7 Steps for Beginning a Change Process

“This is a big ship. It takes a while to turn it around.”

This statement produces a specific, familiar mental picture. It helps explain why organizational change can be so painfully slow. I always imagine an aircraft carrier: slowly, degree by degree, making a turn.

Of course, this popular metaphor is completely destroyed if you’ve ever watched an actual big ship turn. I spent an afternoon watching videos of big ships turning. On aircraft carriers, when they test their maximum turn speed, the ship leans so far into the turn they actually have to remove the airplanes from the deck to prevent losing them. A turn this big kicks up a mountainous wake and, when you watch the video, you can hear the excitement in the crew’s voices in the background.

Big ships turn. They do it all they time. They were designed to turn.

If you aren’t heading in the right direction, or if your team or organization has developed unhelpful habits or patterns, turn.

Here are 7 steps for turning your ship around:

1. Identify the core issues that need to be addressed.

Don’t mistake symptoms for core issues or causes. High turnover is a symptom. It reflects how managers relate to staff or people’s sense of purpose in their work. Unreliable performance is a symptom. It relates to poorly communicated expectations, conflicted management or lack of accountability.

Focus your change effort on core issues, not symptoms.

2. Be clear about what you really want.

What really motivates you? What do you really want? This is an internal, reflective step. The more our desires are aligned with the values of the organization, and underlying motivations of others, the easier it is to create and maintain change.

Change that is initiated out of a desire for everyone’s best is change most likely to succeed.

3. Gain buy-In and trust.

It’s very difficult to initiate change on your own; unless, you hold a lot of power in your organization. It’s nearly impossible to sustain a change without buy-in from others. If people don’t support you, at best, you’ll not get their active support. At worst, they’ll constantly work against you.

The best way to get buy-in is to engage others in identifying the necessary change and creating a solution together.

4. Paint a compelling picture of the future.

Change can create a sense of discomfort, uncertainty, or fear. Any of these can manifest in withheld support or resistance. The more compelling the future is, the easier it is for people to focus on the value and benefit of the change. People who can ‘see’ the benefit that change will bring, along with the path to that change, are far more likely to support the effort. Most people are fairly concrete thinkers.

We have to build a mental bridge between where they are, and the future.

5. Deal with objections.

Don’t assume objections will just go away. Don’t assume silence means agreement. Interview people who object. Discover the source of their resistance. Sometimes, it’s a misunderstanding – an opportunity to clarify. Sometimes, they fear loss – an opportunity to connect and satisfy their underlying needs and desires. Sometimes, it’s just fear of the unknown – an opportunity for you to build more trust with them or provide more information.

Time spent dealing with objections now is an investment that will pay off in the future.

6. Establish a team to guide change.

Lasting positive change needs much support. In many cases, this might require oversight from one or two people. Diversifying your visible leadership, and perspectives, can be important. This diversification creates strength. If one person cannot contribute for a time, others are available to step in. Many change efforts fail because one person gets sick, burns out, or is replaced.

There is strength in numbers.

7. Create your plan

Chess players who are unable to think more than one move ahead, lose. While plans often need to change and be updated, they create a clear path between past, present and future. Without a clear plan, others are unable to find their place in pursuing the change process. They become completely dependent on leadership who then get overwhelmed or distracted.

A clear plan allows for improved delegation and engagement.

What change is needed within your organization? What the next step in order to pursue that change?

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