is if you do not do the work. It makes no difference to us whether a student takes 12 months or 18 months to complete the program, what matters is that in all cases the same quality standard will have been achieved.
Support Process
Please forward all of your future emails to the designated (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit email address that has been provided and please do not duplicate or copy your emails to other AGC email accounts as this will just cause unnecessary administration. Please note that emails are always answered as quickly as possible but you will need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general tutorial support emails during busy periods, because emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. You will also need to allow a period of up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Please therefore kindly allow for this within your time planning. All communications are managed online via email because it enables tutorial service support managers to review other communications which have been received before responding and it ensures that there is a copy of all communications retained on file for future reference. All communications will be stored within your personal (CLP) study file here at Appleton Greene throughout your designated study period. If you need any assistance or clarification at any time, please do not hesitate to contact us by forwarding an email and remember that we are here to help. If you have any questions, please list and number your questions succinctly and you can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each and every query.
Time Management
It takes approximately 1 Year to complete the Transformational Change corporate training program, incorporating 12 x 6-hour monthly workshops. Each student will also need to contribute approximately 4 hours per week over 1 Year of their personal time. Students can study from home or work at their own pace and are responsible for managing their own study plan. There are no formal examinations and students are evaluated and assessed based upon their project study submissions, together with the quality of their internal analysis and supporting documents. They can contribute more time towards study when they have the time to do so and can contribute less time when they are busy. All students tend to be in full time employment while studying and the Transformational Change program is purposely designed to accommodate this, so there is plenty of flexibility in terms of time management. It makes no difference to us at Appleton Greene, whether individuals take 12-18 months to complete this program. What matters is that in all cases the same standard of quality will have been achieved with the standard and bespoke programs that have been developed.
Distance Learning Guide
The distance learning guide should be your first port of call when starting your training program. It will help you when you are planning how and when to study, how to create the right environment and how to establish the right frame of mind. If you can lay the foundations properly during the planning stage, then it will contribute to your enjoyment and productivity while training later. The guide helps to change your lifestyle in order to accommodate time for study and to cultivate good study habits. It helps you to chart your progress so that you can measure your performance and achieve your goals. It explains the tools that you will need for study and how to make them work. It also explains how to translate academic theory into practical reality. Spend some time now working through your distance learning guide and make sure that you have firm foundations in place so that you can make the most of your distance learning program. There is no requirement for you to attend training workshops or classes at Appleton Greene offices. The entire program is undertaken online, program course manuals and project studies are administered via the Appleton Greene web site and via email, so you are able to study at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office as long as you have a computer and access to the internet.
How To Study
The how to study guide provides students with a clear understanding of the Appleton Greene facilitation via distance learning training methods and enables students to obtain a clear overview of the training program content. It enables students to understand the step-by-step training methods used by Appleton Greene and how course manuals are integrated with project studies. It explains the research and development that is required and the need to provide evidence and references to support your statements. It also enables students to understand precisely what will be required of them in order to achieve a pass with merit and a pass with distinction for individual project studies and provides useful guidance on how to be innovative and creative when developing your Unique Program Proposition (UPP).
Tutorial Support
Tutorial support for the Appleton Greene Transformational Change corporate training program is provided online either through the Appleton Greene Client Support Portal (CSP), or via email. All tutorial support requests are facilitated by a designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). They are responsible for deciding which professor or tutor is the most appropriate option relating to the support required and then the tutorial support request is forwarded onto them. Once the professor or tutor has completed the tutorial support request and answered any questions that have been asked, this communication is then returned to the student via email by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). This enables all tutorial support, between students, professors and tutors, to be facilitated by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM) efficiently and securely through the email account. You will therefore need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general support queries and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because all tutorial support requests are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Consequently you need to put some thought into the management of your tutorial support procedure in order to ensure that your study plan is feasible and to obtain the maximum possible benefit from tutorial support during your period of study. Please retain copies of your tutorial support emails for future reference. Please ensure that ALL of your tutorial support emails are set out using the format as suggested within your guide to tutorial support. Your tutorial support emails need to be referenced clearly to the specific part of the course manual or project study which you are working on at any given time. You also need to list and number any questions that you would like to ask, up to a maximum of five questions within each tutorial support email. Remember the more specific you can be with your questions the more specific your answers will be too and this will help you to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or duplication. The guide to tutorial support is intended to help you to understand how and when to use support in order to ensure that you get the most out of your training program. Appleton Greene training programs are designed to enable you to do things for yourself. They provide you with a structure or a framework and we use tutorial support to facilitate students while they practically implement what they learn. In other words, we are enabling students to do things for themselves. The benefits of distance learning via facilitation are considerable and are much more sustainable in the long-term than traditional short-term knowledge sharing programs. Consequently you should learn how and when to use tutorial support so that you can maximize the benefits from your learning experience with Appleton Greene. This guide describes the purpose of each training function and how to use them and how to use tutorial support in relation to each aspect of the training program. It also provides useful tips and guidance with regard to best practice.
Tutorial Support Tips
Students are often unsure about how and when to use tutorial support with Appleton Greene. This Tip List will help you to understand more about how to achieve the most from using tutorial support. Refer to it regularly to ensure that you are continuing to use the service properly. Tutorial support is critical to the success of your training experience, but it is important to understand when and how to use it in order to maximize the benefit that you receive. It is no coincidence that those students who succeed are those that learn how to be positive, proactive and productive when using tutorial support.
Be positive and friendly with your tutorial support emails
Remember that if you forward an email to the tutorial support unit, you are dealing with real people. “Do unto others as you would expect others to do unto you”. If you are positive, complimentary and generally friendly in your emails, you will generate a similar response in return. This will be more enjoyable, productive and rewarding for you in the long-term.
Think about the impression that you want to create
Every time that you communicate, you create an impression, which can be either positive or negative, so put some thought into the impression that you want to create. Remember that copies of all tutorial support emails are stored electronically and tutors will always refer to prior correspondence before responding to any current emails. Over a period of time, a general opinion will be arrived at in relation to your character, attitude and ability. Try to manage your own frustrations, mood swings and temperament professionally, without involving the tutorial support team. Demonstrating frustration or a lack of patience is a weakness and will be interpreted as such. The good thing about communicating in writing, is that you will have the time to consider your content carefully, you can review it and proof-read it before sending your email to Appleton Greene and this should help you to communicate more professionally, consistently and to avoid any unnecessary knee-jerk reactions to individual situations as and when they may arise. Please also remember that the CLP Tutorial Support Unit will not just be responsible for evaluating and assessing the quality of your work, they will also be responsible for providing recommendations to other learning providers and to client contacts within the Appleton Greene global client network, so do be in control of your own emotions and try to create a good impression.
Remember that quality is preferred to quantity
Please remember that when you send an email to the tutorial support team, you are not using Twitter or Text Messaging. Try not to forward an email every time that you have a thought. This will not prove to be productive either for you or for the tutorial support team. Take time to prepare your communications properly, as if you were writing a professional letter to a business colleague and make a list of queries that you are likely to have and then incorporate them within one email, say once every month, so that the tutorial support team can understand more about context, application and your methodology for study. Get yourself into a consistent routine with your tutorial support requests and use the tutorial support template provided with ALL of your emails. The (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit will not spoon-feed you with information. They need to be able to evaluate and assess your tutorial support requests carefully and professionally.
Be specific about your questions in order to receive specific answers
Try not to write essays by thinking as you are writing tutorial support emails. The tutorial support unit can be unclear about what in fact you are asking, or what you are looking to achieve. Be specific about asking questions that you want answers to. Number your questions. You will then receive specific answers to each and every question. This is the main purpose of tutorial support via email.
Keep a record of your tutorial support emails
It is important that you keep a record of all tutorial support emails that are forwarded to you. You can then refer to them when necessary and it avoids any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Individual training workshops or telephone support
Please be advised that Appleton Greene does not provide separate or individual tutorial support meetings, workshops, or provide telephone support for individual students. Appleton Greene is an equal opportunities learning and service provider and we are therefore understandably bound to treat all students equally. We cannot therefore broker special financial or study arrangements with individual students regardless of the circumstances. All tutorial support is provided online and this enables Appleton Greene to keep a record of all communications between students, professors and tutors on file for future reference, in accordance with our quality management procedure and your terms and conditions of enrolment. All tutorial support is provided online via email because it enables us to have time to consider support content carefully, it ensures that you receive a considered and detailed response to your queries. You can number questions that you would like to ask, which relate to things that you do not understand or where clarification may be required. You can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each individual query. You will also then have a record of these communications and of all tutorial support, which has been provided to you. This makes tutorial support administration more productive by avoiding any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Tutorial Support Email Format
You should use this tutorial support format if you need to request clarification or assistance while studying with your training program. Please note that ALL of your tutorial support request emails should use the same format. You should therefore set up a standard email template, which you can then use as and when you need to. Emails that are forwarded to Appleton Greene, which do not use the following format, may be rejected and returned to you by the (CLP) Program Administration Manager. A detailed response will then be forwarded to you via email usually within 20 business days of receipt for general support queries and 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Your tutorial support request, together with the corresponding TSU reply, will then be saved and stored within your electronic TSU file at Appleton Greene for future reference.
Subject line of your email
Please insert: Appleton Greene (CLP) Tutorial Support Request: (Your Full Name) (Date), within the subject line of your email.
Main body of your email
Please insert:
1. Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) Tutorial Support Request
2. Your Full Name
3. Date of TS request
4. Preferred email address
5. Backup email address
6. Course manual page name or number (reference)
7. Project study page name or number (reference)
Subject of enquiry
Please insert a maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Briefly outline the subject matter of your inquiry, or what your questions relate to.
Question 1
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 3
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 4
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 5
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Please note that a maximum of 5 questions is permitted with each individual tutorial support request email.
Procedure
* List the questions that you want to ask first, then re-arrange them in order of priority. Make sure that you reference them, where necessary, to the course manuals or project studies.
* Make sure that you are specific about your questions and number them. Try to plan the content within your emails to make sure that it is relevant.
* Make sure that your tutorial support emails are set out correctly, using the Tutorial Support Email Format provided here.
* Save a copy of your email and incorporate the date sent after the subject title. Keep your tutorial support emails within the same file and in date order for easy reference.
* Allow up to 20 business days for a response to general tutorial support emails and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because detailed individual responses will be made in all cases and tutorial support emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received.
* Emails can and do get lost. So if you have not received a reply within the appropriate time, forward another copy or a reminder to the tutorial support unit to be sure that it has been received but do not forward reminders unless the appropriate time has elapsed.
* When you receive a reply, save it immediately featuring the date of receipt after the subject heading for easy reference. In most cases the tutorial support unit replies to your questions individually, so you will have a record of the questions that you asked as well as the answers offered. With project studies however, separate emails are usually forwarded by the tutorial support unit, so do keep a record of your own original emails as well.
* Remember to be positive and friendly in your emails. You are dealing with real people who will respond to the same things that you respond to.
* Try not to repeat questions that have already been asked in previous emails. If this happens the tutorial support unit will probably just refer you to the appropriate answers that have already been provided within previous emails.
* If you lose your tutorial support email records you can write to Appleton Greene to receive a copy of your tutorial support file, but a separate administration charge may be levied for this service.
How To Study
Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can help you to plan a task list for getting started so that you can be clear about your direction and your priorities in relation to your training program. It is also a good way to introduce yourself to the tutorial support team.
Planning your study environment
Your study conditions are of great importance and will have a direct effect on how much you enjoy your training program. Consider how much space you will have, whether it is comfortable and private and whether you are likely to be disturbed. The study tools and facilities at your disposal are also important to the success of your distance-learning experience. Your tutorial support unit can help with useful tips and guidance, regardless of your starting position. It is important to get this right before you start working on your training program.
Planning your program objectives
It is important that you have a clear list of study objectives, in order of priority, before you start working on your training program. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance here to ensure that your study objectives have been afforded due consideration and priority.
Planning how and when to study
Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. This approach is designed to let you study efficiently away from the traditional classroom environment. It is important however, that you plan how and when to study, so that you are making the most of your natural attributes, strengths and opportunities. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance and useful tips to ensure that you are playing to your strengths.
Planning your study tasks
You should have a clear understanding of the study tasks that you should be undertaking and the priority associated with each task. These tasks should also be integrated with your program objectives. The distance learning guide and the guide to tutorial support for students should help you here, but if you need any clarification or assistance, please contact your tutorial support unit.
Planning your time
You will need to allocate specific times during your calendar when you intend to study if you are to have a realistic chance of completing your program on time. You are responsible for planning and managing your own study time, so it is important that you are successful with this. Your tutorial support unit can help you with this if your time plan is not working.
Keeping in touch
Consistency is the key here. If you communicate too frequently in short bursts, or too infrequently with no pattern, then your management ability with your studies will be questioned, both by you and by your tutorial support unit. It is obvious when a student is in control and when one is not and this will depend how able you are at sticking with your study plan. Inconsistency invariably leads to in-completion.
Charting your progress
Your tutorial support team can help you to chart your own study progress. Refer to your distance learning guide for further details.
Making it work
To succeed, all that you will need to do is apply yourself to undertaking your training program and interpreting it correctly. Success or failure lies in your hands and your hands alone, so be sure that you have a strategy for making it work. Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can guide you through the process of program planning, development and implementation.
Reading methods
Interpretation is often unique to the individual but it can be improved and even quantified by implementing consistent interpretation methods. Interpretation can be affected by outside interference such as family members, TV, or the Internet, or simply by other thoughts which are demanding priority in our minds. One thing that can improve our productivity is using recognized reading methods. This helps us to focus and to be more structured when reading information for reasons of importance, rather than relaxation.
Speed reading
When reading through course manuals for the first time, subconsciously set your reading speed to be just fast enough that you cannot dwell on individual words or tables. With practice, you should be able to read an A4 sheet of paper in one minute. You will not achieve much in the way of a detailed understanding, but your brain will retain a useful overview. This overview will be important later on and will enable you to keep individual issues in perspective with a more generic picture because speed reading appeals to the memory part of the brain. Do not worry about what you do or do not remember at this stage.
Content reading
Once you have speed read everything, you can then start work in earnest. You now need to read a particular section of your course manual thoroughly, by making detailed notes while you read. This process is called Content Reading and it will help to consolidate your understanding and interpretation of the information that has been provided.
Making structured notes on the course manuals
When you are content reading, you should be making detailed notes, which are both structured and informative. Make these notes in a MS Word document on your computer, because you can then amend and update these as and when you deem it to be necessary. List your notes under three headings: 1. Interpretation – 2. Questions – 3. Tasks. The purpose of the 1st section is to clarify your interpretation by writing it down. The purpose of the 2nd section is to list any questions that the issue raises for you. The purpose of the 3rd section is to list any tasks that you should undertake as a result. Anyone who has graduated with a business-related degree should already be familiar with this process.
Organizing structured notes separately
You should then transfer your notes to a separate study notebook, preferably one that enables easy referencing, such as a MS Word Document, a MS Excel Spreadsheet, a MS Access Database, or a personal organizer on your cell phone. Transferring your notes allows you to have the opportunity of cross-checking and verifying them, which assists considerably with understanding and interpretation. You will also find that the better you are at doing this, the more chance you will have of ensuring that you achieve your study objectives.
Question your understanding
Do challenge your understanding. Explain things to yourself in your own words by writing things down.
Clarifying your understanding
If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your understanding.
Question your interpretation
Do challenge your interpretation. Qualify your interpretation by writing it down.
Clarifying your interpretation
If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your interpretation.
Qualification Requirements
The student will need to successfully complete the project study and all of the exercises relating to the Transformational Change corporate training program, achieving a pass with merit or distinction in each case, in order to qualify as an Accredited Transformational Change Specialist (APTS). All monthly workshops need to be tried and tested within your company. These project studies can be completed in your own time and at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office. There are no formal examinations, assessment is based upon the successful completion of the project studies. They are called project studies because, unlike case studies, these projects are not theoretical, they incorporate real program processes that need to be properly researched and developed. The project studies assist us in measuring your understanding and interpretation of the training program and enable us to assess qualification merits. All of the project studies are based entirely upon the content within the training program and they enable you to integrate what you have learnt into your corporate training practice.
Transformational Change – Grading Contribution
Project Study – Grading Contribution
Customer Service – 10%
E-business – 05%
Finance – 10%
Globalization – 10%
Human Resources – 10%
Information Technology – 10%
Legal – 05%
Management – 10%
Marketing – 10%
Production – 10%
Education – 05%
Logistics – 05%
TOTAL GRADING – 100%
Qualification grades
A mark of 90% = Pass with Distinction.
A mark of 75% = Pass with Merit.
A mark of less than 75% = Fail.
If you fail to achieve a mark of 75% with a project study, you will receive detailed feedback from the Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and/or Accredited Consultant, together with a list of tasks which you will need to complete, in order to ensure that your project study meets with the minimum quality standard that is required by Appleton Greene. You can then re-submit your project study for further evaluation and assessment. Indeed you can re-submit as many drafts of your project studies as you need to, until such a time as they eventually meet with the required standard by Appleton Greene, so you need not worry about this, it is all part of the learning process.
When marking project studies, Appleton Greene is looking for sufficient evidence of the following:
Pass with merit
A satisfactory level of program understanding
A satisfactory level of program interpretation
A satisfactory level of project study content presentation
A satisfactory level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
A satisfactory level of the practical integration of academic theory
Pass with distinction
An exceptional level of program understanding
An exceptional level of program interpretation
An exceptional level of project study content presentation
An exceptional level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
An exceptional level of the practical integration of academic theory
Preliminary Analysis
Online Article
By Trudy Bourgeois
Hesselbein & Company
15 September 2006
”The challenge of changing values, beliefs, and expectations
Have you noticed that the U.S. population is changing? With all the news dedicated to immigrants how could you not? Our nation is far more multinational, multicultural, and multigenerational than ever before in history. As our world changes, so does the population inside the walls we refer to as the “work environment.”
By 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, 70 percent of all new entries into the workforce will be women, minorities, or immigrants. Four and sometimes five generations are working side by side in today’s workforce. Each of these generations has its own values, desires, and approach to work. Unlike generations gone by, today’s younger employees come into the workforce with bold expectations. Today’s new players expect to be rewarded for their hard work via promotion, and if it does not occur they will leave. They are the “play me or trade me” segment of the workforce. They ask a lot of questions and demand a lot of answers. That doesn’t sit too well with the traditionals or the baby boomers who were raised in a workforce where you took your orders and asked no questions.
Retirement is becoming more and more of a dream, and many baby boomers are staying in the workforce longer than their typical predecessors. Many of these workers, most of whom have chased the compensation carrot, have reached a point where they want meaning. These workers want to know that their lives are being used not just to make profits for an organization but also for something that counts. In fact, the general trend among all employees is that they want to be valued. They want to be treated with respect. They do not want to have to conform. Whether in regard to racial, generational, cultural, or value differences, people want to be embraced and engaged for who they are and for what they can do.
These dramatic differences in values, beliefs, and expectations present quite a challenge for today’s leaders. In fact, to rise to the occasion, leaders will have to meet three distinct challenges. They will have to become leaders who can lead with vulnerability. They will need to go beyond standard leadership roles to really coach and develop their people. And they must respond to people’s increased need for spirituality in the workplace. Let me discuss each of these leadership challenges.
Leading with Vulnerability In a time when innovation and creativity are paramount requirements for success, obtaining full engagement from every employee is critical. According to Gallup re-search, 60 percent of all employees show up to work physically but are checked out mentally. What causes an employee to check out? The answer is simple: a poor relationship with the immediate leader. During a recent interview one employee described it to me this way:
I know exactly how it feels to be checked out. It doesn’t happen suddenly. It occurs over time. With every disrespectful comment, with every put-down, with every recommendation that gets rejected, I found myself withdrawing further and further. Sometimes it would take me 30 minutes to get a cup of coffee. No, the act didn’t take 30minutes, but I didn’t care about work anymore so anything that I could do to distract me I intentionally spent more time doing it.
I asked about the primary source of this disconnect. “Bad leadership,” she responded. “My boss thought that she knew all the answers. So people just stopped offering ideas, including me.” “How did you recover from this experience?” I asked. “I didn’t. I left the company.”
Imagine how much money is lost, how much time is wasted, and how much productivity suffers because of experiences like this one. Gallup research suggests that as much as $312 billion is lost annually on disconnected employees. It is no wonder America is outsourcing. We need to turn this ship around. Clearly many factors play into an employee’s satisfaction and willingness to engage. But the research is clear; according to Fast Company magazine, the number one reason employees leave is the behavior and attitude of their immediate boss.
So if you haven’t guessed it by now, the first new leader-ship reality is this: the workforce has changed. People want to build authentic relationships in the workforce, and they do not want to work for a leader who is not willing to meet them where they are and honor their expectations and desires. As you ponder what you can do to become more effective at managing these workforce changes, consider these suggestions:”
If you would like to know more, Click Here
Online Book
By Michael Maccoby
Strategic Intelligence, p49 – 68
June 2015
“4 Leadership Philosophy: An Essential Tool for Change
Abstract
Effective leaders of change communicate and practice a leadership philosophy that shapes organizational culture and determines how decisions are made. An organizational philosophy can support a collaborative community, a bureaucracy, or a tribal culture. An organizational philosophy answers four related questions: (1) What is the purpose of our organization? (2) What practical values do we need to practice to further our purpose? (3) What ethical and moral reasoning determines the key decisions we make? (4) How do we define and measure results so that they support our purpose and values? When leaders’ personal philosophy is consistent with their leadership philosophy, they are more likely to be trusted.
We think that for a general about to fight an enemy, it is important to know the enemy’s numbers, but still more important to know the enemy’s philosophy.
—G. K. Chesterton, cited by William James, Pragmatism
Making high profits is the means to the end of fulfilling Whole Foods’ core business mission. We want to improve the health and well-being of everyone on the planet through higher-quality food and better nutrition, and we can’t fulfill this mission unless we are highly profitable. Just as people cannot live without eating, so a business cannot live without profits. But, most people don’t live to eat, and neither must businesses live just to make profits. —John Mackey, Co-CEO Whole Foods, Conscious Capitalism
Effective leaders of change communicate and practice a philosophy that shapes organizational culture and determines how decisions are made about products, people, processes, customers, and communities. As noted in Chapter 2, a leadership philosophy should define the purpose of an organization, the values essential to achieve that purpose, and the way results will be measured. An organizational philosophy is essential for building trust internally and with customers. It invites everyone in the organization to challenge decisions and practices that clash with the values that support the organization’s purpose. It provides guidelines for innovation at all levels. It defines the reasons and relationships that inspire enthusiastic engagement and collaboration. It is a necessary tool for positive change (see Figure 4.1).
Bureaucratic organizations are held together by a rigid structure and material incentives. Each person works in a box with defined objectives, coordinated and controlled by someone in the box above. Knowledge organizations are held together by trust. Rather than staying in their boxes, people move out to collaborate across organizational boundaries. Their roles require flexibility, since their objectives may be solutions rather than fixed outputs. Coordination and control is shared within groups of people with diverse expertise. Motivation depends on all the Five Rs described in Chapter 7, which are shaped in large part by the organization’s philosophy. Reasons for doing the work; responsibilities for tasks and challenges; recognition; rewards; and relationships with colleagues and customers.
Without trust, people in organizations work for themselves, not for the organization and its stakeholders. I learned that by coaching managers termed “high potential” in a large technology company. One manager told me in confidence that he was getting himself transferred from a multi-million-dollar project because he was sure it would fail. I asked if he had reported his view to the team leader so that the project could be stopped and money saved. No, he said, that would make an enemy. It was better for his career just to leave the project.
When people in an organization trust each other, things get done more quickly and easily. People are more open with each other. They share information. To build trust, leaders do the following:
•
• They communicate a philosophy and practice the values.
• They follow through. They do what they promise.
• They explain what they won’t do and why they won’t do it.
• They don’t blame people for mistakes, but create a dialogue about the reasons for the mistake and what can be done to avoid future mistakes.
• They listen and act on what they hear. They institute processes to facilitate ideas, and they recognize contributions from others; they give credit.
• They work at understanding the people they lead.
The HP Way as Organization Philosophy
When I first studied technology companies in the 1970s, I found Hewlett-Packard (HP) to be unique in developing a collaborative culture. It was based on the philosophy of its founders. I interviewed Bill Hewlett and asked about the purpose of HP. He said it was to make products that were valuable to technical people, because they helped technicians perform better. He went on to describe the organizational values that supported this purpose. They included the following:
• Technical excellence—HP’s product developers and production engineers were expected to keep learning so that their knowledge would keep pace with the state of the art in their fields. The company paid their tuition to take courses at the Stanford School of Engineering.
• Collaboration with customers and across disciplines—product development engineers visited customers and talked with them about tools that would help them perform better. On his return to Palo Alto, a development engineer would form a team with production and marketing people to develop, produce, and market a new product.
• Respect and loyalty—Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard believed that by being loyal to employees and treating them with respect, the employees would be loyal to them, and in this way they would create a culture of trust. When there was a downturn in business everyone, including Hewlett and Packard, took a twenty percent cut in salary and a day off, rather than laying anyone off. The value of respect was put to the test when HP initiated a division to produce computers. The people they hired to lead the division didn’t share the HP values; they were disrespectful and uncooperative. Hewlett fired them and started again with people who practiced what he called the “HP Way.”
• Entrepreneurial behavior—HP thrived on innovative products and processes. Hewlett wanted to hire entrepreneurs. I questioned whether entrepreneurs would leave HP to start their own companies. Yes, Hewlett said, but he believed that, treated well, these entrepreneurs would become good suppliers and customers to HP.
And that’s what happened. Entrepreneurs left HP and built companies, like Steve Wozniak who, with Steven Jobs, started Apple. HP’s philosophy not only built HP, it also contributed to the Silicon Valley miracle.
An organizational philosophy based on the leadership philosophy of founders has to be continually affirmed by the leaders that follow them. HP’s philosophy did not last. As HP grew, acquired companies with different values, and hired outsiders as CEOs, the HP Way was lost. Current employees have told me and my colleagues that the company has suffered a loss of purpose and trust.”
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Online Article
L Farahnak et al,
Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies
18 January 2019
“The Influence of Transformational Leadership and Leader Attitudes on Subordinate Attitudes and Implementation Success
Abstract
Recent literature has focused on identifying factors that facilitate or impede the implementation of innovation in organizations. Attitudes toward change and transformational leadership are regarded as important determinants of implementation success. This study tested a multilevel model of transformational leadership and leaders’ attitudes toward the innovation being implemented as predictors of staff attitudes and implementation success. Participants were 565 service providers (n = 478) and their supervisors (n = 87) working in mental health organizations currently implementing an evidence-based practice (EBP). Results provided support for positive relationships between transformational leadership and staff attitudes toward EBP, as well as staff attitudes toward EBP and implementation success. Moreover, results supported an indirect relationship between transformational leadership and implementation success through employees’ attitudes toward EBP. The results suggest that the leader’s behaviors are likely more critical to innovation implementation than the leader’s attitudes.
Literature on implementation of innovations has sought to identify factors that facilitate and impede whether innovations are successfully implemented and utilized by targeted employees. A variety of factors have been considered across the organizational, work group, and individual levels. For example, organizational-level predictors of implementation success include structure (Zaltman, Duncan, & Holbek, 1973), strategy (Nicholson, Rees, & Brooks-Rooney, 1990), financial resources (Mohr, 1969), and organizational culture (Damanpour, 1991). Work group characteristics that predict innovation adoption include team structure (Nemeth & Wachtler, 1983), team climate (De Dreu & West, 2001), and team member characteristics (Paulus, 2000). Individual-level staff member characteristics that predict implementation include personality (Barron & Harrington, 1981), motivation (West, 1987), cognitive ability (Wallach, 1985), and job characteristics (Axtell et al., 2000).
The role of leadership has been a particular emphasis in theories of implementation. For instance, the Leadership Behaviors for Evidence-Based Practice Institutionalization Framework (Stetler, Ritchie, Rycroft-Malone, & Charns, 2014) describes the dynamic nature of various observable behaviors leaders at multiple levels can enact to enhance successful implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP), defined as those innovative practices that integrate the best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values (Institute of Medicine, 2001). As another example, Aarons and colleagues have stressed the importance of first-level leaders in the implementation process. They proposed that leaders who enact specific implementation leadership and transformational leadership behaviors enhance the climate that is conducive for implementation and sustainment (Aarons, Ehrhart, Farahnak, & Sklar, 2014). The critical role of leadership for implementation effectiveness has been supported by empirical research as well (Aarons, Ehrhart, & Farahnak, 2014; McFadden, Stock, & Gowen, 2015; Michaelis, Stegmaier, & Sonntag, 2010; O’Reilly, Caldwell, Chatman, Lapiz, & Self, 2010).
Despite this progress in understanding the role of leaders in implementation effectiveness, there are gaps that remain. For instance, although we know that leaders play a critical role in the implementation process, as described above, and that employee attitudes toward the innovation being implemented can play a critical role in the success of the implementation (e.g., R. A. Jones, Jimmieson, & Griffiths, 2005; Shum, Bove, & Auh, 2008), how leaders influence subordinates attitudes toward the innovation has received less attention. On one hand, transformational leadership research and theory (Avolio & Bass, 1991; Bass & Avolio, 1999) suggests that leaders influence subordinates’ attitudes through their leadership style, specifically through transformational leadership behaviors that encourage the acceptance of change and innovation. On the other hand, literature on the social constructivist perspective (Calder, 1977; Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978), social learning theory (Bandura, 1977, 1986), and emotional contagion theory (Dasborough, Ashkanasy, Tee, & Tse, 2009; Hatfield, Cacioppo, & Rapson, 1994) suggests that leaders’ own attitudes play an important role in influencing attitudes of subordinates. Although previous research has examined the relationship between leaders’ attitudes and staff attitudes during change (e.g., Van Dam, Oreg, & Schyns, 2008), as well as the mechanisms through which transformational leadership affects change outcomes (e.g., Bass, Avolio, Jung, & Berson, 2003; Carter, Armenakis, Feild, & Mossholder, 2013; Nemanich & Keller, 2007), it has not addressed whether it is leaders’ behaviors or their attitudes that are more critical for predicting employee attitudes toward an innovation and implementation success.
The objective of this study was to extend our understanding of the role that leaders play in implementation processes by examining the simultaneous influence of both leadership behavior and leader attitudes through subordinate attitudes on implementation success. The context for the current study was mental health workers and the implementation of EBP. EBPs are usually more effective and efficacious than services-as-usual, which are typically based on individual or management preference (Hoagwood & Olin, 2002). Mental health interventions receive the label of being evidence-based after at least two rigorous randomized controlled trials have found the practice to be superior to a comparable practice or services as usual in improving client outcomes (California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse, 2010). Although common EBPs such as cognitive behavior therapy have been around for many years in mental health agencies throughout the United States, EBPs are being implemented with exponential growth as sponsors at the federal, state, and county level add stipulations about the use of EBP to funding contracts (Essock et al., 2003; National Institute of Mental Health, 1999, 2000, 2002). Such widespread implementation efforts have raised numerous challenges about how to lead such change efforts effectively. Thus, this research contributes not only to the literature on the role of leadership in implementing change but also to the public health challenge of how to best implement EBP in mental health settings. In what follows, we develop the background for proposing both leader behavior and leader attitudes as avenues for the leader’s influence on their subordinates and their particular relevance to the context of implementation.
The Role of Leaders in Employees’ Attitudes Toward Change
Research on attitudes toward change has predominantly focused on employee and leader opinions about change in general. However, there are also examples of attitudes toward a specific implementation being assessed in several organizational contexts, including the implementation of a manufacturing resource–planning package (Klein, Conn, & Sorra, 2001), restructuring of a school district (Oreg & Berson, 2011), changing management information systems in decision support systems workers (Barki & Huff, 1985), and the implementation of EBP in mental health teams (Aarons, 2004). The present research examines the influence of attitudes toward a specific implementation: attitudes toward adoption and use of EBP in mental health. Specifically, we address the influence of both the leader’s transformational leadership and the leader’s own attitudes toward change on employee’s attitudes toward change.
Transformational Leadership and Employees’ Attitudes Toward Change
Transformational leadership is one of the most widely studied styles of leadership (Avolio, Walumbwa, & Weber, 2009) and has been recognized as an effective style to address organizational tensions and aid in overall performance (Bass & Riggio, 2006). Specifically, the literature on transformational leadership has demonstrated its positive effects on a number of organizational outcomes, including improved performance at the managerial (Hater & Bass, 1988; Waldman, Bass, & Einstein, 2011), staff (Zohar, 2002), and team (Bass et al., 2003; Howell & Avolio, 1993) levels. Transformational leadership is also associated with improved staff attitudes, such as job satisfaction (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, & Bommer, 1996; Walumbwa, Orwa, Wang, & Lawler, 2005) and organizational commitment (Bycio, Hackett, & Allen, 1995), as well as decreased negative outcomes, such as turnover intentions (Bycio et al., 1995) and burnout (Constable & Russell, 1986; Corrigan, Diwan, Campion, & Rashid, 2002).
Theory on transformational leadership indicates that this type of behavior is especially relevant during periods of organizational change such as the implementation of an innovative practice (Bass, 1985; Bass & Avolio, 1999; Bass & Riggio, 2006 ; Pawar & Eastman, 1997). Transformational leaders are able to identify the necessity of change, motivate their followers to transcend their self-interests for the good of the team and organization (Bass, 1985, 1999), and intrinsically motivate followers to achieve higher levels of performance (Judge & Piccolo, 2004; Waldman, Bass, & Yammarino, 1990). Several studies have empirically examined the relationship between transformational leadership and implementation of a change. For instance, Aarons, Sommerfeld, and Willging (2011) found that transformational leadership was especially important in maintaining a positive organizational climate in organizations enduring a large-scale system change. As another example, Carter et al. (2013) found that transformational leadership was associated with improved relationship quality with subordinates during the implementation of organizational change, which was then related to improved subordinate task performance and citizenship behavior.
Specifically with regard to attitudes toward change, transformational leaders influence employees’ attitudes in a variety of ways. As noted by Bommer, Rich, and Rubin (2005), “transformational leadership ‘transforms’ individual employees to make them more receptive to, and build capacity for, bringing about organizational change” (p. 734). For instance, they may use inspirational motivation to depict a positive vision for how the organization and the employees will be more effective as a result of implementing the change. Intellectual stimulation behaviors may be utilized to engage employees in dialogue about their concerns with the innovation being implemented and to view those concerns in a different light. Finally, individualized consideration behaviors may be used to foster a sense of trust and confidence in employees’ ability to implement change. As a result, transformational leadership should be associated with more positive employee attitudes toward the change being implemented. Past empirical research supports such a relationship. For instance, transformational leader behaviors have been shown to have positive effects on followers’ change commitment and acceptance to a specific change initiative (Herold, Fedor, Caldwell, & Liu, 2008; Tyler & De Cremer, 2005). Research has also found that transformational leadership was negatively associated with employee cynicism about organizational change in a longitudinal study of three privately owned Midwestern companies (Bommer et al., 2005) and in a sample of 469 employees from a large Chinese organization (Wu, Neubert, & Yi, 2007). Perhaps most relevant for this study, Aarons (2006) found that transformational leadership was positively associated with employees’ attitudes toward EBPs being implemented in mental health teams. We expect to see a similar pattern emerge in our model focused on the implementation of EBP.”
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Course Manuals 1-12
Course Manual 1: Mindset Matters
The leadership perspective must change before a firm can hope to reform its culture. Because it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to change a company’s culture if leadership attitudes are not properly aligned.
Having said that, executives should begin by determining whether their organization is adaptable enough to seize opportunities as they arise. Is the business willing to take chances? Has the organization yet really embraced transformation? or is it still viewed as a collection of isolated, one-off departmental initiatives?
Culture doesn’t just appear out of thin air. It occurs as a result of the actions taken by the teams and people inside an organization. Although having mission statements, motivational posters, and a fridge full of free drinks are good, there is much more to changing culture than that. Over time, mindsets and behaviors shape and solidify culture. And that need support from a unified leadership group.
A conscious and determined departure from the present situation is necessary for transformation. However, despite the fact that practically every business today is talking about transformation, some aren’t actually doing it and aren’t ready to leave the status quo. They therefore fiddle around and fool themselves into thinking they are changing when, in reality, they are merely making little adjustments that will neither cause disruption nor provide protection from it.
Cutting-edge ideas alone do not constitute transformational change. It represents a fresh perspective on value, business strategies, and organizations. It calls for a mindset that promotes transformation within the organization while adopting a new method of operating.
The orchestrators of transformation who are most successful are those who have a solid understanding of culture, communication, management, and leadership. They make use of the expertise of professionals in the fields of technology, data, and business processes, and they comprehend transformation from all angles. IoT, Cloud, and other technical experts have important roles to play in transformation, just like the violin and flute players in an orchestra, but the transformation leader is that person who can orchestrate the entire performance, get the best out of teams, and have a firm grasp of all transformation-related disciplines, especially culture and communication.
Although a cultural shift is required for corporate transformation, executives have confronted this difficulty before. Company mergers have been occurring for decades, and one of the biggest issues that CEOs have faced throughout a merger has been culture. Values, practices, attitudes, and beliefs remain at the basis of both, despite the fact that the objectives of the cultural change necessary for transformation could differ from those during a merger.
The majority of well-established businesses have prospered through cost management and operational effectiveness after executives ingrained a culture of dependability by focusing on operational excellence over unpredictability. These executives must now do a 180-degree flip and acknowledge that innovation is necessary for transformation and that risk comes along with it. Risk that traditional managers and leaders who live on safety and “how things have always been done with certainty” may find terrifying.
A new initiative is frequently met with initial excitement in the context of transformation, but as soon as the honeymoon period is over and day-to-day execution becomes the norm, old cultural behaviors and attitudes start to resurface, and the old organizational culture makes an effort to go back to “how it’s always been here around.”
Businesses with a high level of transformational maturity have very brave cultures. They want to transform by taking chances that many people wouldn’t. Their organizational culture fosters effective teamwork and quick advancement. However, this is not the norm for big businesses that have been established for a while.
So how do you alter something that is the foundation of a company? Cultures that took years to develop are not likely to alter overnight, as a result of a revised mission statement, or as a result of the CEO giving an hour-long speech. It takes time for cultures to change. a long time.
Business transformation threatens management techniques that have occasionally been in place for decades and runs counter to the established ways of functioning that a company has grown accustomed to. Transformation projects surrounded by the incorrect organizational DNA and culture lead to a disgruntled workforce, anarchy, confusion, and political cooperation.
Without a change in organizational culture, strategic transformation is impossible, and it’s challenging to change a culture that has been shaped by decades of dependable, stable, consistent, and repeatable ways of functioning.
“the most profound business challenge we face today is how to build organisations that can change as fast as change itself”. – Gary Hamel
Case Study
Veteran rock climber Matthew Childs offers nine tips for rock climbing in this TED Talk from 2009. These practical hints also apply to living well at sea level.
The most effective leaders understand that transformation cannot thrive in the conventional bureaucratic, command-and-control driven organizations. They are aware that in order to produce new value and a competitive edge, they must promote a culture that creatively leverages technologies. They exhort individuals to embrace their passion for change and innovation.
How well prepared are the finest organizations, with transformational change firmly on their agenda, to deal with organizational change in a business climate that differs from how it did ten years ago? especially given how badly organized some traditional corporations’ current workplaces are. Only about one-third of workers are actively involved in their occupations, which serves as an example of the scenario.
Despite the fact that many executives are more at ease dealing with costs and strategy than culture, leaders must clearly communicate a vision or story of the future and adopt a practical approach to first understanding, then addressing, cultural issues that may even serve to sabotage transformation efforts.
Why on earth could employees fall for the hoopla surrounding the makeover that aims to change what made the company so great? These folks actually think that in order to avoid thinking about transformation, they should just carry on as usual.
It is the duty of leaders to assist these individuals in comprehending the necessity of transformation and the unavoidable changes that will affect many employees on a daily basis.
The CEO and his leadership team must put in a lot of effort to convey a set of consistent messages about why the business has to transform and what employees will gain from it. They must explain in detail how businesses that were formerly in similar cozy circumstances fell prey to their own complacency.
In fact, change is the ideal time for leaders to take a step back, review, and reshape present management methods and mindsets before educating and motivating their workforce. Forget unconventional thinking. There shouldn’t be a box in the transformational world of today.
Many barriers can also be removed by a strong, widespread feeling of purpose, but this needs to be articulated from the top. Let’s face it; if an organization’s leadership is incapable of motivating its employees, how can those leaders expect their staff to approach work each day with initiative, ingenuity, and passion?
But how exactly do you do that?
Individuals must be moved from resisting to listening to thinking to willing to doing, to glad they did, to glad they will continue to do, through five phases.
But by putting these five stages into practice, leaders who want to comprehend and support company culture can advance significantly in their efforts to change people’s perspectives in order to ensure the long-term viability of the company and the transformation that is necessary to ensure that viability. The key difference between the top transformation leaders and the rest is how well they can foster business culture. And technology has nothing to do with any of that.
Leaders must consider novel approaches to restructure the overall business model and concentrate on value drivers during a transformation. They must then infuse the entire organization with this understanding of what transformation means for their business, employees, and clients in order to unite everyone around a shared transformation goal.
Let’s take a look at ten threats that can frequently stand in the way of a transformation mentality.
1. Overconfidence: Since the business is performing well, no significant changes are required. They believe that they are immune from experiencing what Kodak and Nokia did.
2. Denial is the absence of desire or interest in emerging disruptive movements.
3. Being firmly rooted in conventional wisdom and clinging to ideas that formerly held true.
4. Old-timers employ political strategies to control the finest resources in pursuits less crucial than transformation.
5. Although executives talk about transformation, technology implementation is frequently the best approach.
6. remaining in one’s comfort zones and refusing to take risks that could compete with or even cannibalize one’s primary business.
7. Putting short-term gains above long-term benefits.
8. The belief that a staff already in operation can master transformations overnight without additional training.
9. Insular thinking and behavior, such as a lack of support for process-driven innovation that may be incorporated permanently into the organization.
10. People are uncertain about whether to prioritize speed, quality, efficiency, or innovation due to a lack of strategic clarity.
A business will find it difficult to commit to genuine transformation as long as these obstacles persist. Companies won’t be prepared to start real transformation and escape the effects of digital sugar coating, which are currently visible in many areas, until leaders undergo a mentality change.
Some executives of well-established businesses find it difficult to accept the emergence of a new competitive paradigm. They frequently need to realize that they will inevitably lose business and that they will have to create disruptions that will eat into their current clientele.
A leader may be too rooted in outdated beliefs to guide a business in the new digital economy if they are unable to accept this.
Exercise 2.1: Life Story Based on Strengths
The Past: Tell the tale of your past in writing. Include details about the difficulties you overcame and the inner resources that made it possible.
Course Manual 2: Challenging Beliefs
Talented Leaders Successfully Confront Limiting Assumptions
Taking Limiting Beliefs on the Nose
A leader must have a thorough understanding of human nature, especially at the level of our beliefs. If unchecked, limiting beliefs can limit people’s life and produce unsatisfactory results for years. Our personal and collective realities are created by our beliefs. We have access to millions of pieces of information at once. Our beliefs establish the criteria by which information is presented to us. Which information we accept or reject depends on our beliefs. If we don’t believe it, we simply won’t allow ourselves to perceive it or don’t perceive it at all.
Beliefs Come In A Variety Of Forms And Have A Wide Range Of Effects On Our Lives
• When competing ideas enter our consciousness, confusion might result.
• Internal conflict can result from simultaneously adhering to divergent viewpoints.
• Limiting thoughts may keep you from achieving your goals.
• Your behavior seems to be controlled by unconscious thoughts, which leaves you feeling helpless.
• You can become aware of your ingrained views.
• Your beliefs are yours to chose. Every belief is adaptable.
• Changing your limiting beliefs is the key to altering your reality and experiences.
• Your beliefs may be influenced and formed by how you perceive the world.
• Beliefs are merely an interpretation that you decide to accept as accurate.
• Limiting thoughts can be altered.
Getting Rid of Strict Beliefs
A manager or leader has the power to secure positive change for the greater benefit when they are aware of the steps to take to challenge limiting beliefs. We’re not advocating that it is a management or leader’s responsibility to alter people’s beliefs. Additionally, it goes without saying that we must respect others’ ideas, especially when it comes to equality. A wise manager or leader will, however, be aware of the consequences of limiting beliefs and know how to change them.
People behave and respond in accordance with their beliefs, and it is incredibly effective to identify these ideas in order to promote good change. It is not ethical to brainwash someone or attempt to persuade them to take a different path, and that is not what I am advocating. Free will belongs to everyone and must be respected. However, it is helpful to realize when your employees have detrimental views about themselves or others and to know how and what to do about it. Knowing that these beliefs are malleable will enable you to influence and persuade staff to have more constructive beliefs.
Promoting Change
When managers are implementing change, understanding beliefs and belief systems has its greatest impact. The secret to basic and long-lasting success in the workplace is to concentrate on uncovering current individual and team beliefs and then learning how to assist individuals in seeing things through a different lens for the better.
The foundation for spectacular success is helping workers develop positive attitudes about themselves, their contribution, and the importance of your mission and vision.
Just to be clear, according to the Equality Act, belief includes “philosophical beliefs that are regarded as being akin to a religion, such as humanism. The Equality Act does not protect other types of views, such as support for a political party. This is not the topic of the article.
When Alteration Challenges One’s Attitudes And Actions
What to do when changing an organization’s culture is necessary for success
Even though they may encompass much more than just culture, many changes are given the label “cultural change.” The emphasis of the change is instead placed on people’s ideas and behaviors because many changes depend on culture to be successful.
Although many change management projects have a focus on culture transformation, structure, method, and people must all be equally taken into account. But because culture change is sometimes buried in mystery and ambiguity, it either receives little attention or is completely disregarded.
It’s crucial to assess how essential a belief or behavior is to the project’s success overall when it comes to change-provoking beliefs and behaviors. If you have a project that calls for a culture transformation, think about taking these four steps.
1. Only make essential changes
There is a natural inclination to seek transformational changes to an organization’s culture when the success of a project depends on modifications to beliefs and behaviors.
Understanding the precise elements that can oppose or conflict with the change the company is seeking can be difficult due to the complexity of culture. The project will probably not benefit from a revolutionary change in culture any more than it would from concentrating only on what is essential.
Some projects necessitate a thorough examination and reworking of a company’s set of values and practices. Considering the breadth of change required for the project to be successful is the first stage in every cultural change project. Make a note of the additional factors, but save them for a different project.
2. Determine what needs to be altered.
Look for the critical facets of the culture that might affect how well your change is received. These key notions include:
• How managers and leaders behave
• The manner in which we work
• Customer service practices
• How we converse
• What we believe can alter
Customer service may not be affected at all by the change. If that is the case, keep in mind any conclusions about how clients are handled, but concentrate your efforts on the assumptions crucial to the success of the current change.
3. One aspect of the transformation is the current culture.
Culture transformation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. People will better understand what is changing if you present them with the comprehensive picture. The project team can better grasp what modifications need to be made thanks to this portrayal.
For instance, altering communication attitudes may need for new communication techniques, improved communication abilities, and various communication technologies. It is beneficial to demonstrate to those who will be affected by a change what is changing generally.
Case Study: Zappos
Both for the caliber of its shoes and for the way it conducts business, Zappos is well-known. With the tagline “Powered by service,” it aspires to give consumers world-class service. The candidate selection procedure is structured to offer preference to the applicant who most closely aligns with the company’s culture and ethos.
Conclusion: Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, wants the new employees to adopt a service-minded approach. Perhaps this explains why they give $2000 in severance pay to employees who decide during the first week of training that the position isn’t a good fit for them.
Case Study: Proofhub
The crew at ProofHub, a business that provides top-notch project management solutions to working professionals, is well taken care of. It offers an open working structure that facilitates simple departmental communication and collaboration. In addition, engaging employees and creating a familial work environment can be accomplished through entertaining team-building events every Friday.
Takeaway: According to Sandeep Kashyap, the founder and CEO of ProofHub, “We encourage team members to work both hard and smart. Everyone uses ProofHub to manage work, communicate, collaborate. And, it makes way for transparent work culture.”
4. Use the change management fundamentals
Clarity on why the changes are required, what future beliefs and behaviors will look like, and how the affected people will be supported through the change are all crucial for successful changes in beliefs and behaviors.
Provide people with the training they require if the new culture demands abilities they do not already possess, and support them when they make an effort to change. Leaders will need to remind employees who are not making the effort that the new culture is a necessity of their employment.
Exercise 2.2: The Poem of the Guesthouse
Jelaluddin Rumi’s The Guest House
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
Because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
• What meaning do you assign to the poem?
• What feelings come over you most frequently? What makes you believe that is?
• If you accepted all of your emotions rather than suppressing them, how would that change you?
• What advantages can there be in accepting negative emotions?
• Are you able to identify with the sentiment expressed in the statement “violently sweeps your house empty of its furniture”? Have you ever experienced this?
• How could you incorporate The Guest House’s message into your day-to-day activities?
Course Manual 3: Unconscious Mindsets
Ignoring what your employees are thinking is a definite way to fail when you’re in charge of a major transformation initiative. We discovered that executives at exactly zero organizations who disregarded an examination of employee mind-sets during a change program assessed the transformation as “very effective” in the research conducted for the recently released book, Beyond Performance 2.0 (John Wiley & Sons, July 2019). In contrast, executives at businesses who went to the trouble of addressing mindsets were four times more likely to judge their change initiatives as at least “successful” than executives at businesses that didn’t.
Executives at businesses who went to the bother to address mindsets were four times more likely to rate their change initiatives as at least “successful” than executives at businesses that didn’t.
Those figures demonstrate the potency of mindset changes. When employees are open to new perspectives on what’s possible for them and their organization, they can never go back to a state where they don’t have that broader perspective, just as butterflies and frogs can’t revert to their previous physical forms. This is similar to the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly or a tadpole into a frog in human systems. Leaders must first identify the restricting mind-sets, then reframe them effectively, and then ensure that staff don’t regress to past behavioral patterns in order to effectuate such a metamorphosis.
Determine The Underlying Causes Of Behavior That Facilitates Or Inhibits
Benjamin Zander’s account of the Manchester Shoe Company in his book The Art of Possibility perfectly captures the value of having an optimistic outlook. Two traveling salesmen were deployed as a beachhead into the area in the early 1900s in an effort to break into a distant market. Two independent telegraphs returned a few days later. One person said, “Horrible situation. They do not have shoes on! “Glorious opportunity; they don’t have any shoes yet,” the other remarked. Consider the outcome if the business had only responded to the first message.
Even after new management practices have been implemented, mindsets shaped by previous management practices continue to survive long after the techniques that shaped them have disappeared.
These three business examples highlight the dangers of disobeying this principle. One such example is a bank that realized how its top salespeople were able to cross-sell and chose to implement a change program with helpful profiling questions and assistance scripts for the other bankers—only to be shocked to discover that the changes had little effect on sales. Another example: Despite drastically streamlining the process and rating system for performance reviews, a telco’s officials continued to avoid giving direct criticism. In order to promote collaboration and discourage hoarding, a firm invested hundreds of millions of dollars in a knowledge-management technology platform, only to declare the system a complete failure a few months later.
In each of these cases, the businesses did a good job of identifying the behavioral change required to meet the set objectives. However, they didn’t spend the necessary time or make use of the available resources to comprehend why intelligent, devoted, and well-intentioned personnel continued to act in the same manner (see sidebar, “Uncovering unconscious mind-sets”).
Uncovering Unconscious Mind-Sets
The most effective method for identifying subliminal mindsets is an interviewing approach called “laddering,” which is based on Dennis Hinkle’s 1965 theory of human change. The ladder makes use of methods including role playing, asking hypothetical questions, stirring up discussion, encouraging narrative, and creating connections between recent and earlier assertions. People are prompted by these initiatives to consider their own beliefs, which eventually leads them to articulate the principles and presumptions that they rely on to create their own worlds.
Although the laddering method is effective, one of its drawbacks is how challenging it is to scale in huge, diversified businesses. Focus groups and visual cues are two complementing techniques that enable the collection of a broader and deeper factual base concerning what is occurring below the surface. This method involves placing roughly 100 images on a table and asking participants to select the ones that best capture their thoughts and emotions regarding a certain subject, such as “What most energizes or irritates you about the organization?” What do you hold out the most hope for the company? Which picture best captures the experience of selling to customers? Which picture best captures the experience of going through a performance review? Which picture best sums up how we collaborate and share knowledge here? Compared to standard queries that begin with “Tell me about,” pictures prompt a more open, emotional, and visceral exchange of ideas.
The qualitative data analysis method in social science provides the third instrument for more comprehensively comprehending organizational mindsets (QDA). This method taps into plentiful textual data sources (such as reports, websites, advertisements, internal communications, and press coverage). The next step involves identifying recurrent motifs and looking for causality using linguistic tools (narrative, framework, and discourse analysis). The utilization of word clouds is one uncomplicated and fundamental QDA technique that is well-known to many individuals.
The failure of the new sales-stimulation tools and training at the bank, for instance, was caused by two mindsets that appeared to be beneficial but ultimately hindered performance. The first was, “It’s my responsibility to provide customers what they want,” and the second was, “I should live by the Golden Rule and treat people how I would like to be treated.” Employees at the telco have a deeply ingrained but seemingly rational view that “criticism ruins relationships.” At the manufacturing firm, there was a widespread belief that “excellent leaders are powerful leaders around here” and that “knowledge is power.”
Reframe The Underlying Issues
The next stage is to reframe those ideas in order to increase the variety of rational behavioral decisions that employees can make on a daily basis once the root-cause mind-sets have been discovered. This produces the above mentioned “caterpillar to butterfly” effect. For instance, would differing views have encouraged average-performing bankers to make broader and more informed behavioral decisions? If so, whose convictions? Imagine if they thought that rather than “offering customers what they want,” it was their responsibility to “assist customers completely grasp their needs.” This would be how they added value for others. What if bankers followed the “Platinum Rule” instead of the “Golden Rule”? This rule states that people should be treated the way that they themselves would like to be treated.
What if, during their performance-management meetings, the telco executives had held the view that “honesty—combined with respect—doesn’t ruin relationships; in fact, it is important to developing great ones”? What if the executives in charge of production believed that “sharing information rather than hoarding is the best way to multiply power”? If they had, the business most likely wouldn’t have required an expensive (and ultimately ineffective) knowledge-management system to facilitate employee networking and the sharing of best practices.
It’s crucial to realize that each of the reframes mentioned above conceals a more profound change in perspective. For instance, shifting from a mindset of providing clients with what they desire to one of totally assisting them in understanding what they truly need indicates a shift from subordinate to peer. Understanding that being honest strengthens rather than damages relationships shows a change from victimization to mastery. Furthermore, choosing to believe that knowledge sharing increases power rather than that information hoarding increases power emphasizes plenty rather than scarcity.
Employees started looking for best practices among competitors and outside of their industry after adopting the learner mindset that “winning requires learning more and faster than others.”
The best naming and reframing examples are not only profound (using relatable, practical terms that reflect these deeper changes in worldview), but also perceptive (bringing the subconscious to consciousness in ways that expand possibility), memorable (so that issues can be raised and discussed easily in day-to-day work), and meaningful (specific to the organization and evoking a “that’s so us!” response).
In this way, a retailer realized it was crucial to change from “listening and responding” (a reactive mindset) to “anticipating and shaping” (a proactive mindset), and an engineering company that wanted to enhance the way it captured outside ideas discovered that it was consistently overconfident about results and underestimated its rivals. This organization eventually realized that these flaws were caused by an expert mentality that believed “winning requires being peerless,” which resulted in increased solitary behavior. When employees adopted the mindset that “winning implies learning more and faster than others,” they were motivated to hunt for best practices both inside their own industry and outside.
Analogies to human health help to clarify the point made by the business examples. Think about the situation that persons with heart disease are in. Years of studies have proven that those who stop smoking and drinking, eat less fat, lower their stress levels, and exercise frequently live significantly longer than those who don’t. Many patients do indeed try very hard to achieve this. Yet numerous studies have found that 90% of patients who have had cardiac surgery return to harmful behavior within two years.
The Preventive Medicine Research Institute was founded by University of California in San Francisco professor of medicine Dean Ornish, who made the decision to reframe the mentality that underlay the patients’ narratives. He wanted it to transform from being fear-driven to becoming “If I behave this way, my life will be full with joy” instead of “If I behave this way, I won’t die” (hope driven). He stated that it is not very motivating to tell lonely and unhappy people that if they give up smoking or alter their diet and lifestyle, they will live longer. Who desires to endure continual emotional suffering? He pondered how much better they would feel if they could take delight in everyday activities without experiencing any pain or discomfort. In contrast to a typical success rate of 10%, 77 percent of his experiment participants were able to permanently alter their lifestyles.
Exercise 2.3: The Metaphor of the Passengers on a Bus
Your mind is the bus, you are the driver, and the passengers are a representation of your thoughts. Some passengers are calm as you drive, but others make critical remarks that are distracting or yell directions.
Course Manual 4: Fixed vs Growth
How to Change to a Path of Learning and Growth When You Have a Fixed Mindset vs. a Growth Mindset
How do you respond to setbacks in life?
Failures can indeed be devastating. But does it define you, stop you from learning from your errors, or does it give you the strength to take on new challenges?
In terms of what we believe and how we think, our mind has a very strong influence. How we act and live our lives is determined by how we view ourselves and our capacities.
What do you tell yourself when you observe successful people or those who have attained mastery in life: that they are more talented than others, that they are more gifted, that their innate abilities made them successful, or that success comes from hard work, the development of new strategies, the inspiration of others, receiving excellent mentoring, investing in learning, and continual improvement?
You accomplish what you believe in. How you choose to interpret your events, whether consciously or unconsciously, can limit what you are able to do.
Looking at failures and setbacks as opportunities for progress gives you the power to believe that you can advance and achieve your goals. It involves displaying resiliency in the face of difficult situations that have unforeseen repercussions.
So how can we go from being constrained by our brains and abilities to discovering freedom in creating them? How can we decide to follow a path of growth and learning?
Before we can activate this switch, it’s critical to comprehend the difference between fixed and growth mindsets, two types of mindsets discovered by Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck.
Difference Between Fixed And Growth Mindsets In Terms Of Mindsets
When someone has a stuck mindset, their beliefs and thoughts limit them. They hold that each person is born with unique capabilities and that their intelligence and abilities cannot be improved upon via hard work, patience, and time.
They view failures as evidence of their stupidity and their ill-developed skills, which keep them from accomplishing their objectives. They readily give up because they are afraid of failing and think they can never become better.
An individual with a development mentality discovers freedom in their ideas and convictions. They recognize that while intelligence differs from person to person and that some people are born with certain gifts, both can be cultivated and enhanced through effort and dedication.
They enjoy the process of learning that results from looking for new information, developing fresh ideas, and drawing motivation from others. They welcome obstacles and hardships as a way to learn new things and advance.
Some of the main distinctions between growth mentality and fixed mindset include:
A Fixed Mindset Is Restrictive
• Intelligence, talents, and skills are fixed characteristics of each person.
• Avoid making mistakes and avoid doing so out of a desire to appear intelligent.
• Avoid difficulties
• Abandon easily
• Feel frightened by other people’s success
• Negative comments should be disregarded even if it’s very pertinent and helpful.
• Don’t try something new out of fear of failing
• Find those who can boost their self-esteem.
• Concentrate on the result because they see the conclusion as their identity
• Can result in dishonesty and fraud
A Growth Mindset Is Liberation
• Through work and practice, talents, abilities, and intelligence can be developed.
• Engage fully, consider the wrong, and strive to make it right.
• Accept challenges.
• Be persistent despite setbacks and failures.
• Take courage from others’ accomplishments
• Embrace criticism as a way to improve
• Embrace novelty while striving to learn new things.
• Look for those who will push them to improve.
• Put your attention on the procedure and learning rather than the result.
• Encourages cooperation and creativity
You enter a new world when you adopt a mindset. Success in one realm—the world of fixed traits—relies on being able to demonstrate your intelligence or talent. establishing your worth. In the other, the world of shifting attributes, it’s all about pushing yourself to pick up new skills. improving oneself failure in one context refers to suffering a setback. receiving a poor grade. losing a competition being dismissed. being turned down. You’re not talented or intelligent, it implies. Failure in the other realm refers to a lack of development. not pursuing the goals you hold dear. It indicates that your potential is not being realized. In some contexts, exertion is a bad thing. Like failure, it implies that you lack talent or intelligence. If you were, there would be no effort required. In the alternate reality, intelligence and talent are the results of work. You can decide. Just beliefs make up a mindset. Despite the fact that they are strong views, you can still change your opinion.
Problems with a Fixed Mindset
From a young age, children begin to display traits of either a fixed thinking or a growth mindset.
Do they obsess over achieving the highest grades, seek out frequent affirmation of their ideas, refuse to put up additional effort, or are they afraid to attempt difficult challenges out of fear of failing? That kind of thinking is fixed.
This way of thinking prevents individuals from learning new things, looking for novel approaches, coming up with fresh ideas, and—most crucially—dreaming greater.
They’ll be ready to dismiss their difficulties with a certain subject by saying, “I’m just not very good at it. Despite my best efforts, I cannot improve. They will give in to self-doubt rather than making every attempt to overcome challenge and hardship.
We can scarcely have hope for a better future if we produce a generation of such children.
In the workplace, a fixed mindset is evident when we avoid productive disagreements, stick to tried-and-true approaches even when new approaches are needed, avoid speaking up out of shyness or apprehension, decline to accept a new challenge that involves uncharted territory, place blame on others for our failure to achieve our goals, or feel envious of others’ advancement and success.
It can cause us to make bad judgments out of fear, avoid taking responsibility, and stifle creativity and teamwork. Without acquiring the abilities necessary for development and growth, success is merely a pipe dream that will never come true.
As is clear, a growth mindset provides us optimism that we can learn and better ourselves in the future. How then can we make this transformation possible?
5 Practical Methods To Change From A Fixed To A Growth Mindset
It’s a frequent misperception that having a growth mindset entails being flexible and open-minded. Although these are valuable traits to possess, they do not by themselves define a growth-minded person.
Additionally, a growth mindset cannot be used constantly. We may get defensive and develop a fixed mindset to handle the dispute when faced with difficult situations or when feeling insecure.
Everybody has a unique set of circumstances that can activate a stuck mindset. Recognizing significant circumstances that can trigger a fixed mindset and learning to adapt to a growth mindset are crucial.
Transform your self-doubt into an opportunity for progress, your concern for the results into an interest in the process, your victim role in the drama triangle into one of a creator by accepting responsibility, and your fear of failures into an opportunity to grow from it.
Use these 5 practical techniques to foster a growth mindset:
1. Choose to narrate a different tale
The narrative we tell ourselves has a great deal of influence. Do you have a choice, are you intelligent enough to pick up new skills, and do you feel that challenges help you grow or tear you down?
How we perceive and respond to challenging events or difficulties is based on our own histories. Our values are only expressed by our behavior.
Therefore, the first step in enabling a growth mindset is to have the ability to recognize oneself in the present, make a decision, and modify your language.
As opposed to telling:
• I’m not very good.
• I’m not capable of doing it.
• I lack the capacity to learn.
• I should stick to what I know.
• I give up because I can’t do it.
• I have a limited capacity.
• This is annoying.
• This is who I am.
• It’s difficult.
Decide to say:
• I’m capable of doing better.
• I am capable.
• I want to make an effort to persist.
• I wish to research fresh concepts.
• I have faith in myself.
• I can only succeed if I try.
• It’s okay to fail.
• I am able to grow from my errors.
• Just yet, I’m not sure.
2. Instead of performance goals, establish learning goals.
Instead of focusing on achieving goals that will validate your existence, choose to learn something new every day. For instance, resolve to eat healthily every day rather than establishing a goal to lose 30 kg. Make a commitment to practicing math every day rather than striving to get an A on the test. Rather than aiming to compete professionally, make a commitment to running each day.
Instead than concentrating on the result, we might find incremental improvements that pile up over time by concentrating on the process. By switching to learning, we can actively decide on a course of action where persistence, hard work, effort, and purposeful practice will be the keys to success.
Success doesn’t happen overnight. Years of arduous labour, during which learning never stops, have produced this.
3. Profit from your mistakes.
What success cannot teach us, failure may. You can learn from your failures by going over them, figuring out what didn’t work, and then coming up with a strategy to fix your mistakes. This is better than avoiding failures and giving up when you encounter a setback.
Apply a variety of mental models, such as the inversion principle and second order thinking, to create new strategies, gain feedback on your choices from others, and make a commitment to improving after every setback.
You will be able to benefit from failures if you train your mind to see them as opportunities to develop and learn rather than as a reflection of your limitations.
4. Select Goldilocks tasks for ongoing development
There is a distinction between going out to do something impractical and seeking challenges. There is no way you can succeed if you attempt to climb a mountain without developing physical stamina or solve trigonometry without understanding algebra and geometry.
Goldilocks tasks are activities that are just the right amount beyond your existing capabilities—not too easy, nor too difficult. They offer the ideal chance to venture outside of your comfort zone without feeling anxious.
By putting money into Goldilocks tasks, you can create a route for continual progress by gradually enhancing your present skills.
5. Be reliable and adaptable.
It takes time to change from a fixed attitude to a growing mindset. Similar to other things, it takes practice.
Asking yourself some of these questions will help you be consistent in your reflection on your prior behavior.
• How did you behave previously?
• Which attitude did you choose: fixed or growth?
• What led you to select one mentality over another?
• Do you have a fixed attitude because of a pattern in the events?
• Why did you miss seeing the fixed thinking at that time?
You can discover the triggers of your fixed mindset and create fresh tactics to adopt a growth mindset by regularly asking yourself these questions and being open to learning from the answers.
Remember that every person is different. What works for one person might not work for someone else. You cannot cultivate a growth mindset if your own approach is not consistent and adaptable.
Case Study: The Strength of ‘Yet’
Dweck outlines “two ways to think about a problem that’s slightly too hard for you to solve.” in this TED talk. The secret to increasing your performance is to operate in this zone, slightly outside of your comfort zone. Additionally, it is the essential component of purposeful practice. People approach these issues from two perspectives… “Have you just not solved it yet, or are you not smart enough to solve it?”
Exercise 2.4: Letter from the Future
• One flipchart per team,
• A few felt-tipped markers per team
Any strategy that makes sense to you can be used to divide the team into smaller groups. Each group should ideally include three minimum and six maximum participants. Assign each team a space to work in and give each team a flipchart and markers.
Inform participants that they will now develop a vision of the future for their teams by writing letters back from the future after 5 minutes of sharing prospective possibilities.
• What specifically has the team accomplished?
• What steps were necessary to get these results?
• What challenges and stumbling blocks did the team face? How did they get through these obstacles?
• What effects will the team’s success have on the business and its clients?
• What problems will the squad face the most in the upcoming five years?
Declare that it is time to begin reading the letters. Invite participants to read the letters from other teams and pinpoint key themes in each one.
• Were there any themes that the other participants recognized that surprised you?
• Did the others pick up on any of the concepts you were trying to get across?
Organize a discussion centered on the shared themes, then incorporate them into a shared future vision.
Course Manual 5: Transformational Philosophy
How Philosophy Improves Leadership
The main objective of executive coaching and leadership development is behavior change—assisting the individual in recognizing and altering the behaviors that are impeding successful leadership and reinforcing the behaviors that are associated with it. What about the attitudes and principles that guide action, though?
In a typical coaching session, the advantages of behavior change are generally given more focus than the advantages of introspection and reflection on one’s own character and beliefs. This may not come as a surprise in our fast-paced, technologically-driven business environment, where there is little time for reflection and where customers demand (and pay for) rapid results. Though “mindfulness” practices (like yoga and meditation) and an introverted personality are becoming more and more popular, philosophical self-reflection on matters like values, character traits, and wisdom is still largely undervalued. Rarely, if ever, do executive coaching and leadership development programs discuss the need of making one’s philosophical worldview clear. However, there is growing evidence that they ought to.
This idea is supported by neuroscientific research on self-reflection. According to a new study published in BMC Neuroscience, self-reflection exercises caused the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to become active. The ability of the ACC to “identify disparities between the real and the desired state,” “mediate integration and assessment of emotional, motivational, and cognitive information,” and “modulate attention” is what makes it so important, according to the researchers. In other words, by assisting leaders in identifying their values and strategic goals, synthesizing information to achieve those goals, and putting solid action plans into place, activating the ACC through self-reflection can improve business success.
It is obvious that most self-reflection does not take place in laboratory settings; rather, it must be tailored to the C-suite and other professional environments. “Philosophical counseling” is a fun, focused, and rigorous technique to accomplish this. Philosophical counseling, an expanding global movement, has been dubbed “therapy for the sane” since it aids mentally sound, logical people in clarifying their worldviews and objectives in the face of difficulties and changes. Philosophical counselors have planned discussions with their clients that include self-reflection on values and objectives. It encourages people to build their own personal philosophies and gives them the tools they need to realize their highest hopes and ideals as human beings by drawing on both modern and ancient thinkers (ranging from Confucius to Socrates) from Eastern and Western traditions.
Think about a CEO who disrespects his employees by rolling his eyes at them, cutting them off, and acting otherwise. He now presents the business with a difficult ethical problem that could harm its financial standing and reputation. Since he has alienated his executive team, the CEO has nowhere to turn to discuss the predicament. Philosophical counseling could benefit him by encouraging self-reflection on his character and ideals, which would help him to reduce his annoying behaviors and increase his “positivity ratio.” In this case, a CEO client discovered that reflecting on the ideas of two philosophers—Socrates from antiquity and Habermas from the 20th century—empowered him to apply an improved method of discussion, consensus-building, and “communicative rationality” with his leadership team. He was in a position to guide the company through a perilous period thanks to philosophical justification and constructive behavior modifications.
At turning periods in one’s career, when a leader encounters a significant challenge, problem, or crisis, philosophical self-reflection is crucial. How can leaders benefit from this kind of introspection without necessarily working with a philosophical counselor in a formal capacity? They must first take a moment to reflect on their fundamental principles. The writings of numerous philosophers—both male and female—from various cultural traditions can be useful. As an illustration, We frequently use the “SANE” mnemonic, which draws on important issues raised by notable Western philosophers, including Socrates, Aristotle, Nietzsche, and the Existentialists.
Socrates: Which of the following inquiries concerning our present strategy would be the most difficult for me to answer?
Aristotle: What are the most important character traits to me, and how will I demonstrate them?
Nietzsche: What are the qualities that matter the most to me, and how will I show them?
Existentialists (e.g., Sartre): How will I fully accept responsibility for my decisions and the results they produce?
This should have “monetary worth” in the actual world; it is not merely an intellectual exercise. By thoughtfully considering these issues, the CEO came up with a methodical approach to deal with the moral and financial conundrum the company was currently experiencing. He came to the realization that “respect for others” and “modesty” were among his fundamental beliefs and desired virtues, which led him to stop acting in a condescending way and have constructive conversations with his team about what to do next. In the end, this led to a consensus and thoughtful decision-making. The CEO dramatically changed the situation and cemented his leadership position by accepting responsibility for reflecting on his principles and making decisions on how to work together.
Self-reflection takes time and effort, just as “mindfulness” exercises. However, it does not necessitate willfully ceasing to think. Rather, it calls for the leader to reflect carefully on complex philosophical concerns like value and purpose. Aristotle described self-reward reflection’s as phronsis, or “practical wisdom.” Thinking about timeless philosophical ideals can inspire timely behavioral changes in support of development and long-term success.
6 Illustrations Of Management Ideologies
While you shouldn’t replicate leadership philosophies, it may be helpful to consider examples. Your leadership philosophy should be a genuine expression of your actual ideals. Examples of leadership philosophy statements can inspire thought and act as a template for your own formulation. They might enable you to identify the ideologies with which you identify and to decide which elements of your thesis statement are important to include: Here are some illustrations of important philosophies:
1. Transformational philosophy
This approach, also referred to as “relational leadership philosophy,” is based on the notion that managers who foster good relationships with team members motivate others to take on leadership roles. These leaders set an example for their team and communicate their plans and tactics to them. They have high expectations for both themselves and the other team members.
Example: “I think that good leadership requires strong communication skills. I want to put a lot of effort into establishing open communication among my team members and listening to their ideas and perspectives. I want to set a good example for my staff, act with honesty, and communicate my plans as they move closer to their career objectives.”
2. Democratic philosophy
This idea prioritizes teamwork and the team’s involvement in key organizational decision-making. The team’s leader solicits input from the team members and cherishes their thoughts.
Example: ‘I value each team member and expect them to contribute to planning and decision-making. I take on responsibility and consider their suggestions. I attempt to motivate my team members and appreciate them. I try to treat my colleagues with understanding and consideration.
3. Autocratic Philosophy
Here, the leader assumes all authority and responsibility for making all decisions. The team is expected to follow directions without the leader asking for their feedback or opinions.
Example: “I believe I am in the greatest position to lead the team and make choices,” you say. I hope to motivate and guide the team through my activities. I’m acting in the business’s best interests. I make decisions quickly and command respect.
4. Laissez-faire leadership philosophy
The essential idea here is that the team and the leader have equal influence. The team members work independently, with little direction from their supervisor. The team’s actions are not closely supervised while the leader concentrates on higher level issues.
Example: I have faith in my employees to make wise decisions that will serve both their own needs and the interests of the firm. I’ll provide direction when the team asks for it and concentrate on higher-level projects.
5. Transactional leadership philosophy
Through a system of rewards, this leadership approach seeks to inspire workers. When a team achieves a predetermined objective or aim, the leader provides incentives and awards.
Example: I am confident that my staff will welcome incentives. I encourage my team by giving them unique incentives for finishing tasks and achieving goals. If the team needs advice, I’m here to provide it. I have faith in my group and act honestly.
6. Strategic Leadership philosophy
Strategic leaders base their approach on long-term planning while keeping the current situation in mind. They strike a balance between managing the current financial stability and long-term financial projections. They take on high-level tasks and provide direction and support to their team.
Example: I think each team member has a distinct responsibility. I want to increase each team member’s output as much as possible. I’ll lead my group and effectively oversee business operations. I promise to act honorably, honestly, and fairly.
Case Study
Bill Gates, the founder and CEO of Microsoft, made transformational leadership famous as a type of prestige governance.
By appealing to each team member as an individual rather than an obedient cog, transformational leaders attempt to motivate their group. An employee is more likely to contribute their special sensitivities to every project if their professional goals coincide in some manner with the company’s vision. Because it avoids conflict, this management approach necessitates a considerable lot of sensitivity.
According to reports, Gates stays out of professional disputes. Diplomacy is necessary to encourage fidelity and commitment, but it may also readily erode the impression of power. How does the tech tycoon take this potential risk into account?
He reserves his passion for principles and the main goal of his business. The daily activities are continually altering to accommodate when a leader’s vision is clear and consistent, which boosts productivity and net profit. Gates, then 30 years old, reportedly remarked on how to keep his team motivated: “The work we’re doing. It’s not like we do the same thing every day, you know. There is so much diversity and there are constantly new things going on, so we go into our offices and come up with new programs, we get together in meetings,…we talk to clients. And I don’t believe that day will ever arrive when that becomes monotonous.
Guidelines For Establishing Your Own Leadership Philosophy
It can be beneficial to write down your own particular leadership philosophy. It can give you a useful foundation and encourage you to think about your leadership’s positive traits and places for development. Create your own personal leadership philosophy using the advice below:
• Clarify your ideals and values. Identify the most important values you want to communicate to your team from your list of key principles.
• Name the leaders you respect.
• Think about the principles they used to guide their leadership philosophies. Change their goals and approaches to reflect your own unique leadership ethos.
• Set yourself some reasonable goals.
• Consider the goals you have for yourself as a leader. Include your goals and the things you believe you should accomplish in your leadership position. Define the steps you’ll take to achieve your goals and consider how your beliefs align with and enhance them.
• Find your personal leadership style.
• Decide how to guide your group. Make your decision, but stick with it so the team knows what to anticipate.
• Think about the team’s potential impact on those values and aims.
• Be mindful of any shared values and views you may have. Learn as much as you can about the people on your team.
• Think back on your prior leadership achievements and recall instances that you felt you could have handled better.
• Discover from them. Consider the circumstances that other leaders successfully handled, and adapt strategies that might work well for you.
• Ask your staff for feedback on various areas of your leadership style.
• Utilize suggestion boxes and questionnaires.
• To create a vision statement, consider your objectives and core beliefs.
• To help you memorize it, write it out while attempting to keep it succinct, precise, and short. The length should be between two and three sentences.
• Edit your statement by reading it again
• Make sure the language is impactful and clear. It ought to energize and inspire you.
Exercise 2.5: Leadership envelopes
Course Manual 6: Understanding Why
Vision: The Why For Change
To successfully lead any change endeavor, it’s essential to have the answers to these four timeless but crucial questions. Who, what, why, and how?
We’re evolving, but why?
What has changed?
Who is affected or involved?
How can we make it function?
The amount of time and effort required for the entire voyage is equal. However, the VISION is what will propel these components to completion and establish a successful and long-lasting change. The aim of change must be linked to organizational strategy, and change leaders must utilize the change vision as a compass to provide direction, foster departmental alignment, and guide their efforts.
Combining Wants And Needs
It takes passion and purpose to develop a vision for change that is both clear and significant. To foster a sense of shared responsibility, there must be consensus over the important issues to concentrate on as well as a shared knowledge of the wider picture.
“Purpose is no longer a buzz word. It’s a must have. Passion and purpose will keep people focused on the job at hand, and ultimately separate the successful from the unsuccessful.” – Richard Branson
The most effective change agents connect the needs and desires of the organization with those of its members. They assist everyone appreciate the crucial role they play by connecting individual goals with the larger organizational goals. According to research, it has a significant positive effect on an organization when staff members can see how their efforts advance the mission of the business (Forbes 2014). People are more driven and content in their jobs when they have a shared strategic aim, and they are more inclined to use all of their effort to meet that goal (Berson et al., 2015).
Given the range of experience and interests present in today’s workforce, which includes Baby Boomers, Millennials, and the impending entrance of Generation Z, this is particularly crucial. It is crucial for leaders to have a thorough understanding of how to inspire and motivate people from all backgrounds in order to foster cohesion and encourage good performance as the growing generational diversity in the workforce continues to change workplace dynamics. Highly effective change agents establish channels of communication at all organizational levels and continually devise fresh strategies for adjusting to the various demands of the evolving workforce.
Reverse mentorship is one creative technique, for instance, to promote learning and cross-generational partnerships. In order to blend new viewpoints with core expertise, reverse mentoring, where senior executives are matched with younger staff, encourages effective information transfer in fields including technology, social media, and digital trends. The next generation of millennials entering the workforce now has a good way to interact with senior leaders, ensuring that they both feel a part of the foundation.
Additionally, a recent business research found that millennials are prepared to forgo a salary of $7600 for a position that offers more meaningful employment (Forbes, 2017). And a staggering 70% of millennials are prepared to spend more with companies that support causes they care about (Schroeder, 2017). A company’s evolutionary success through change will be supported by leaders who take the time to comprehend and capitalize on these aspects by actively listening to what motivates individuals and teams.
Increasing Understanding
The next step is to share your vision with the general public once you’ve developed it. According to recent research, there is frequently disagreement over who should be responsible for communicating a company’s vision. Many think the CEO should be doing it. However, every leader in the most successful organizations should view it as their duty to “own” and express it. The likelihood of the vision being embraced and carried out significantly increases when the communication comes from all leaders AND via a number of venues (Forbes 2014).
More than just a headline or feature page in your monthly newsletter is at stake here. It involves using a variety of platforms to make sure your message is heard by everyone and developing a shared understanding across your organization on both a rational and emotional level. According to studies, the successful implementation of change initiatives is supported by a combination of cognitive and emotional motivators (Kotter, 2005).
“Some may be swayed by rhetoric while others want cold hard facts to buy in.” (Peter Stark, author)
It is crucial for leaders to be able to instill a sense of urgency for new shift behaviors while simultaneously raising fear in today’s multicultural and global workforce. This emphasizes the significance of having the ability to communicate effectively in a variety of “languages”—both physically and symbolically. Delivering the most effective communication strategy for their buy-in requires an understanding of how to inspire and motivate your team as a change leader.
“You need to show people something that addresses their anxieties, that accepts their anger, that is credible in a very gut-level sense, and that evokes faith in the vision.” – (Kotter, J)
Only a few conventional delivery techniques, such as written, verbal, and visual communication, can be used to transmit the vision message. Perhaps the most crucial factors for your people to understand the enthusiasm and effect that they, too, can have in bringing a vision to life are leadership visibility and role modeling. In order to effectively bring the vision to life, change leaders must convey precise, succinct strategic messaging while simultaneously embracing the power of narrative.
There are several advantages if you can persuade them of the potential advantages and the significance of their contribution. They’ll have a greater chance of:
• Develop their own concepts
• Feel inspired to participate and change the world
• Accept responsibility for achieving results.
• Keep a resilient attitude even when things are difficult.
• Have a spirit of unity and camaraderie
Refresh & Energize
Even the world’s most radical vision for change may encounter some opposition. It can be difficult to embed change, and it takes a lot of time and effort.
Effective follow-through and performance monitoring are the primary focus of effective change strategies from the outset. To link individuals with their individual and team performance indicators and to foster a sense of accomplishment as progress is accomplished, change leaders must incorporate these messaging into training and human resource efforts. This will assist in revitalizing the transformation vision and re-energizing individuals toward their contribution to its implementation.
Determining precise milestones to recognize even modest achievements and making sure they are effectively communicated to encourage ongoing learning and motivation throughout the company are ways to put this into practice. The following are some strategies change leaders can use to re-energize and re-engage their teams:
• Continue linking professional and personal achievements to developmental goals to relate emotional appeal to their particular definition of success.
• Sharing successes and difficulties in “Show and Tell” sessions promotes teamwork while combining knowledge sharing.
• Individuals and teams should be honored and rewarded for coming up with innovative ideas that produce lasting change.
To ensure understanding and take advantage of prospective opportunities, it’s important to be transparent about the deliverables and expectations of each individual. According to studies, workers who see that their efforts have a beneficial effect are more likely to feel satisfied, promote their employers, and remain in their positions for a longer period of time.
Think about it:
Are you expressing a purpose that is both clear and compelling to enable your team members comprehend your change vision?
Have your change goals been matched with your personal, team, and organizational goals?
Do you employ milestones to assess and reaffirm the benefits of change?
Sharing The “Why” Behind Change: Its Importance
If you take leadership seriously, you undoubtedly test out fresh concepts and strategies. You might do this by experimenting with various communication strategies, streamlining procedures, or changing your management approach. Even while these are admirable and brave initiatives, many of the leaders I’ve dealt with frequently forget to communicate the “why” behind the change.
For example:
• A micromanager decided to try being more hands-off, which her team perceived to mean that she was tired of them and was given up on them.
• An employee tried to use paraphrase strategies they acquired at a recent training to improve their listening, but it came across as manipulating.
• Due to severe violations that nearly resulted in enormous fines, an executive introduced a policy demanding compliance with the documentation of work hours, which everyone perceived as another instance of them being treated like children.
Share The Why
As you can see from the aforementioned illustrations, when we withhold the context for a change, individuals frequently fill in the spaces. Sadly, because people tend to think negatively, such gaps will probably be filled in with unfavorable ideas and tales. This undercuts the improvements we’re attempting, which are probably motivated by good motives. To prevent these misunderstandings, it is essential to explain the “why” of any change.
Case Study: FMC
For instance, in 2017, FMC Corporation was getting ready to purchase a major chunk of DuPont’s Crop Protection business, making FMC the fifth-largest crop protection company in the world. They created a unified internal communications campaign called the “Nature of Next” as part of their change story to explain the rationale and goals behind the purchase.
The marketing campaign described how FMC will gain a wider product range, a larger global footprint, and full-discovery R&D capabilities — all of which help them realize their goals of assisting clients in providing sustainable food for a growing population. Even though the integration process is still in progress, the ad raised awareness of the purchase among the staff and is being utilized to convey the potential of the new FMC.
Discussing The “Why” Can Be Easy
We don’t need to make a lengthy story in order to explain the why. All you need is a brief, straightforward explanation. Let’s review the aforementioned cases and the client actions that made such a significant difference in how the change initiatives were received:
• “I know you’ve been frustrated by my getting too in the weeds with you, so I’m focusing on being more hands-off,” the manager who wished to attempt being more hands-off told their team. However, if you require anything, do contact me.
• I’m trying to be a better listener and practice paraphrasing,” the employee who wished to enhance their listening skills said to coworkers. Do you mind if I practice it with you to make sure I understood what you stated correctly?
• The executive who suggested the policy on keeping track of working hours sent an internal memo to the entire firm stating, “We’ve recently experienced severe issues around timekeeping violations that could affect our company’s future. Unfortunately, in order to prevent this from happening again, we had to take some extreme actions. For the sake of the success of our organization, I would appreciate your assistance in complying. Ask your boss if you have any questions about this.
A Small Amount Of Context Can Go A Long Way
As you can see, some background information is really helpful. You only need to provide enough information so that people can understand your perspective. They usually appreciate your efforts to get better, especially if it might help them. Whenever you make a change, no matter how modest, think about how you can explain why you’re doing it and who would gain from hearing it. If anything, err on the side of being overly transparent, and keep in mind that you may always seek input regarding how the change is affecting other people (for better or worse).
Exercise 2.6: Alignment & Autonomy
Step 1: As the workshop’s leader, take some time before you begin to consider and describe two important concepts:
1. Specify the limits of your team’s acceptable level of autonomy.
2. Specify the point on which you want your team to agree.
• High alignment and high autonomy;
• high alignment and low autonomy;
• low alignment and low autonomy;
• low alignment OR autonomy
• What interferes with my alignment?
• What would enable me to exercise more independence?
• What interferes with my independence?
Course Manual 7: Prioritize
Have you ever created a list of priorities where each item was given top priority?
It has occurred to many of us. We prepare our job list, make coffee, and settle in for a productive day when all of a sudden, we are swamped with new tasks that require our immediate attention.
Many people ask how do I manage my time, but we believe that managing our priorities is more important. As we only have so much time and energy to devote, prioritizing our needs will help us stay productive while reducing pressure, stress, and burnout.
Ten Ways to Handle a Shift in Priorities
While maintaining a plan is crucial, it can be stressful when you are given new objectives in addition to the deadlines you are already pressed to fulfill.
How then can you manage a shift in priorities without jeopardizing the progress of your projects and change initiatives? By using these 10 suggestions, you may make things simpler:
1. Analyze the change strategy:
This entails posing a few inquiries that will help clarify the complete change plan, beginning with “The Why”:
• What precisely is causing our change, and why are we changing?
• How does the change fit in with the overarching goals of the company?
• Who started the transformation, and what do they envision for the company after it is finished?
With this knowledge, you’ll be able to prioritize activities more effectively and have a greater understanding of what the change will entail for your business.
2. Rank the importance of the tasks:
With additional information about the change at hand, you may start to analyze more thoroughly. Decide whether something is necessary, important, or enjoyable to have, for instance. Does it matter to some people but is only a good to have for others?
You will be guided if you maintain open lines of communication with your management and team. They will value your interest and concern and it is worth the time to ask. Additionally, enquiring now will save future time delays and do-overs.
3. Put your current tasks in order:
Examine your current initiative list carefully. Consider the extent of the work, the timetable, the budget, and the number of hours required to finish each task before making a change in priority. Move less important chores down the list so they are less important as not everything can be a priority.
4. Being adaptable:
Although it may seem cliché, the concept of being adaptable needs to be emphasized. When changes in priorities occur—and believe me, they WILL—you may choose to either welcome them or cut yourself off. Accepting and embracing the challenge is always preferable.
We are known for having terrible first impressions, but it’s alright to be a little skeptic at first.
But after queries and worries are addressed, we can readily embrace the change!
5. Concentrate on your sphere of influence:
When priorities shift, you should concentrate on the parts of your work that you can control, as David Rock points out in his book Your Brain at Work. Knowing exactly what you can influence and control will help you stay productive by preventing you from wasting time on tasks that are beyond your control.
6. Expend less energy:
Everyone is unique. Some people have their peak energy in the morning. Others do so around lunchtime. Others reach their zenith later in the day. Find out what time of day you work best, and plan your more difficult priorities within that period.
7. Get assistance:
If you need assistance setting priorities for your duties, speak with the person you report to. Instead of being a sign of weakness, asking for guidance shows that you’re thinking strategically rather than just getting things done.
8. Follow-up:
After you’ve revised your priorities, check in with the individual who made the modifications to receive their approval on your new list of priorities.
Say something along the lines of, “I’m glad to make the adjustment, and here is the impact on my other work. Are you all right with that? (Notice that I omitted the word but.) You’re not simply doing this for “CYA.” You might not be aware of other organizational projects and changes taking place concurrently.
Additionally, unlike you, the individual making the change might not be fully aware of the implications. In order to ensure that projects proceed as smoothly as possible, they will want to be made aware of the effects of any changes in priority.
9. Controlling expectations:
By this, It means controlling your own and other people’s expectations. Plans never go as expected, if there is one thing we’ve learned about them. Be ready to be caught off guard and lend a hand to others in need during those trying times.
Consider the way in which your organizational culture handles initiatives for change. If you feel that things aren’t moving quickly enough or if your workplace is slow-moving and necessitates a lot of approvals, sign-offs, or other “red tape” processing in order to properly complete work, don’t let it annoy you. Follow the flow and provide a hand if you can to make the process go a little more quickly.
10. Promote information exchange:
Nothing needs to be invented from scratch to accomplish goals. Inquire about any technologies that could be able to assist your team with a new project. Trello is a great tool for me to collaborate with others and arrange projects. See if you can use any common components from one initiative and apply them to another.
Speak to your formal, informal, internal, and external networks. They’ll probably enjoy sharing stories, solutions, or concepts that will assist you and your team in achieving your objectives.
It takes talent, persistence, discipline, and the readiness to be flexible and adaptable to manage priorities. You’ll be able to distinguish between daily, critical, and urgent jobs by understanding when to seek assistance when you’re confused what to prioritize or de-prioritize.
Never forget that setting priorities should lead to achievement rather than worry!
The Framework of Purpose
We’ve been selecting, managing, and setting priorities for projects for more than 20 years. We have since created a straightforward framework that we refer to as the “Framework of Purpose.” Executive teams can use it as a tool to assist them in prioritizing strategic objectives and projects:
• Purpose. What is the organization’s mission and how should it be best carried out? What strategic goals underpin this objective?
• Priorities. In light of the organization’s declared purpose and vision, what is most important now and in the future? What are its top priorities right now and in the next two to five years?
• Projects. Which initiatives are the most strategic and need the most funding, based on the responses to the first two questions? Which projects should be halted or abandoned because they don’t fit with the goals, vision, and priorities?
• People. Who are the most qualified individuals to carry out these initiatives now that the strategic priorities and those that matter most are clear?
• Performance. Historically, project performance metrics have been connected to inputs. Compared to outputs, they are significantly easier to track. Despite the challenges businesses have in measuring their outputs, it is the outputs that matter most. What exact outcome-related goals will be used to gauge true performance and value creation? Reduce the inputs you’re paying attention to and concentrate on them.
The strategic conversation and alignment at the top of the company, from which it then cascades to the remainder of the organization, are improved at best by prioritizing. Priorities become ingrained in the business and its corporate culture if you successfully guide the leadership team to comprehend this.
Consider the priorities of your organization. Are all of your varied activities prioritized for the organization’s overall success? What is the best way to utilize the company’s current and foreseeable financial and operational resources? What would become more important to you in the event of a rapid economic downturn?
Most projects and initiatives in an organization are aligned with its strategies when organizational priorities are understood and well-communicated. However, organizations are considerably more complex in reality than most people realize. Strategic goals can occasionally be hazy or absent entirely. Between the corporate strategic objectives and those of the various business units, divisions, or functions, there is frequently a disconnect and lack of alignment.
It is actually not viable to align all of an organization’s initiatives and programs with its strategic goals. It is more feasible to guarantee that at least the 20 most crucial projects and programs are completely in line with the strategic goals.
Executives realize that shifting priorities are a reality of corporate life by using the Hierarchy of Purpose. In fact, whenever a company drops a priority, the company becomes more focused. Every objective that is dropped presents an opportunity to grow and improve moving forward. Only when senior management makes difficult decisions can priorities change and have the power to radically alter organizations.
Case Study
Strategic and operational prioritization can frequently mean the difference between success and failure. However, a lot of businesses do it poorly.
A real-world illustration is a particular postal service that delivers packages to consumers. In an era of escalating competition and digital equivalents, the company has been fighting to survive, much like many other postal systems. At a series of town hall meetings, senior management invited staff members to focus on two operational priorities: effectiveness (improving delivery times) and customer satisfaction (ensuring customers had a good experience).
Mary, a worker, understood the message. And all went smoothly until she was out delivering items when an elderly man knocked on her van door and invited her inside for a short conversation. Mary’s instinct was to chat to the lonely old man for a while. In addition to being a kind thing to do, it would undoubtedly improve consumer satisfaction. She then paused, though. How about effectiveness? Her delivery timings would suffer if she talked to her customer for even a brief period of time. What exactly was she to do? At this company, thousands of workers had to make comparable decisions every day.
The situation is a common one. The postal company’s senior management believed they had conveyed clear priorities, but in reality, they had produced an operational conundrum as a result of strategic uncertainty.
Compare this to other profitable businesses. For instance, the low-cost airline Ryanair in Europe is quite open about the fact that it is a no-frills business where operational priority is efficiency, which takes precedence above customer service. Ryanair employees are aware of the importance of each task and know how to prioritize their time accordingly.
Prioritizing improves strategic project success rates, senior management team focus and alignment toward strategic goals, operational team confidence in decision-making, and, most importantly, fosters an execution attitude and culture.
Set Change Project Priorities in Your Organization
What will affect people the most?
If enterprises are to continue to expand, thrive, and satisfy the needs of their customers, change must be constant. Additionally, a company frequently wants to make a lot of adjustments. Setting change priorities makes ensuring the proper projects are implemented at the right time to have the biggest, most beneficial effect on the company and its people.
How to Choose and Order Project Ideas for Change
For each organization, a separate set of criteria will be used to identify and rank potential change project ideas. Think about the necessities for your company. Possible standards for ranking priorities include:
This is only a brief overview of possible standards for classifying organizational change projects.
Establish a weight for each of the change-prioritization criteria in addition to the criteria themselves. You might use a weight scale of 1–10, with 1 denoting the least importance and 10 the greatest.
Let’s examine a case in point
Project A, Project B, and Project C are the final three projects from a list of prospective transformation initiatives. With 1 being the least impactful and 5 the most impactful, we will use a scale of 1 to 5 for each item to assess the priority of launching the change initiatives.
For instance, if you’re looking at the criterion for expense reduction, 1 means minimal decrease and 5 means significant reduction. In terms of the implementation criteria, 1 denotes too expensive, and 5 denotes least expensive.
Additionally, the weighting range is from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most essential.
Putting a value to an element or criterion is called weighting. If least expense is most crucial, you would give that criterion a weight of 10.
You multiply the value in each cell by the value in the weight column to obtain the weighted score. The numbers in parenthesis demonstrate this. You add each column after that. The two projects to proceed with are Project A and Project B, with Project A being given priority over Project B if we assume a project must have a minimum score of 100 points.
Selecting and ranking change project ideas for your firm will depend on what works best for you. Be consistent in how you behave. The organization is more likely to undertake only those change initiatives that will have the greatest positive impact when each change project concept is assessed against predetermined criteria.
Exercise 2.7: Theory-W
Course Manual 8: The Influence Model
It has always been challenging to implement large-scale transformational change, and ample evidence demonstrates that most transformations continue to fail. The dynamic environment of today adds an additional layer of complexity and urgency. Businesses are being forced to respond to abrupt changes in the marketplace, other external shocks, and the requirements of new business models. The stakes have never been higher.
What should be done, then? Developing understanding and conviction, reinforcing changes through formal processes, developing talent and abilities, and setting an example are the four fundamental acts that we have found to be most effective in changing mindsets and behavior. These concepts, collectively known as the “influence model,” were first presented in a McKinsey Quarterly paper titled “The psychology of change management” more than a decade ago. They were based on both scholarly research and real-world experience, taking into account both the good and the bad.
Successful transformations were investigated in a recent survey, and it was discovered that they were almost eight times more likely to apply all four activities than just one.
The current article offers a primer on the concept and its four building pieces, explaining what they are, how they function, and why they matter. It draws on both old and contemporary academic research.
Promoting Conviction And Understanding
Research has shown that people seek consistency between their ideas and actions and feel dissonance when these are out of sync. People can consequently be motivated to alter their conduct by having faith in the “why” underlying the change. In reality, however, we see that many transformation leaders mistakenly believe that the “why” is obvious to the larger organization and, as a result, neglect to devote enough time to explaining the justification for change initiatives.
This frequent pitfalls can be anticipated. The false-consensus effect, which is a tendency people have, causes people to commonly overestimate the degree to which other people share their attitudes, beliefs, and opinions. The “curse of knowledge,” which makes it difficult for people to believe that others are unaware of what they themselves are aware of, is another significant factor that studies have pointed out. A Stanford study asked individuals to tap out the beats of well-known songs and predict the likelihood that others would guess what they were, in order to demonstrate this propensity. While the tappers expected the listeners to accurately identify 50% of the tunes, this only happened fewer than 5% of the time.
As a result, we advise executives to create a change narrative that will help all stakeholders understand the direction the organization is taking, the reasons for the change, and the significance of the change. It’s also helpful to incorporate a feedback loop to gauge how the story is being received. According to recent study, these change stories not only aid in spreading the word but also work well as an influencer. Stories work especially well for promoting brands.
Case Study
ConvertKit spent two years designing its makeover, but an oversight in the study cost them more than $500,000.
They announced a rebrand under the name “Seva” as part of their change management strategy.
The Sanskrit term for “selfless service” inspired ConvertKit to choose Seva as its new name. Business leaders neglected to explore the subtleties of the word’s link with the Sikh religion, despite the company’s belief that it demonstrated how much it values its clients.
Later, ConvertKit discovered that Seva is a sacred idea and a method to worship by giving without expecting anything in return. It would be disrespectful and against the spirit of the term to call a for-profit company Seva. ConvertKit ultimately decided to scrap the name change.
ConvertKit ultimately decided to scrap the name change.
Lesson:
Always keep the human element of change in mind. ConvertKit erred by concentrating just on the commercial aspects of a rebrand. The company let its clients down by disregarding the cultural implications of adopting a religious term in its name and wasted $500,000 on a rebrand that had to be undone.
Always take into account who a change will most likely influence. These people are frequently employees of your business, but not always. Before making the modification, consider it from several perspectives.
Even at the time of the original article, 15 years ago, technological advancements were beginning to provide employees a sense of involvement in changes, allowing them to influence the course of their organizations. For instance, IBM engaged staff, clients, and other stakeholders in an online discussion about business potential during two 72-hour “jam sessions” in 2006. There were 46,000 posts, and there were no less than 150,000 visitors from 104 different countries and 67 different companies. Social and mobile technologies have subsequently produced a wide range of new options to strengthen the commitment of employees to change, as we explain in “Winning hearts and minds in the 21st century.”
Using Formal Mechanisms To Reinforce
Psychologists have long understood that reinforcement and direct association frequently play a role in behavior. Ivan Pavlov’s study on classical conditioning from the 1920s demonstrated how dogs finally began to salivate in response to the sound of the bell alone after being repeatedly trained to associate it with the delivery of food. Later studies on training in humans showed how young toddlers might develop a fear of rats when they were connected to loud noises. Of course, this conditioning is not exclusive to animals or negative associations. The perfume business is aware of how a person’s favorite aroma can evoke feelings of adoration and longing.
Additionally, reinforcement can be deliberate, influenced by the anticipated benefits and drawbacks connected to particular types of behavior. Through the use of positive incentives like food and the operant conditioning method, B. F. Skinner demonstrated how desired behavior may be taught to pigeons so they can play Ping-Pong. It is not difficult to understand this idea, which is well-established in businesses. The idea that getting paid more for working more might occasionally be a strong motivator is one that many people who have held commission-based sales positions will be able to relate to.
Even though reinforcement is crucial, businesses frequently misuse it. Management expert Steven Kerr provided numerous examples of organizational-reward systems that are out of step with the desired behavior, which is therefore ignored, in his famous study “On the folly of rewarding A, while expecting for B.” Some of the paper’s examples are still applicable today, such as how university professors get compensated for their research articles even though society expects them to be effective teachers. The corporation effectively handled that portion of the budget as a “super KPI” by controlling maintenance costs and rewarding those who reduced them. However, it also mentioned reliable maintenance as a goal.
Even when businesses correctly employ money as reinforcement, they frequently fool themselves into thinking that it will be enough on its own. A law of diminishing returns may apply to the relationship between financial success and actual happiness, as well as to moods and overall wellbeing, according to research. After about $75,000, the partnership may completely end, which is a considerably lower ceiling than most CEOs believe.
Of course, incentives don’t just come from money. In his groundbreaking study on expectancy theory, Victor Vroom demonstrated how the propensity to act in particular ways is influenced by the expectation that one’s efforts will yield the desired performance, that one will be rewarded for this performance, and that one will be given a desirable reward. Collaboration and purpose were determined to be more significant performance drivers than pay by a Middle Eastern telecoms company lately (see “Ahead of the curve: The future of performance management,” forthcoming on McKinsey.com). Therefore, the corporation switched from rewarding meager individual bonuses for performance to recognizing how particular teams actually improved the lives of their clients. This action improved motivation while also saving the company millions of dollars.
It also depends how these reinforcements are provided. It has long been known that predictability reduces their potency; slot machine operators have discovered to their benefit that sporadic reinforcement offers a stronger hook. Additionally, when people see that reinforcements aren’t being delivered evenly, they respond unfavorably. According to research on equity theory, employees compare the inputs and results of their work to reference-comparison targets, such as their coworkers who have advanced in rank or their own former employment experiences. Determining what actually motivates performance—such as collaboration and purpose, as in the instance of the Middle Eastern telecom company mentioned earlier—rather than focusing on money as a potential source of concern is what we advise organizations to do.
Developing Abilities And Talent
Fortunately, even an elderly dog can learn new tricks. Neuroscience research demonstrates that human brains are not fixed and continue to be malleable far into adulthood. Scientific research has discovered that London taxi drivers’ brains, who spend years remembering tens of thousands of streets and landmarks, displayed distinct gray-matter volume differences in the hippocampus when compared to brains of other people, illustrative of this idea. Research connected these variations to the outstanding particular knowledge of the cab drivers.
Despite having a remarkable capacity for learning new things, humans all too frequently lack awareness of what they do not know but should. Biases, for instance, can cause people to overestimate their capabilities and ignore their limitations. Studies have shown that 84 percent of Frenchmen believe they are above-average lovers, over 70 percent of academics think they are in the top 25 percent of professors for teaching competence, and over 90 percent of US drivers rank themselves above average, underscoring this point. By making people overconfident in some of their talents and uninformed of what they still need to learn, this self-serving bias can cause blind spots. These self-serving attitudes are frequently exacerbated in the workplace by the “mum effect,” which is a tendency to stay silent about unpleasant or unfavorable messages.
Even when people get past these prejudices and genuinely want to change, they can still harm themselves by having self-doubt. The learned helplessness that develops as a result of repeated exposure to bad experiences regarded as inevitable was first theorized by Martin Seligman and his colleagues in classic psychology study. This state can affect both people and animals. Dogs subjected to unavoidable shocks, the researchers discovered, gave up trying to flee and, when subsequently given the chance to do so, stayed there and accepted the shocks as unavoidable. People who think that learning new abilities won’t alter a situation are more prone to be passive, just like animals. This is prevalent throughout the economy, from workers who stop proposing new ideas after earlier ones have been rejected to jobless people who quit looking for jobs after receiving numerous rejections.
An active endeavor to improve can be encouraged by fostering a sense of control and competence. According to expectancy theory, when people believe that greater individual effort will boost performance, they are more driven to reach their goals. Thankfully, new technologies today allow businesses more imaginative chances than ever to present real-world instances of how that may occur.
Emulating Others
Role modeling happens both instinctively and intentionally, according to research. Without even being aware of it, people frequently find themselves replicating the emotions, actions, speech patterns, facial expressions, and moods of others. Additionally, they deliberately align their thought and conduct with that of others in order to learn, decide what is good, and perhaps merely to fit in.
Although high-profile figures like Bill Gates and Abraham Lincoln are frequently mentioned when discussing role models, this isn’t the only category. Smart businesses understand that important opinion leaders may have greater sway than CEOs in influencing staff to support large transformational initiatives. Role modeling is not just for individuals, either. Everyone has the ability to set an example for others, but groups of individuals often have the greatest impact. Respected psychology and marketing professor Robert Cialdini studied the influence of “social proof,” a mental shortcut people take to determine what is right by looking at what other people believe to be right. It makes sense why TV shows have used produced laughter for so long; when we think that other others find a show amusing, we are more likely to find it amusing as well.
The internet world of today offers more options than ever to share knowledge about what other people think and do. Ever been persuaded by Yelp’s abundance of favorable reviews? Or considering someone with a million followers on Twitter to be more credible than someone with only a dozen? You are not dreaming. In order to make themselves or their brands seem popular or even start trending, users may now “purchase followers.”
Since the influence model is based on strong forces of human nature, its longevity shouldn’t come as a surprise. Perhaps even more astonishing is how frequently leaders still start major transformative change initiatives without paying serious attention to developing or bolstering their belief through formal channels, skill development, and role modeling. Even if these priorities seem obvious, it’s simple to overlook one or more of them in the flurry of activity that frequently follows substantial changes in course. Because all four of these building blocks work better together, as evidenced by study and experience, leaders should address them all in a methodical manner.
Exercise 2.8: One breath feedback
After a group session, the discussion becomes disorganized. It goes on and on and veers off topic. It’s sometimes referred to as “death by feedback.”
Course Manual 9: Positive Attitude
Positive Leadership: It Can Change The World
Some people could contend that optimism is a trait you acquire at birth and that you are either a positive leader or you are not. Actually, being positive is a skill that must be practiced daily. Others may assume that you are just naturally optimistic (and that you were born that way), but you have worked hard to develop the ability to maintain optimism in the face of adversity, including health or personal crises, a heavy workload, unexpected challenges, and difficult personalities and coworkers. The fact that decision-makers must always “be on” if they are in public adds to the complexity of this. In order to be optimistic every day as it arrives, one must concentrate and persevere. Although you could have the same worries and difficulties as others, you don’t let them control your actions or attitudes. Who would want to follow a bad example or leader, after all? Research has been done to show the benefits of good leaders in the workplace.
Some people could contend that optimism is a trait you acquire at birth and that you are either a positive leader or you are not. Actually, being positive is a skill that must be practiced daily. Others may assume that you are just naturally optimistic (and that you were born that way), but you have worked hard to develop the ability to maintain optimism in the face of adversity, including health or personal crises, a heavy workload, unexpected challenges, and difficult personalities and coworkers. The fact that decision-makers must always “be on” if they are in public adds to the complexity of this. In order to be optimistic every day as it arrives, one must concentrate and persevere. Although you could have the same worries and difficulties as others, you don’t let them control your actions or attitudes. Who would want to follow a bad example or leader, after all? Research has been done to show the benefits of good leaders in the workplace.
What Hinders Having A Positive Outlook?
Our mental state varies from moment to moment. High levels of resilience can sometimes be accompanied with a test of mental toughness brought on by either external factors like people or circumstances or internal factors like our own thoughts. The following is a typical list of ways that our optimistic outlook can be impacted:
• The act of assuming
• Accusating others
• Catastrophising
• Thinking about things automatically means doing what we have always done. For instance, is it true that “She’s always like this in meetings”?
• Lack of confidence
• Self-awareness deficit
• Taking offense at something
• Personality traits: Whether you naturally see the glass as half full or half empty
• Overextending oneself
What further items would you include?
A Positive Attitude
A desire to be more positive is the first step in developing a positive mentality. Once you are interested in doing so, here are some ideas to take into account:
Consider your emotions: Are you anticipating change or are you dreading it? People frequently believe that fear and exhilaration are on the same scale, but at the opposing ends. Often, our bodies can communicate our feelings to us before we can verbalize them. Some coaching clients tell me they have anxiety, possibly in a specific area of their bodies, and that this is their early warning sign that things doesn’t seem quite right. Knowing when your thinking has changed is the first step towards taking corrective action.
Imagine the outcome: Knowing what you want to accomplish individually and visualizing it can help you feel energised, motivated, and headed in the right direction.
Write this down: Through journaling, we can express our thoughts as they arise. Instead of putting them in a bottle, we can deal with them more promptly and logically.
Say it loudly: Find trustworthy individuals with whom you may discuss your concerns. Sharing these ideas with others gives us a method to let off steam when we’re feeling frazzled. We gain a fresh sense of perspective as a result.
Be careful what stories you tell: We all have the tendency to assume the worst about a circumstance, giving the issue our own unique interpretation when it may not be the case. For instance, someone can claim that “he is so pessimistic, every time I meet him, he brings me down.” Another way to look at this issue is that rather than genuinely attempting to bring you down, the person was confused and was asking numerous questions in an effort to understand. Simply by the way it was interpreted, the person had influenced the other’s optimistic outlook.
Develop your self-awareness: Since it will help you adopt a more optimistic outlook. This occurs as we begin to see circumstances for what they truly are rather than for what we have preconceived notions about them to be. This affects our psyche because it allows us to think and act with even greater tenacity. Think about how you can become more self-aware.
Be adaptable like a bamboo tree: A bamboo tree is so adaptable that it can bend in the wind without breaking. We can be open to new options, ideas, and viewpoints if we develop a flexible attitude. Setting objectives to be even more adaptable and open-minded is something I urge you to do because it can take some practice.
Embrace the “everything is possible” mentality: Creativity can result when we approach new situations with a blank canvas rather than a predetermined perspective. In turn, this fosters a cheerful outlook.
Seek feedback: It’s interesting to note that individuals who do so experience a reduction in blind spots. Instead of relying on hearsay, this improves our perspective by making us more realistic and aware of our areas of strength and progress.
Find a method to succeed: When things are difficult, our thinking is most likely to be tested. Failures can be difficult to accept, especially if you are a perfectionist. They do, however, give us a chance to grow and use our resilience muscles even more than when the route is clear. The next time anything goes wrong, find out what you can learn from it.
Work-Life Balance: Establish a schedule that includes time for work, rest, and recreation. To be at our best mental state, we need a balanced mixture.
To commemorate your accomplishments: Take some time to consider your changes and lessons learned. We frequently accomplish wonderful things, but we then immediately go on to the next task. Even a brief pause to congratulate can help you think positively.
Case Study: Einstein
Perhaps the most well-known scientist of the 20th century was Albert Einstein. The renowned physicist had a significant influence on how we comprehend the cosmos and fundamental ideas like time, light, and gravity.
His work continues to this day to direct physicists toward new horizons, enabling us to comprehend our significance on the largest scale.
Einstein, who was born in Germany in 1879, was a little bit unique from the other lads. At least one housekeeper called him “retarded” because of the little enlargement of his skull and the lack of his communication. She had no idea that this “retarded” youngster would go on to change the world with his thoughts.
Einstein earned his PhD when he was 26 years old. He authored four significant papers that year on subjects like the nature of light and mass-energy equivalence.
Although initially completely disregarded, these publications would later significantly advance science, including the development of the well-known E= MC2 formula for mass-energy equivalence.
The first versions of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, one of the most ground-breaking theories in history, were also found in these works.
Einstein possessed all the qualities of a genius, despite the fact that it is impossible to determine exactly what his brilliance was.
He had a strong imagination, questioned everything, and came up with fresh solutions to long-standing issues. On the day of his passing, it was said that he was working on a speech for a television program. He also possessed an unwavering work ethic that drove him to action.
The last image of Einstein’s workspace, taken only hours before he passed away, depicted a man who was utterly engrossed in his job.
Einstein is revered for his ability to persevere in the face of adversity in addition to his timeless sayings and keen sense of humor. Einstein faced several difficulties throughout his life, from medical setbacks as a young child to spending two discouraging years hunting for work as a teaching assistant after graduation.
His genius was centered on his capacity for optimism and for inciting original mental processes. Even now, the world remembers a man who revolutionized the world, not a man who spent decades working at a patent office.
How To Lead Positively
Here are some suggestions based on the research if you wish to show good leadership when dealing with your staff. It doesn’t just entail maintaining a positive attitude while ignoring trying circumstances. Much more is involved than that. In order to lead positively and authentically, you must:
• Give your workers power
• Demonstrate your real concern for your staff by
• When your employees are struggling, be compassionate and try to understand why they are having good or bad days or doing poorly.
• Encourage your workers
• Set an example and show excellent social interactions Keeping your spirits up despite the hostility of others
• Talk about your work motivation and your future aspirations
• Bring vitality to the office. Because leaders’ actions are so obvious to people around them, why should they inspire others if you aren’t doing so? Being enthusiastic is contagious and a powerful motivator.
• Remind your staff of the significance of their effort.
• Respect and integrity should be shown to all employees.
• Discover and humor
• Be a positive change agent by putting more emphasis on strengths than faults (this doesn’t imply you should ignore or downplay flaws; rather, it means you should highlight the skills people have to offer and suggest ways to better utilize them). This results from an affirmation bias, which is the tendency to focus on strengths rather than weaknesses, and from finding the positive side of things.
• Establish a culture where people acknowledge their successes, progress, and accomplishments while also encouraging one another.
• Focus on finding answers to issues rather than just listing them; optimism enables you to meet obstacles head-on and advance.
• Recognize that there will be conflict and deal with it quickly
You need some of the following qualities as a leader in order to be upbeat and exhibit the behaviors mentioned above, as well as to be able to keep moving forward in the face of challenges and setbacks:
• Integrity and morality are doing what you say you’re going to do and being honorable.
• a healthy sense of self-worth and self-reliance
• Resilience (particularly when faced with failures and difficult situations you are able to pick yourself up from setbacks and not perceive them as overwhelming)
• Gratitude is recognizing the positive aspects of your life.
• Self-care (you have to take care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually)
It has been demonstrated that positive leadership improves the satisfaction, engagement, and performance of people, teams, and organizations. Anyone can struggle to maintain a cheerful attitude, especially in trying circumstances. For a leader to be cheery, positive, and supportive of their team, they must be committed, persistent, and relentlessly focused. However, it is something that we can all seek to improve in order to create better workplaces for all.
Case Study: Hawking
There were undoubtedly plenty of reasons for Stephen Hawking to give up.
At age 21, he received a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which would leave him severely handicapped for the rest of his life, to the extent of using his cheek muscles to manipulate a communication device.
Despite his severe illness, Stephen Hawking rose to prominence, possibly surpassing Albert Einstein as the most well-known theoretical physicist. Hawking is renowned for his innovative research on black holes, quantum physics, and cosmology.
Hawking was born into poverty. Stephen, the eldest of four siblings, was born in England during World War II. Hawking admitted he didn’t put much time into his studies.
That didn’t stop him from earning a full honors degree and then enrolling in a cosmology PhD program at Cambridge University.
Many articles have been written about Hawking and his intriguing universe hypotheses. He also won praise from all over the world for both his work and his tenacity in overcoming a severe impairment.
He was given just two years to live when he was first diagnosed with ALS. Hawking offered this wise advice about conquering his disability:
Exercise 2.9: Refute Negative Thinking
Course Manual 10: Personalize Change
Reframing the underlying reasons for the mindsets that resist change is an important step in the correct direction and can occasionally bring about the required change in behavior by itself.
However, employees frequently find it difficult to alter their behavior for emotional rather than rational reasons. After all, the largest obstacle to quick personal transformation is our tendency as leaders to agree that the issue exists and that a change is necessary. If only other people would alter their attitudes and behaviors, we would advance more quickly.
At one company, for instance, managers were asked to estimate how much time they spend trying to stroke the egos of others, such as by making them feel like “my idea is yours” or by being careful not to step on anyone’s toes. Most people said 20 to 30%. The next question was how much time they spend avoiding their own egos. Most people remained silent. This phenomenon is described by psychology as a very predictable and very human “self-serving bias.” It entails having a positive perspective on our own behavior and observing situations from our own point of view. This explains why 25% of students assess their ability to get along with others as being in the top 1%. Because of this, the combined estimate provided by couples when asked to estimate their share of household work typically surpasses 100%.
The largest obstacle to quick personal change is our tendency as leaders to acknowledge the issue and the necessary change. We could advance more if people changed their attitudes and behaviors.
Case Study: Starbucks: Integrate Core Values Across the Board
Two males went to a Starbucks in Philadelphia in April 2018 to meet a friend. They asked to use the restroom while waiting to place their order at a table. The outcome? The two African American men were unlawfully detained for trespassing after the on-duty manager phoned the police.
The viral arrest footage made #boycottStarbucks the leading topic on social media the next day. Even the CEO of Starbucks condemned the racially biased incident that resulted from what may have begun as a store manager trying to adhere to company policy a “reprehensible outcome.”
Kevin Johnson, the CEO, immediately issued a statement that included an explicit apologies to the two men. He told the staff and clients, “You can and should expect more from us. We will learn from this and be better.”
He also listed a number of internal steps the business would take. One month later, Starbucks closed 8,000 locations so that 175,000 staff members could receive training on racial bias and how to make every client feel welcome.
Starbucks conducted an internal inquiry into its policies after realizing the significant flaw in their internal communication processes and how their “practices and training contributed to a disastrous outcome.” It was universally regarded as a truthful, sincere response.
We humans routinely overestimate our ability to contribute to the solution rather than the issue in many behavior-related areas, and role modeling behavior transformation is one of them. A whopping 86 percent of executives say they “role model desired behavior improvements” on average when questioned. The average positive response to the same question from those who answer to these leaders is merely 53%.
How can we therefore best combat this bias and encourage leaders and staff to make changes within themselves? Our own journey has deepened our opinion that the most effective solution is an off-site, workshop-based learning journey for small groups. These programs should primarily focus on in-person working sessions, conducted by facilitators knowledgeable about approaches created in the field of human potential and versed in the principles of adult learning. The “U-process,” a social technology serves as the foundation for the workshop approach. Three stages make up the U-process:
• Sensing. This usually features a senior executive who has attended the workshop before and who presents the company’s change story, discusses their own individual change journeys, and responds to participant questions.
• Presencing. Participants explore their own particular “iceberg” of behavior in this. It involves completing discussion-based, modular topics and exercises that help leaders develop higher levels of self-awareness and self-control. Where and why do I behave in a fearful rather than hopeful manner? Scarcity as opposed to abundance? Victimhood as opposed to mastery? What would happen if I made other decisions, too?
• Realizing. Participants in this phase decide openly and explicitly about their own mentality shifts and behavioral changes, name “sustaining practices” that will enable them to act on their insights, and consider how they will involve their personal networks for the difficulties and support they will face in the remaining stages of their personal change journey.
Small groups usually get together after these courses to provide peer accountability and guidance. There is another assisted session to assess any behavioral changes after a few weeks.
We are aware that some people may find this strategy to be overly “soft.” However, we have witnessed how it has transformed everyone from Middle Eastern government officials to South Korean conglomerate employees to Dutch engineers, American investment bankers, and American bankers. While some companies subject all of their staff to such workshops, the study of epidemiology has proven that only a critical mass of people leaders—typically 25 to 30 percent of the workforce—can have a significant influence. All leaders eventually let go of the “if only they would change” mentality in these circumstances and replace it with a profound sense of “if it’s to be, it’s up to me.”
Although not every successful change program we have seen makes use of these strategies, in our experience, every change program that has (in the context of other recommended interventions) made use of them has been effective, and in times much quicker than most leaders had anticipated. When organizations struggle to defrost what is frequently referred to as “the frozen middle,” a layer of middle managers who are reluctant to change, the effect can be especially beneficial.
How to Persuade Your Staff to Accept Change: 7 Steps
Although many managers spend their entire careers in management, genuine leaders have the guts to start the change.
It’s time to inform your staff that you’ve decided to go ahead with the project.
You’ll observe a wide range of responses from them, including but not restricted to:
• Excitement. Some people enjoy diversity and always seek to change the status quo.
• Anger. Some workers believe that the way things were done in the past is the only acceptable way to accomplish things.
• Hesitation. Sometimes employees are aware that change is necessary, but they are hesitant to step into the uncharted territory.
• Duplicity. While you’re not looking, these employees clap for change while spreading venom behind your back.
• Grief. These folks feel as though they no longer belong since the firm seems strange to them.
Change management is the ultimate leadership challenge. Here are seven resources that will assist you in your journey.
1. Choose a Symbol
Former Harvard School of Business professor John Kotter recounted the experience of a mid-level manager of a sizable corporation in his book “The Heart of Change.” The management saw that instead of allowing each factory to make its own purchases, the corporation could save money by combining purchasing into a single department.
He gathered 424 different types of work gloves that the company’s manufacturers had bought to support his claim. Each glove has a tag attached to it with the price and the manufacturer’s name. He threw the package of gloves on the table before the following senior executives meeting, serving as a stark reminder to the group of how ineffective their purchase procedure was. The organization made significant financial savings as a result of the adjustments in procurement.
2. Construct a Coalition
You cannot stand alone on the summit as a prophet of change when you are leading it. To disseminate and encourage your message, you need allies.
A group can communicate with employees more frequently than a single leader can. More crucially, the coalition members will discover opportunities where you won’t, observe difficulties where you hadn’t planned, and influence their coworkers in unexpected ways.
3. Transmit Your Vision
According to leadership expert Simon Sinek, people are more interested in your motivations than your actions. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the “I Have a Dream” address, not the “I Have a Plan” speech, in his own words.
Your strategy should be very carefully thought out and detailed. However, it is your vision that will inspire individuals to make significant changes.
4. Celebrate Your Quick Victories
A significant change takes time to implement, and when it does so slowly, individuals may become disheartened.
Work on a major task in tiny steps and thank everyone for their contributions if you want to keep your team motivated.
5. Allow Staff To Vent
Change frustrates even the most upbeat workers, and it’s normal to have resistance to change.
It’s critical to give your staff a voice. When your employees communicate honestly, you learn about process hiccups that you weren’t expecting. Additionally, you learn who might want additional assistance.
part of the change by asking the
6. Over-communicate
Former JetBlue CEO Dave Barger famously advised Forbes to treble your communication efforts when you feel like you’ve done so much.
Everyone must be aware of the objectives, from the C-suite to the cockpit and from the gate to the galley, according to Barger. “If everyone is on the same page, teamwork follows, and everything clicks.”
7. Keep The Momentum Going
You’ll sense momentum rising as you near your objective. Don’t allow that momentum escape you; use it to your advantage. Momentum turns into synergy.
Now for Change
You have no influence over how people will respond to significant change, but you can learn a lot about your staff by watching how they handle it.
Exercise 2.10: Cover Story
• Magazine Materials Templates (see below)
• Markers
Create big templates with the categories before the conference. You can get creative with the layout and the main image so that your template doesn’t have to look exactly like the one featured here. The size of the group will determine how many templates you produce. Allow no more than four to six persons to collaborate on one template.
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•
•
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• Initial concepts for the cover story should be written down in a “brainstorm.”
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Course Manual 11: Transformation Culture
You’re in good company if you believe that an organization’s culture plays a significant role in its success. In fact, 92% of Fortune 1000 C-suite executives think that enhancing the culture of their company will raise its worth. This is a reasonable viewpoint given that studies have linked organizational culture to crucial measures including firm earnings, staff retention, and productivity.
Before we attempt to develop a great organizational culture, it is of course essential to understand what makes one. Our definition of organizational culture at NLI is a grouping of “common daily routines.” These habits develop in accordance with an organization’s aims and objectives, which are based on the values and conduct that the corporation considers to be most crucial to instill in their workforce.
According to research, the most prosperous firms are those that foster the cultural norms of cooperation, innovation, and integrity. These cultural standards not only indicate success, but they are also valued by workers. In fact, it has been demonstrated that following these norms increases commitment to and trust in the company.
How specifically can senior executives support the manifestation of these ideals throughout their organizations? There are many strategies to try, but fortunately, freshly released data makes it obvious which kind of culture actually achieves that goal: a growth mindset culture.
3 Studies On The Culture Of Development
A culture that promotes a growth mindset promotes the idea that aptitude and talent can be developed through work, smart planning, and excellent mentoring. This contrasts with a fixed mentality culture, which emphasizes people’s current ability levels rather than supporting the growth of their skills.
The relationship between a growth mindset culture, an organization’s cultural norms, and employee trust and loyalty to their employer was recently tested in three tests by researchers.
In the beginning, they looked up the mission statements of Fortune 500 companies and graded them according to their use of fixed vs. growth mindset language (for example, growth mindset language: “we offer opportunities for personal growth and professional development.” vs. fixed mindset language: “our success has resulted directly from the talent of our people.”). They demonstrated that employees assessed businesses more adversely when they used terminology from fixed mindsets in their mission statements.
Second, participants were asked to read mission statements that advocated either a fixed or a growth mentality and make predictions about how dependable and dedicated the staff at these fictitious organizations would be. Unsurprisingly, participants who read the fixed mindset mission statements anticipate less commitment and trust from these businesses’ staff members.
Finally, the researchers conducted interviews with staff members from seven Fortune 1000 companies to determine how they perceived the growth vs. fixed mindset culture at their organizations and to determine the standards for collaboration, innovation, integrity, and their trust and loyalty to the company. They discovered that employees thought the firm supported cooperation, innovation, honesty, and trust and commitment to the organization more when they believed it had a growth mindset culture.
Create A Culture Of Growth-Mindedness For Yourself
Taking these three studies together, we can say that an organizational development mindset culture produces the cultural norms of highly successful firms and motivates employee trust and loyalty. The key takeaway from this article is that an organization’s success will be inspired by its growth mindset culture, which is also the culture of companies that workers will genuinely want to work for.
With this knowledge, it’s simple to understand how crucial and advantageous a development minded culture is to a company. The next step is to really make it happen; yet, this realization is merely the first.
Case Study: Dr. Reddy’s
G.V. Prasad, CEO of Dr. Reddy’s, an Indian-based 33-year-old worldwide pharmaceutical company that creates reasonably priced generic drugs, is one executive who fully comprehends this. Decision-making had gotten more complicated as a result of the company’s more than seven unique business groups operating in 27 different countries with more than 20,000 employees. Dr. Reddy’s has added numerous treatments throughout the years, and for a variety of valid reasons. However, those procedures had also caused the business to lag.
Prasad worked to change Dr. Reddy’s culture to one that was quick-thinking, creative, and patient-focused. He was aware that a journey was necessary to unite and inspire all workers. His executive team started by looking for a goal. The Dr. Reddy’s team collaborated over a period of months to understand the needs of everyone, including shop floor employees, scientists, outside partners, and investors. Together, they clarified and condensed the company’s mission into four straightforward phrases that are centered on the patient: “Good health can’t wait.”
But the leadership team secretly started applying this new phrase to start directing their own decisions rather than posting it on inspirational posters and repeating it in all-hands meetings. Instead of simply discussing this concept, the objective was to show it in action. In order to emphasize flexibility, creativity, and customer centricity, projects from various channels were chosen. To boost adherence and make product packaging more user-friendly, it was changed. Since more knowledgeable doctors result in healthier patients, the job of sales representatives in Russia was changed to serve as knowledge centers for physicians. To enable Dr. Reddy’s staff to be proactive with consumer requests and swiftly address any issues, a thorough internal data platform was created.
It was now time to communicate the declared objective more widely, first internally with all personnel and then externally with the rest of the globe. Employees of Dr. Reddy’s were informed of their purpose and invited to participate in attaining it at the internal launch ceremony. Everyone was invited to make a personal commitment regarding how they would support “good health can’t wait” in their current capacity. The next day, Dr. Reddy’s debuted a new logo and website with a clear mission statement. Soon after, the business opened two new “innovation labs” in Hyderabad and Mumbai to provide the organization with more structural support for creativity.
Prasad immediately saw a shift in the corporate culture:
One of the scientists stated that he built a device in 15 days and broke every regulation there was in the company after being presented the concept of “good health can’t wait.” He was announcing that with pride! It normally took him months to obtain the raw materials alone, let alone complete the remainder of the medication-making procedure. He was however responding to that urgency. And he’s currently using this lean lesson to improve all of the processes.
How to Build a Culture that Accepts and Adapts to Change in 5 Steps
In light of the rapidly evolving technology world of today, it is crucial to establish a workplace culture that can change with it. Starting with a welcoming company culture will help you achieve this. Making your staff comfortable in their existing working environment is the cornerstone of building a workplace that can evolve with the times.
Regardless of the sector you work in, change is a constant in the workplace. Companies must address employee concerns in order to make these changes straightforward to adopt. While some employees prefer to cling to the tried-and-true policies and procedures they’ve been following for years, others thrive on adaptation and ongoing learning. Smart managers make sure all workers are content while keeping up with workplace changes.
These five strategies will help your company embrace change while guaranteeing that no employees are left behind.
1. Encourage employee engagement and feedback
One method to demonstrate employees they are valued and that your top priorities are their ideas and comfort is by asking for their comments. Asking for comments also demonstrates organizational transparency, which is essential for preserving a positive workplace culture despite prospective changes.
Adapting to changes that increase job satisfaction is another strategy to promote employee engagement. This can entail overseeing a nomadic staff. Working remotely or telecommuting is one of the prevalent workplace trends nowadays, which some people prefer over daily office attendance.
Ask each employee about their preferences; some may want to work from home, while others may prefer the office.
Consider change from the standpoint of the employee as well as from the management’s. Smart leaders say less and listen more when it comes to issues that affect their workforce.
2. Accept All Responses to Change
Different employees react to change in various ways. Therefore, it’s crucial to handle every employee response to change. The ideal strategy is to treat each response with the same level of care. As was already noted, some employees will adapt to change quickly, while others may need more time.
It’s also never too late to accept change. For instance, one of Canada’s oldest insurers recently chose to adopt a more pro-active strategy for employee engagement and digital literacy.
All employees should be aware of the need for change in order to be competitive in the rapidly evolving technology and business world, regardless of the size or age of the organization.
3. Set an example for your team.
Employees who have become accustomed to utilizing the same tools and procedures since they began working may find it frightening to implement a new technology or approach in the office. Executives and supervisors should set the bar high. To convince employees that change might be much easier than they think, they must be flexible.
Employees will imitate company leadership if they observe them to be resistant to change and frustrated. Everyone should maintain an open mind, even if it is simple for executives to become set in their ways and think that the technology and procedures the company was formed on will always be the best choice.
4. Continue to Feel Community
Managers must keep the workplace culture one of inclusion when changes take place. Remind long-standing employees that they are still an important part of the team and that they are still needed to make the team function when changes are made to the workplace.
Making sure employees are aware of and committed to the company’s principles is a crucial component of preserving a feeling of community. Employees and their bosses can embrace change more readily if there is a two-way street of trust between them.
By encouraging employees to attempt even if they fail, you can preserve a sense of community. Failure and mistakes are unavoidable when businesses introduce change. Employees can only feel comfortable attempting new things if you accept their blunders. Employees that are afraid to fail will be particularly reluctant to explore new approaches.
5. Proper employee training
While laying the groundwork for change is crucial, managers must also be ready to provide the right kind of training so that staff members are ready for the change. Start by allaying employees’ concerns and enlisting their active participation in every step of the procedure.
Due to the frequent introduction of new technology, employees must be able to adapt. One of the most important lessons to teach staff members is training acceptance.
Why Organizations Need to Foster an Adaptable Culture
Businesses must create a culture where change is welcomed and accepted. Train staff members to accept and feel at ease with change. You can foster a more accepting attitude by ensuring that workers feel free to fail and by soliciting feedback on any changes to the workplace.
Exercise 2.11: Sneak A Peek
Participants: A team of four or more people.
Tools required: Popsicle sticks, Legos, or anything comparable
Create your own structure using the supplied materials, this will be the original sculpture. Keep this hidden.
Course Manual 12: Transformation Fatigue
Is Transformation Change Fatigue Affecting Your Organization?
It is tempting to swing for the fences with a significant shift when we perceive potential for growth in our businesses. After all, why wait to mend something that is broken?
However, there is a drawback to this strategy: individuals are naturally resistant to change. Employee resistance to change is inevitable, regardless of how enthusiastic they initially appear to be about new technology or business process enhancements. Resistance is frequently neither deliberate nor spiteful; rather, it is simply human nature to temper one’s enthusiasm when one’s world is being upended.
Another significant obstacle is the fact that change is challenging, intricate, and time-consuming. Even seemingly straightforward tasks like an ERP “lift and shift” replacement or focused business process enhancements are more challenging than most people anticipate.
Transformation Fatigue: What Is It?
Many companies experience change weariness in addition to their inherent complexity and aversion to change. Simply put, additional changes that have nothing to do with your digital transformation or business transformation can thwart these efforts. People can only accept so much change at once because they are just human, yet not enough organizations take this dynamic into account when creating their transformation strategies.
Failure is frequently caused by change weariness. Resistance frequently emerges if organizations approach a tipping point of too much change in too little time because people are only able and willing to change so much within a given amount of time.
For instance, the following are some typical adjustments that we find many firms attempting to manage concurrently with or in the run-up to their transformation initiatives:
• organic expansion of the company
• Integration of mergers and acquisitions
• Restructuring and layoffs
• Remote collaboration brought on by Covid-19 and other “new normal” realities
• Fresh executive direction
• Enhancements to business processes
• ERP or digital transformation disasters in the past
Many teams and organizations don’t even consider how these ostensibly unrelated adjustments can thwart an impending transition, but they can.
Why Is It That Throughout Transformation, Fatigue Is So Common?
Executives frequently commit the sin of believing that adding fresh changes on top of one another will have no negative effects. There are limitations to how much change teams can handle, even those with the greatest of intentions. Every organization has a limit, but the precise tipping point varies depending on a company’s culture and history of change.
Organizations also underestimate the amount of change that will result from their transformation. Many people believe that it is just a straightforward technology replacement that, in principle, won’t actually require that much change. Others mistakenly believe that there is an infinite capacity for change. Others still aren’t aware of the full impact of business process modifications since they aren’t close enough to them.
In any event, organizations and their leaders need to understand how significant a change transformation represents. Transformation fatigue is more likely to set in the longer your transformation lasts and the more significant its effects.
How To Handle The Fatigue Of Transformational Change?
The good news is that these hazards can be reduced. Here are some strategies for dealing with transformation fatigue:
Develop a transformation approach that is incremental rather than “quantum leap”. When change is implemented gradually over time, organizations can frequently absorb it better. Depending on your culture and risk tolerance, massive, quantum leap shifts may be draining, therefore gradual change may be a strategy to reduce the danger. Finding the right balance for your business is crucial because, when taken to the opposite extreme, continuous incremental change can lead to its own forms of exhaustion.
Establish a precise plan for cultural change. The culture of some organizations is the source of the issue. It could be too cautious or uneasy with change, which raises the possibility and severity of change weariness. In these situations, concentrating on changing the culture to make it more adaptable and flexible is important. Although it is not simple and won’t happen fast, it can be a useful strategy for reducing the dangers associated with change weariness.
Make sure the entire organization is aligned. Change weariness is frequently brought on by misalignment. Making the organization row in the same direction will turn headwinds into tailwinds, increasing a team’s tolerance for change. Transformation teams are particularly effective when the organization is not. This is possibly the best method for proactively reducing transformation fatigue.
Evaluations Of The Organization And Change Weariness
Understanding your organization’s tolerance for change and the general level of change weariness starts with an initial organizational assessment. It will be easier to spot possibilities to reduce transformation fatigue, sometimes even before it starts, with an objective understanding of the culture and distinctive dynamics of your firm.
Decrease Transformation Fatigue
Employees should be hacked, nudged, and prodded to stop an unfocused, stalled transformation.
Transform. Transform. Transform. Although maintaining a continuous tempo in the message to emphasize transformation is crucial, it really runs the danger of leading to transformation fatigue.
The Distinguished VP Analyst Mary Mesaglio highlighted, “Here’s the thing about your transform journey — your people are feeling transformation fatigue,” at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. “They can’t handle any more change coming at them, or at least they think they can’t.”
The majority of Mesaglio’s client conversations begin with the phrase “Mary, we are undergoing a digital transformation.”
Her reaction? Great, what are you transforming into?
She added, “When you get lost in the complexities of all the discrete things you’re doing…it’s amazing how you can lose sight of why we are doing all of this, People are feeling fatigued because there is too much going on that they don’t understand.”
Case Study: Cullinan Properties
Cullinan Properties, which has offices in Chicago, Peoria, and St. Louis, is an example of a company that supports employee resilience. According to owner and CEO Diane Oberhelman, “We provide employees with the chance to volunteer with nonprofits in their communities and support activities that promote programs funded by the charity of their choice.
Cullinan Properties provides a number of advantages to assist staff in building workplace resilience. The employer provides a sizable allowance with no questions asked for wellness efforts including individual and family counseling sessions, health club memberships, run/walk events, exercise classes, etc. In the midst of the pandemic, Cullinan’s human resources department sent weekly emails to team members with tools and advice on how to cope with worry, mental health resources, exercise motivation, including virtual workouts, and other topics.
Because of Cullinan’s summer hours reduction, workers may begin their weekend earlier and spend more time with their families and refuel. A dry cleaning service, a courier service to pick up personal belongings, fully stocked kitchens, and break rooms are provided in an effort to help employees manage their time and lessen the stress they might experience in their busy life. For their staff, Cullinan is committed to self-care. Their staff has been able to stay resilient throughout this trying period thanks to the resources they provide. The Cullinan team hasn’t slowed down or faltered as the pandemic has progressed. The team members are aware that the business places a high focus on their physical and mental well-being. “our health is our wealth!” is a catchphrase heard frequently at work (and on video conference sessions as of late). And the team members genuinely think this.
Attempt the exam
To make sure the group has a sound transformation destination, Mesaglio first invited teams and businesses to take the following fast transformation test.
What do you know?
• What is your company changing into, and why?
• less than two minutes?
• without using “corporate speak”?
• in a way that motivates and makes sense to those on the front lines?
• Would your peers essentially agree with what you’ve said?
• Even for businesses with a clear transformation goal, it can be difficult to find a strategy to get people moving in that direction. It is frequently assumed that for transformation to occur, the answer must be extensive and all-encompassing. In reality, CIOs have the option of making smaller adjustments that may be implemented right away and have a significant impact.
Hacks, prods, and nudges
The largest obstacle to transformation is culture. The agile, open, creative, and customer-focused culture is what CIOs seek. Use a three-pronged strategy:
• Hack. Target one area where the culture is susceptible to change.
• Nudge. Make it simpler for individuals to act in healthy ways
• Prod. Encourage behavior change by using rewards and regulations.
How do you keep this sustainable, is the question.
Hack
When there was a water crisis in South Africa, the administration had pop musicians perform two-minute songs. The idea was to start the song playing as you go into the shower and turn it off when it was through. The outcome is a short culture hack to lower water consumption. Hack: Take advantage of a single area where the culture is open to change. Culture hacks are brave but not weak; they are emotional, quick, apparent, and minimal effort.
“ Hack: Exploit a single point where the culture is vulnerable to change”
Where associates spend the majority of their time, which are procedures, projects, and meetings, cultures are susceptible to change. Meetings are particularly vulnerable to hacking because attendees spend so much time in them.
Nudge
Consider a situation where you are moving into new offices and must decide between a formal office with mahogany desks, high plaster ceilings, and closed doors and an open floor plan with no doors and a couch in the middle. In either case, you’re pushing individuals in a certain direction. Whether it’s through more or decreased collaboration, unplanned encounters, noise, or formal conduct, nudging is a mild type of hacking that helps individuals make the best decision. People are pushed toward one conduct and away from another by these options.
“ Nudge: Make it easier for people to behave in ways that are good for them”
Three main methods of nudge are design, default, and data. Employee behavior is influenced by the way your team creates websites, security measures, and predictive analytics.
Prod
The difficult part is figuring out how to get people to act in the way you want them to. Incentives and regulations are used as prodding to alter culture. CIOs can use things like recognition, travel, or access to things or people as a tool to prod. Social norms are the realm of interactions based on social utility. As a poking tool, you can also use the cost of inaction or peer pressure.
“ Prod: Use incentives and rules to change behaviors”
The alternative to poking is to impose tiny regulations, like “You must collaborate with someone outside your team for this type of project” or “All staff meetings will now be 15-minute standups.” This strategy makes habitual change possible and self-sustaining. At the end of the day, CIOs shouldn’t ignore the minor acts that can have a significant influence on getting employees moving toward transformation and away from tiredness, whether they hack, nudge, prod, or all three.
Exercise 2.12: The Pause of Self-Compassion
Invite participants to take a brief break and concentrate on their inhalations and exhalations. The group should then put their hands on their body to remind themselves that even through challenging times, difficulty is a natural part of existence. Individuals Clients may find it helpful to develop calming expressions that are special to them and signify something to them, like “I accept myself as I am” or “May I forgive myself for this error as I would forgive others.”
Project Studies
Project Study (Part 1) – Customer Service
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Embracing Potentiality process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Mindset Matters
02. Challenging Beliefs
03. Unconscious Mindsets
04. Fixed vs Growth
05. Transformational Philosophy
06. Understanding Why
07. Prioritize
08. The Influence Model
09. Positive Attitude
10. Personalize Change
11. Transformation Culture
12. Transformation Fatigue
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 2) – E-Business
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Embracing Potentiality process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Mindset Matters
02. Challenging Beliefs
03. Unconscious Mindsets
04. Fixed vs Growth
05. Transformational Philosophy
06. Understanding Why
07. Prioritize
08. The Influence Model
09. Positive Attitude
10. Personalize Change
11. Transformation Culture
12. Transformation Fatigue
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 3) – Finance
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Embracing Potentiality process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Mindset Matters
02. Challenging Beliefs
03. Unconscious Mindsets
04. Fixed vs Growth
05. Transformational Philosophy
06. Understanding Why
07. Prioritize
08. The Influence Model
09. Positive Attitude
10. Personalize Change
11. Transformation Culture
12. Transformation Fatigue
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 4) – Globalization
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Embracing Potentiality process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Mindset Matters
02. Challenging Beliefs
03. Unconscious Mindsets
04. Fixed vs Growth
05. Transformational Philosophy
06. Understanding Why
07. Prioritize
08. The Influence Model
09. Positive Attitude
10. Personalize Change
11. Transformation Culture
12. Transformation Fatigue
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 5) – Human Resources
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Embracing Potentiality process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Mindset Matters
02. Challenging Beliefs
03. Unconscious Mindsets
04. Fixed vs Growth
05. Transformational Philosophy
06. Understanding Why
07. Prioritize
08. The Influence Model
09. Positive Attitude
10. Personalize Change
11. Transformation Culture
12. Transformation Fatigue
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 6) – Information Technology
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Embracing Potentiality process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Mindset Matters
02. Challenging Beliefs
03. Unconscious Mindsets
04. Fixed vs Growth
05. Transformational Philosophy
06. Understanding Why
07. Prioritize
08. The Influence Model
09. Positive Attitude
10. Personalize Change
11. Transformation Culture
12. Transformation Fatigue
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 7) – Legal
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Embracing Potentiality process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Mindset Matters
02. Challenging Beliefs
03. Unconscious Mindsets
04. Fixed vs Growth
05. Transformational Philosophy
06. Understanding Why
07. Prioritize
08. The Influence Model
09. Positive Attitude
10. Personalize Change
11. Transformation Culture
12. Transformation Fatigue
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 8) – Management
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Embracing Potentiality process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Mindset Matters
02. Challenging Beliefs
03. Unconscious Mindsets
04. Fixed vs Growth
05. Transformational Philosophy
06. Understanding Why
07. Prioritize
08. The Influence Model
09. Positive Attitude
10. Personalize Change
11. Transformation Culture
12. Transformation Fatigue
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 9) – Marketing
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Embracing Potentiality process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Mindset Matters
02. Challenging Beliefs
03. Unconscious Mindsets
04. Fixed vs Growth
05. Transformational Philosophy
06. Understanding Why
07. Prioritize
08. The Influence Model
09. Positive Attitude
10. Personalize Change
11. Transformation Culture
12. Transformation Fatigue
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 10) – Production
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Embracing Potentiality process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Mindset Matters
02. Challenging Beliefs
03. Unconscious Mindsets
04. Fixed vs Growth
05. Transformational Philosophy
06. Understanding Why
07. Prioritize
08. The Influence Model
09. Positive Attitude
10. Personalize Change
11. Transformation Culture
12. Transformation Fatigue
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 11) – Logistics
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Embracing Potentiality process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Mindset Matters
02. Challenging Beliefs
03. Unconscious Mindsets
04. Fixed vs Growth
05. Transformational Philosophy
06. Understanding Why
07. Prioritize
08. The Influence Model
09. Positive Attitude
10. Personalize Change
11. Transformation Culture
12. Transformation Fatigue
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 12) – Education
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Embracing Potentiality process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Mindset Matters
02. Challenging Beliefs
03. Unconscious Mindsets
04. Fixed vs Growth
05. Transformational Philosophy
06. Understanding Why
07. Prioritize
08. The Influence Model
09. Positive Attitude
10. Personalize Change
11. Transformation Culture
12. Transformation Fatigue
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Program Benefits
Operations
- Real-time Accuracy
- Tasks Automation
- Employee Utilization
- Adaptation Capability
- Capacity Planning
- Systems Understanding
- Involved Commitment
- Rising Productivity
- Clear Assignments
- Streamlined Operations
Management
- Business Sustainability
- Process Improvement
- Seamless Transformation
- Stakeholder Management
- Achieving Excellence
- Collaborative Transformation
- Performance Improvement
- Engaged Workforce
- Increased Trust
- Shared Vision
Human Resources
- Change Culture
- Quality Decisions
- Scenario Thinking
- Shared Objectives
- Infrastructure Knowledge
- Mutual Benefits
- Transparent Systems
- Problem-solving Culture
- Management Processes
- Empowered Leadership
Client Telephone Conference (CTC)
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