Move to New Zealand (A Way to Control Change)

William Bridges' masterfully explains change as transition from what was to what will be; moving from the known to the unknown. Transitions can be filled with excitement, fear, anxiety, joy...or all of the above. It all depends upon the change and the choice to change. Becoming parents for the first time; starting college; that first job, or second job, or seventh job, etc. We change everyday...another day older. How smoothly we transition from the old state of being to the new one is about a combination of choice, control and perception. I don't choose to get old but I can manage my perception of aging and I can control how I age.

In the work place, changes include simple things like moving from one office to another office....ah how territorial we humans become when the company decides to reconfigure office space. We return to our caveman and cavewoman roots - maybe not with the physical clubs but with modern clubs of resistance...or complaint. The more complex changes include new systems, new procedures, new policies, new organizational structures. You know the types of changes where employees feel like something was "done to them." The changes where employees feel as though they had "no choice."

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are the toughest changes. I worked with one company during a time when M&A were a strategy to improve the balance sheet. It was purely an accounting exercise. Employees didn't find out about the acquistion until they showed up to work where the sign over the door registered a different company name. M&As are riddled with simple to complex changes and the mother of all changes: cultural change. That illusive thing, culture change, you know the one to which neanderthal executives' classic response is: "Don't be such a baby..."

So how do you best bring together two similar yet different cultures and integrate the systems, processes and procedures? Involve them in the change in as many ways as you can. (duh!) And don't just involve the top layers of the organization - involve all levels. Bring the users of the new technologies, procedures together. Assign them the task of finding the best way to make the change, communicate and implement the change to their colleagues. Agree on what to keep and what to throw out and let everyone know why.

Now as far as those life changes - some of which we have no control...well we can remain in the space of being victims:

• I inherited the genes
• The economy prevents us from our family entertainment plans
  
• Congress made the decision to.....(fill in the blank)
  

To controlling what we can control:

• I exercise and eat right to override my genes
• I took my family to an enjoyable movie in place of that expensive broadway show
• I can always move to New Zealand.... on a retirement visa.

Transitions can be managed.... by creating a positive vision of what will be and can be that is within our control. New Zealand is looking pretty appealing these days.

Let Freedom Ring

I grew up in an era of protest: protesting "the establishment," protesting the war, protesting our parents' generation. My generation spoke out in the form of demonstration. Our publications were limited: we did not have laptops, cell phones nor portable electronic devices. We didn't have blogs back then. But we always had free speech; then and now. We remain able to have a "voice" and a say in our democracy. We may not always like the outcomes but our system is designed to allow everyone equal rights and equal voice. On this Independence Day, I celebrate those freedoms.

Who do YOU trust?

Who is the most trustworthy person you know? What makes him or her trustworthy? What actions can you pinpoint that demonstrate trust? I posed these questions to several employees recently. Often times the most trustworthy person identified was a family member or a life long friend. The actions included:

• When I am struggling with a problem, this is the person whom I can talk; this is the person who will listen and will not judge me.
• A trustworthy person will support me when the chips are down. He will not abandon me in the bad times.
• This is a person who will also push me to think about things differently and in a very respectful way.
• This is a person who will seek my ideas and opinions and treats me equally.

It takes a long time to develop and build a trusting relationship but only a split second to bankrupt trust. I developed a deep friendship with my college roommate. And I blew it in our senior year, when I seriously flirted with my roommate's heartthrob. We have not spoken since. Breaking trust in our personal relationships leads to tensions, separations, divorce. At work, "divorcing" ourselves from our peers or supervisors may be a bit different. We generally don't walk away. We come to work, put up walls, don't talk to each other and gradually, we drive a deep wedge which impacts our commitment to the group and to the organization. I've observed professionals who face each other with smiles and head nods only to turn around behind closed doors and deny any agreements. On simpler terms, breaking promises is breaking trust. Not delivering on time; not keeping current in your work; stealing others ideas all damage and indeed destroy trust.

If the distrust is pervasive in an organization; that is, if employees get away with any distrust no matter how small and it becomes standard and acceptable behavior, then the organization has a serious problem. If employees cannot trust their leaders at the top of the organization, the consequences can be devastating but at the very least you have a population of disengaged employees who don't speak up, don't give it their all; they just do the minimum. There is no energy and no excitement to the work.

I've seen distrust in organizations so deeply entrenched that the employees are completely unaware. They don't know any better. At present distrust is rampant in our society....can you trust your financial advisor? can you trust the government regulator? can you trust public leaders? Who can you trust? Who do you trust?