A few years ago I worked with a mid-sized professional services company which was owned by two partners.  Wtih revenues of about $40 million, the company was growing at a steady pace and needed to transition from an entrepreneurial, fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants culture to one which had at least a few established policies, procedures and processes.

At first, everything went well:  The entrepreneurial culture meant that both the partners and most of the employees were comfortable with change, so I didn't anticipate too much resistance to implementing the strategies we'd agreed to.  

Until we got to the new CRM software.

Part of my role was to oversee the configuration of new CRM software - which tracked sales, clients, projects and accounting - so that it more closely matched the way the business worked.  With that in mind, we'd carefully gathered insight from the different departments, mapped out the business processes, and identified the various roles within the organization.

One of the things we determined was that, because many of their clients had both a head office and a branch office, we needed two address fields in every record.  Typically, the branch office was where the work was done while the head office was where the bills were sent.  The problem?  The partners couldn't agree which address should come first on the screen.

Partner A was adamant that the billing address was most important, so it should come first; Partner B was equally adamant that  the location where the work was done was most important and it should come first.  From a functionality perspective, it made no difference which came first - both showed up at the top of the screen anyway.  But the debate raged on.

For two weeks, we (the change team) waited for a final decision so we could move forward to beta testing.  Finally I realized that without intervention, the stalemate would never end.  My solution?  I bought a $250 bottle of wine - both partners were connoisseurs - put it down in front of them and said I'd give it to the one who gave in first.

I had a decision within 10 minutes.

However, I learned a valuable lesson:  No matter how change-receptive or easy-going an organization may be, it's crucial to establish a decision-making hierarchy at the outset, especially if there are multiple high-ranking decision-makers within the organization.  I could have saved myself a lot of headache (as well as $250) if I'd insisted, at the outset, that one partner be designated as the final arbiter in the event of a dispute.

Tips for easier decision-making management:

- Make decision-making process mapping a part of the very first meetings with the client

- Ensure that all project leaders are aware of - and buy in to - the decision-making hierarchy

- Attach levels of importance to various decisions involved in the change process, so that small ones can be dealt with by managers while larger ones require a director-level or above

- Establish a final decision-maker who has the authority to make a decision and shut down further discussion

- Recognize that what you may see as a 'small' decision may be a big one to others - and have a plan to deal with it.

A few weeks ago I took part in a workshop session with other change leaders and coaches.  It's always interesting to hear how other people approach organizational change - you never know when you might learn something new - but I found myself disagreeing wholeheartedly with one participant, also a change management consultant.

"I never spend time reviewing an organization's history," he said.  "That's just wasted time.  I'm here to help them move forward, not dwell on the past."

While I agree with the last part of his statement - as change management consultants, we're supposed to be helping companies move forward into a changed environment - I don't believe that it's productive to ignore an organization's history.  What organizations can achieve is dependent upon their people, and people are the sum of their experiences, their history - they can't just reinvent themselves at 9 am on an arbitrary Monday morning and pretend their past experiences never happened.

In fact, you wouldn't want them to.  Much of your employees' value lies in their past experiences, both at work and in their personal lives.  Their education, their life experiences, their relationships with their team members - all of these can be positive assets as you move forward with change.

At the same time, of course, an organization's history can sometimes be a hurdle:  An ingrained resistance to change, old feuds between key departments, a non-productive attachment to outmoded business processes - all of these things can become obstacles to successful, productive change.

But ignoring these obstacles won't remove them from the path to change - and in fact you may be missing some key insight that could help your change strategy be more successful with less effort.  Here's an example:  You create a chanjge plan and issue edicts to various departments of the organization.  The purchasing department and the marketing department have had difficulty working together in the past, but you've decided that It's A New Day for the organization and proceed with your plans, assuming everyone will pull together - you don't have time to go into that history with them.  Except that 3 days before the change is supposed to take effect, you discover that the purchasing department hasn't released the funds the marketing department needs in order to properly communicate the change, and now you have to delay your change efforts for a month while the mess gets sorted out.  The organization loses money every day the project is delayed - and even more important, the change effort loses momentum while everyone waits around.

Now, there's something to be said for leadership encouraging employees to come to a change strategy with an open mind, and to try not to bring 'baggage' into the process.  But to pretend that the history of an organization - and that of its individual employees - doesn't exist only ends up being counterproductive.

We've all been there:  You work really hard on a project, sometimes over a period of months, and finally it's completed.  You've done it on time, on budget, and it's delivered results in excess of what everyone had hoped.  You think you're in line for public recognition, if not a nomination for Employee of the Year.  But instead, your boss just says "That's done?  Good.  It's been sucking up too much of your time and I have this other thing I need you to work on."

Image from Marc Johns.

People who favor this management style will tell you that it's not a good idea to let employees think too highly of their accomplishments or rest on their laurels because it will result in a low-performing culture where everyone feels like they should be rewarded just for showing up in the morning.  However, the truth is that organizations which never stop to savour success and acknowledge accomplishments are creating a culture of 'never-good-enough' negativity that eventually stymies the ability to innovate and change.

Look under the hood of any successful innovative or creative organization and you'll find a positive culture that takes the time to acknowledge - and celebrate - success.  It doesn't have to be complicated or even cost a lot of money - creating a positive culture is really just about injecting some gratitude into day-to-day activities:  "Thanks for doing such a great job - I appreciate it."

Why is this important for change management?  Because when you create a negative culture of neglecting to acknowledge or celebrate success, it becomes harder and harder for employees to drag themselves to the next project.  When they know that no amount of extra effort is going to win them recognition or appreciation, their motivation to become engaged in a project diminishes.  Change cycles become longer, resistance becomes more entrenched, and eventually the organization becomes bogged down in its own negativity, unwilling and unable to move forward.

What's more, a negative culture becomes precarious:  In a positive environment, delivering bad news doesn't derail existing progress, and resilient employees are more easily motivated to action.  In a negative environment, bad news or additional business challenges become just another depressing headache that further demoralizes employees and gives them another reason not to make an effort.

What can you do as a leader?  Positive cultures don't just happen - they're created.  Here's how:

1.  Remember that taking time to acknowledge and celebrate success will energize employees for the next project - not make them rest on their laurels.

2.  Successful leaders cultivate a sense of gratitude for the people around them, and express that gratitude on a daily basis

3.  You can set an example by having a positive attitude around the office.  That doesn't mean pretending there aren't challenges to be met and work to be done - it just means taking a positive, resilient approach to those challenges.

4.  Employees just finished a big (successful) project and want to have a Friday lunch celebration?  Don't rain on their parade by making a fuss about a 2-hour lunch - join them!

BONUS TIP:  Positive workplaces have less turnover, which is another way they create healthier bottom lines!

'Resiliency' is one of those words, when used in the context of people and workforces, which tend to sound a little touchy-feely/HR department-ish and the kind of thing you can safely ignore.  The truth, however, is that resilient employees, and a resilient workforce, are crucial to a successfully innovative organization.  The more resilient your employees, the more likely you'll be able to implement new strategies effectively and efficiently.

Resiliency in the workplace doesn't just happen.  It's built over time, and while individuals can help themselves become more resilient, it's more effective if they're supported by their managers and by the organization as a whole.

Assessing resiliency is an important part of the change management process - but it needs to happen well before any change is implemented.  Ideally, before you undertake any change initiatives, you'll ensure you've built some resiliency within the organization.

Characteristics of resiliency

How can you determine whether your organization is resilient enough to embrace change?

Research shows that resilient individuals display specific characteristics.  Though not all experts agree on every characteristic, the four most commonly cited are the following:

Sense of purpose:  Studies show that people with a sense of purpose in their life can use that as a stabilizer in times of change.  Having a sense of purpose helps people manage through disruptions more effectively because it provides a context or perspective for change.  It's not uncommon for people to get so caught up in the day-to-day activities of their job that they forget why they chose or loved it in the first place.

As a company, your employees' sense of purpose can be found in the company's vision and mission statements.  Vision and mission statements are designed to give context and meaning to the work every employee dodes.  Although having meaningful vision and mission statements can't guarantee resiliency at the individual level, it can help to provide the context and perspective that can contribute to employees' sense of purpose.

Ask yourself:  Are the organization's vision and mission statements known throughout the organization?  Do people understand them?  More importantly, do your employees believe in the vision and mission of the company?

Feeling in control:  People who feel in control of themselves and their world are more confident as they move through change.  A change may make them feel temporarily out of control, but they're able to return to a positive state.  However, when we're not in control, we feel unsettled, which may lead to lower productivity and effectiveness.  In that state, any disruption will heighten the feeling of being out of control.

At an organizational level, maintaining an environment in which people feel in control of their work lives is key.  An organization that encourages people to control their success, and gives them the tools and support they need, is a resilient organization.  

As you assess Control in your organization, ask yourself:  As a company, do we encourage people to take responsibility for their own success - and then allow them to do it?  Many companies tell employees they are accountable and responsible, but then don't give them the tools or support they need to be successful.  A mixed message will undermine the organization's resiliency.

Teaching employees to be their own guides during change is one way of building feelings of control.  When employees have the tools to create their own map of a change, they can build on their own feelings of control - and, as a result, resiliency.  A 'map' is basically a way for them to answer some very simple questions:  What is the change, how does it relate to our current business, how does it affect me, what will I do differently, what will my team do differently as a result, what other parts of the company will be affected, what opportunities do I see?

Once they know the answers to these questions, most people can begin to manage through the change successfully.  More questions will come up and people's need for control won't go away, but at least they'll understand how the change will affect them.

Positive outlook:  Optimism is very helpful when managing through change successfully and efficiently.  An important component of having a positive outlook is not to dwell on the potential downsides of a situation - but not to ignore them, either.  Some people are naturally optimistic; others are naturally pessimistic but can learn how to have a positive outlook.  Resilient people not only focus on opportunities that can emerge from change, but can see themselves taking advantage of those opportunities - and succeeding.

As a company, negativity plays a big role in the level of resiliency.  At the individual level, it's 'negative self-talk'.  At the organizational level, it's the 'never good enough talk'.  An organization that always pushes for high achievement may fall into the trap of never being satisfied with the current level of performance.  While it's good to strive for high achievement, many organizations forget the importance of rewarding and celebrating the current high performance before moving on to the next set of goals.  Employees who work extremely hard and exceed their goals, only to be told that their performance is 'adequate', start to believe that they'll never be good enough - and that can undermine even the most positive employee's optimism, which in turn undermines the organization's resiliency.

Physical and spiritual well-being:  It's a well-known fact that stress takes a terrible toll on humans both physically and emotionally.  It's very hard to be resilient if you're physically and emotionally exhausted.  Resilient individuals recognize the importance of this and make a concerted effort to balance their lives with enough rest, time away from work, exercise and healthy foods.  Organizations can build the well-being of their workforce by encouraging and allowing for work/life balance.

Now, it isn't the role of the company to play 'mother' and get everyone to eat right and exercise.  However, providing healthy food in the cafeteria, encouraging exercise via gym facilities or memberships - these things can play a role in the way the organization affects its employees.

A company president who is known to check and send email until 1am, 7 days a week, and praises people who consistently work 12 hours a day is sending a clear message:  Work/life balance is neither important nor possible for employees.  But work/life balance is a business issue:  Overworked, burned-out employees aren't resilient (and often aren't productive, either).  A company which needs to change and grow can't accomplish much if they don't have resilient employees - and that affects the bottom line.

Resilient individuals can take care of themselves, which helps them move through each change or disruption with ease - and organizations can benefit greatly from that.  It's important for a company to pay attention to the resiliency of their workforce as part of the strategic planning process.  After all, you make all the plans you want, but if your employees aren't sufficiently resilient to carry out those plans, you won't succeed.