Change is a fact of life but often change is either unsuccessful or unsustainable. This is equally true whether it’s a major workplace change or a personal change.
Many of us have personally experienced change that has gone well and been sustained and change that has been problematic and never really been fully embedded or adopted.
There’s a plethora of literature and resources on the subject of change. There are well known, research based, tried and tested processes which provide useful frameworks for what to consider and what to do when leading and managing change. These are useful resources but are they enough to achieve sustainable change?
Many years ago I led a major organisation-wide change which yielded variable levels of adoption across the business units. The approach I’d taken reflected a well known and well respected change approach, yet still the results were variable. So what else was at play? What had I missed?
Clearly change is sustained when everyone involved fully and consistently adopts the new regime, whether it be a new way of working, a new structure a new market or a new location. It involves everyone involved fully engaging with the change both at an individual and collective level.
Knowing this is great but how to achieve it?
Consider your own personal preference for engaging with a change. Do you prefer to be:-
- told?
- taught? or
- coached?
It’s the key question.
When change implementation is focussed on briefings eg ‘being told’ this is knowledge based. This is a one-way provision of information and is a passive experience for the participant. (It can provide a false sense of security to leaders who believe the change will be implemented successfully just because everyone knows about it.)
When change implementation is focussed on training sessions eg ‘being taught’ this too is knowledge based but with more time and investment in how the knowledge is provided.
When change implementation is focussed on engaging fully with the participants in a two-way process where the aim is to achieve the best outcome that addresses the problem or need using the skills and expertise of everyone involved, the best approach for this is coaching.
Sitting between training and coaching are facilitated workshops which can provide opportunities to role play or embody the practicalities of the change. The participants have the opportunity to explore the impact of the change and prepare themselves for it in a practise environment.
So, which provides the greatest likelihood of the investment being sustained? The U.S. statesman Benjamin Franklin and the Chinese philosopher Confucius have both received credit for these words.
“Tell me and I forget.
Teach me and I remember.
Involve me and I learn”
Coaching is an effective way for leaders and their teams to learn and authentically engage with the challenges that drive the need for change. It provides an environment for them to navigate the uncertainties of delivering sustainable change in a way that is healthy, resourceful and sustainable ensuring they enjoy both the journey and the destination when they get there.
So, where did I go wrong? Fifteen years ago I wasn’t a coach and didn’t use a coaching approach!