A630.6.4.RB - 50 Reasons not to Change/The Tribes we Lead

I’m a fairly big proprietor of change in an organization for several reasons, so when I hear a co-worker, manager, or team member list a reason or excuse from the “50 reasons not to change” list, I get a bit disgruntled. I would be lying if I said I have never used some of these excuses, but I haven’t lately since starting my career with Target. There are too many resources available for people in my organization to not create change. For the most part, the culture within my organization is very accepting of change and handles it well. Communication is very strong in our building, so it makes it much easier to change a process or system because of this. The reasons why I like change so much is because it keeps processes interesting, fun, and challenging; it also ensures that the organization is staying competitive, efficient, and effective through their processes.

In my experience the biggest factor in helping with the change process is showing examples of how it has worked, and being detailed in the work and resources involved with doing it. It’s hard to give a presentation to a team of professionals about possible change if no facts, details, or results are shown. Organizations want to know that the time and money being spent is going to be worth it, and the employees feel the same way. They also want to make sure that the results and changes are in line with the organizational objectives, goals, and mission.

I have to agree with Seth’s concept about tribes driving change. It seems that in every organization there is a group of people passionate about something, reluctant to change or initiate it because they lack know-how, leadership skills, or position associated with this change. All it takes is one person in that organization to show the same interest and lead them to pursue it. When this occurs, it helps getting others bought into the concept because so many people already believe in it. It’s hard to disagree with or resist a group of people that share the same passion and drive toward something, so it definitely aids the change manager in the process.

In my organization, I have more often than not used senior management to help me drive change. After watching this video of Seth sharing his tribe concept of change, I realized that there are several individuals that I work with who are passionate about the same things I am in regards to process improvement and change, and I could be utilizing them instead of senior management. This would help because it would be peers talking to one another about the change, not senior managers talking to lower level managers. It would also help me build relationships with these other managers and use their leadership strengths to accomplish organizational goals.