Choosing to Change

I find it humorous when business leaders ask me to help their employees accept change: "Make them more resilient to change!" The image that pops to mind is shaking employees by the shoulders and screaming into their faces, "ACCEPT THIS CHANGE! BE RESILIENT TO THIS CHANGE. MANAGEMENT DID THIS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!"

Aha! There is the rub. Acceptance to change will certainly go astray if management decides to make the change without involving the employees. When asked, managers explain that the employees don't know how to change the operation. Only the managers and supervisors have the needed information to make changes. Really?

When the change impacts the work of the employee, who knows that work better? The manager or the employee? I once worked with a process improvement team at a Steel Mill. Management was stunned when the line workers could report on what was working, not working and more importantly how they could make it better.

There is some truth to employees not having information just as managers don't have ALL the information needed to make change. Depending upon where the change is to occur and what outcomes are desired; indeed designing the change may require putting a lot of heads together. Anyone who has some part in the process has some intelligence on how to improve it. I've seen manufacturing line workers in the room with engineers and marketing and sales people working together to identify product improvements and enhancements. It is pretty amazing what turns out...certainly a better process, improved product but more importantly excitement, commitment and alignment. That is what change is all about.

Choosing to change is emotional. Why do we then just treat it as an intelligent act...and act of thought and of telling people what the change is?