by Ina Georgieva | Aug 24, 2024 | Blog
Looking back at my first rush into change management – my almost accidental fall into this complex world, I now see it as the central moment that started shaping my current understanding. Every failure I did has now become a valuable lesson, one that I am grateful for. I used to think that meaningful change can be implemented through sheer will and a forceful effort to transform how the organization operates for the better.
But over time, I’ve learned the opposite – meaningful change is about the art of invitation. And empathy is the driver. Successful change isn’t just about introducing the new, its about getting others to embrace it.
Today, I stand at new crossroads, leading a completely different change initiative that not only introduces new processes, but aims at reshaping parts of the culture inside the organization.
A view on my first experience Change does not equal war. Pt 1.
The Eightfold Path to Change Management. A new challenge.
The challenge before me now is ambitious: managing communication and collaboration gaps in a rapidly scaling organization. The options are endless, and the paths I can take are many. Whatever the solution may be, it’s center focus should revolve around transparency, collaboration and timely communication.
Scaling too fast and too big can introduce risks, such as scraping out processes and best practices just to “get there”. It’s not unexpected if at some point gaps emerge along the way. These gaps can lead to fragmentation, with teams operating in silos, struggling to align with the organizations strategic goals and to understand how it all fits together.
My task is to enable a culture where information flows freely in a transparent manner, making every team member feel connected to the larger mission, through changing internal SOPs. I am seeking to achieve this with the right understanding (why), the right approach (how), and the right actions (what).
Cultivating change through collaboration. A new approach.
Guided by the Buddhist principle of Karuna, which encourages kindness, understanding of others and supporting those in distress, I approached my Discovery phase. I was committed to understanding the team dynamics, the pains, the gains, everything. I aimed to identify and document the gaps, gathering insights into how they directly or indirectly affected a wider group of teams. This became the foundation, the base of building a clear vision of the bigger picture and what needed to change.
After identifying the needs, I started working on complex solution, that I believed was the best fit for the current situation, I began seeking out early adopters willing to try the solutions and provide feedback.
This approach was a combination of the Knoster-Lipper Model, focusing on early adopters, and a Plan-Do-Check-Act framework.
And here’s where it got interesting. First, I ensured all the components were there. Check! Next, I found a group of early adopters. Check! Then, I utilised the PDCA framework to introduce the change.
Here’s more about the Plan-Do-Check-Act approach:
And despite all the efforts, I faced resistance.
Started going back to my complex, but yet simple plan, searching for what went wrong.
The solution was great, the vision was there, the consensus was there, the skills definitely there – so what’s missing? The incentives.
Recognizing this, I took a step back, rethought my approach. It all became clear, that the organization was actually searching for simple, easy to implement solutions, rather than the complex ones. I realized the solution needed to be as lean as possible. And the timing was so right, since another initiative has emerged, I was able to come up with a lean approach solving two problems now.
The magic started to happen. Since then, I was able to further refine the solution, providing the organization with an efficient, scalable, and lean approach that serves both the business needs and its people.
Reflection on the nature of change and the journey to success
Change is like a river that you cannot force to flow in a certain direction.
Even in implementing change, one needs to stay agile and adapt/change the approach accordingly. Its a journey that requires strategic thinking but also a deep understanding of human nature and behavior incentives inside the organization. It’s a journey of enablement. And that journey begins with the initial assessment – company needs, human factors, fears, desires, challenges.
The failures I had in the past, the resistance and sabotage I faced have thought me valuable lessons of how to effectively navigate change.
Today, I am able to recognize and address the human factors while creating a shared vision that can resonate with everyone, building trust and security, while being aligned with the strategic business goals and values. Change management is a continuous learning piece. The path of change is filled with challenges, with each new initiative offering valuable learnings, helping us refine our approach.
The more I am into this, the clearer it becomes, the more I understand that successful change is not about implementing the new, or reaching the destination. It’s about elevating the value of people and reshaping the way they see themselves and their roles within the organization.
by Ina Georgieva | Aug 13, 2024 | Blog
But it does.
Change is inevitable. Change is constant. It is the engine for progress, but it is generally met with resistance that goes beyond logic and into the realm of the particularly emotional. In the corporate world, change management is more than just a functional exercise; it’s a fundamental, philosophical problem that strikes the core of those engaged.
My introduction to change management was really an accidental fall into this complex world, where I battled to implement critical changes only to quickly realize the dangers of pushing change in an atmosphere that wasn’t ready to welcome it.
As I naively tried to shake up internal processes and bring about much-needed improvements to a struggling organization, I experienced not only resistance but also actual sabotage. It then became clear that when change is forced too soon, it can unsettle the organization’s delicate balance, opening a door for fear, dissatisfaction, and clinging to the status quo. This experience was a harsh and honest lesson in the principles of change.
My first lesson.
The psychological battle: identity crisis, fear, and resistance.
On the same journey, I’ve learned that employees often identify with the organization they work for. Routines and well-known processes, even if inefficient, are part of our delicate balance that brings peace and predictability. And we love that, right? When these get threatened by change, especially one of a sudden character, forcerly imposed on them, it triggers the deepest fears and can even become an identity crisis, where we fear that if the company evolves, our place might not be in it anymore.
Simon Sinek, in his exploration of leadership and change management, when talking about resistance, argues that effective change management isn’t really about strategy – it’s about trust – and gets even deeper into the value of early adopters in the process. In his talks, he often says that real leaders need to be able to foster an environment where employees feel safe, secured, and valued, so that they can trust change to be made to align with their values and long-term interests.
Building trust and putting early adopters in play, I found, can be key parts of a broader, more complex framework that I’ve recently been able to explore and use.
The Knoster-Lipper Change Management Model: A Framework for Understanding Resistance
(As you’d guess, I wasn’t aware of this model back then. So, I couldn’t understand the turbulences I was facing). Let’s look at it for a moment,
- Lack of Vision leads to confusion.
- Lack of Skills results in anxiety.
- Lack of Incentives fosters resistance.
- Lack of Resources causes frustration.
- Lack of an Action Plan results in false starts.
At the core of this model lies the concept of vision, echoing Plato’s idea of ideal forms. According to it, everything that exists in the physical world is an imperfect reflection of something perfect. Unchanging ideal. In the context of change management, the ultimate vision is the ultimate goal that the organization is looking to achieve. When leading the change, the true leader must act as an “ideal form,” guiding and inspiring each part of it.
However, I failed. I failed spectacularly. In my rush to “impose” the necessary changes, I neglected to clearly articulate the vision to the team, get a consensus, and assess the skills and cultural dynamics. Without all these elements, the “ideal” was striving for something rather disconnected and without a true purpose. Ultimately, this has led to confusion, resistance, and even clear sabotage. Textbook examples of how one should not approach change.
The sabotage: A play for deep-seated fears
It was a far more than a refusal to change; it was a highly defensive response based on a deeply rooting fear. Going back to the identity issue, we build our own safety nets based on the company’s routines, processes, and even the inefficiencies that we’ve become accustomed to. When this gets threatened, especially when lacking clear incentives, vision, understanding, and common agreement and plagued by a toxic culture, the response is only one: resistance and sabotage. Did my direct approach “help” bring more and more of this resistance and protection culture? Yes, it did.
“Knowing what you know now, what would you change about the approach taken?” was a question that I got asked by the coach who has introduced me to this knowledge. “Would you take the same route?” he said. Absolutely not. If I could do it all over I would begin with a clear vision that everyone understands and embraces, a consensus on the steps we need to take, a proper skill assessment (combined with culture assessment, which I tend to believe is equally important; i.e. What are the behaviours currently? Which ones affect performance? What “rewards” and “punishments” we have?, etc.) This would also include discovery around the incentives that currently exist inside the org, both formal and informal, maybe they would need a new direction. Only, and really after this groundwork, I would move forward to an actual action plan.
From forcing change to cultivating it.
After hitting several walls, I realized I needed to rethink the situation. And that’s when I remembered Simon Sinek’s “why.” I started asking myself why. Had I failed to articulate the needed changes and the criticality they had for the organization’s existence? Yes. Had I managed to get a consensus on the steps moving forward? No. And so on, and so on. But the action plan was brilliant, though. And this was my turning point, and from there I moved my direction from forcing change to actually breeding change, cultivating change, and letting it to take its own natural course based on the shared vision and goals.
What happened next was what I’d call “company-altering,” event, where we addressed the team’s fears and aligned the change initiatives with a consensus on the purpose and steps. Soon after, I started to notice a gradual shift in attitudes. Structured meetings with a clear agenda, clear documentation, a clear product vision and backlog, cross-functional collaboration, a continuous improvement mindset, and massive picks in communication – internally and externally – all felt like the stepping stones towards achieving the shared vision.
My journey was both painful and enlightening. It reshaped my understanding of change management, revealing it as an exercise that demands empathy as much as it demands strategy. It’s about recognizing what the company needs to succeed as well as the human elements – the fears, the identities, and the attachments people have to their workplace. It’s about creating an environment of trust and safety; it’s about making change be not just accepted but embraced.
In the end, successful change efforts for me would be not only be ones that transform processes inside the organization but also ones that elevate the value of its people.
