Change implementation requires changing the behavior of the people involved. This can often look like resistance, in that unwanted behaviors can crop up with increasing frequency before disappearing entirely. This is because the reinforcement and reward of this behavior has changed.
When we want to phase out an unwanted behavior we make a decision to no longer reinforce it. From the perspective of change, this means that we no longer respond to maladaptive behaviors. In short, we ignore. When we “ignore” a behavior (no longer respond to the stimuli) it can result in a temporary intensity and increase in the maladaptive behavior before it stops. Understanding extinction bursts and how to deal with them is important for change leaders. Change leadership requires strength and forbearance especially when we are moving through an extinction burst – it gets worse before it gets better! A few references to help dive deeper into this area of behavioral science: How Extinction is Defined in Psychology What is Extinction? Behavior Modification for Reducing Problematic Behaviors Fully captioned videos are available on YouTube
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Implementation and adoption require that we change behavior. When all is said and done, and after everything has been set up and is ready, reality hits when we actually have to DO something!
I walk through several examples in this episode that illustrate this phenomenon and how behavioral science helps us understand what works, and what doesn't when we're implementing change. A key take away from this episode is how we structure learning and training in implementation efforts. I talk through my experience in successful training efforts, and why a behavioral coaching model works after we implement the change. The key to effective training includes demonstrating and listening, and then importantly, the application of learning by doing the new processes and behaviors in the new environment. Fully captioned videos are available on YouTube
We're taking a pause from our regularly scheduled programming to answer a great question that popped up in one of the change forums out there on the wild wild internet.
This week we address how to change successfully in an entrenched cynical culture that is also a unionized organization. We draw from Connected Change (TM) to frame the answer using the five elements to frame and approach. We also draw from our lengthy discussion on systems theory and change in systems when thinking about and discussing how to change in a unionized organization. Fully captioned videos are available on YouTube
Historians are concerned with writing, documenting, and recording the past. Over time, their version of history becomes an indisputable authority on what happened and why.
Journalists, on the other hand, are concerned with recording and communicating events in the present moment as they are happening. They will collect information from a variety of sources and craft a story that can be consumed by others, specifically the public. Both history and story are key components in the connected change model, and while they are distinct, they are also connected. History is important as it connects you to your past. Change comes from understanding our past, and wanting to make a difference in how we experience the future. Story helps us connect the past with the future and view our history in a different light. However, if we focus too much on our past and maintaining the historical record, we can become impervious to change. At the same time, story without context is a weak tool and won’t help us achieve the change we seek. In this episode I talk about the key alignments and differences as well as two organizations that have invested in historians and journalists for very different reasons, and different results! Fully captioned videos are available on YouTube
Are you a new Change Manager? Have you just been handed a big change project and don't know where to start?
This is our final episode in a 4 episode series on my expert advice to Change Managers just starting out and how to set yourself up for success! Go back and check out all of the “For the Newbies” podcasts to catch up. In this episode we talk about what change managers don’t want to talk about. Change can be an incredible, transformative experience but it can also be exhausting and draining. Change brings up difficult emotions and it is difficult as a change manager to navigate a storm of emotions in the organizations we are trying to help. I’m often called in by the organizations that are struggling with change. This means that the emotional stakes are higher, as is the level of difficulty. Listen to learn about the foundational practices that every change manager needs to start doing to be the best possible leader during time of change. Did you guess the band that I named this series after? If you guessed ABBA you got it right! They are a favourite group of mine, and are a great example of how a class act can embrace change while staying true to their roots. Fully captioned videos are available on YouTube
Are you a new Change Manager? Have you just been handed a big change project and don't know where to start?
Follow along for this 4 episode series on my expert advice to Change Managers just starting out and how to set yourself up for success In this episode we talk about the important link between “talking the talk” and “walking the walk”. Change for the people doing the change requires a change in behavior. So how do we make this happen? Change in behavior is not achieved by talking about it, but rather by doing it. Where talking and doing align, you’ll see amazing results! Secondly, the critically important part of change is leadership demonstrating and acting vs. just talking. There is an important tipping point that happens with change adoption when leadership are seen doing the change and demonstrating it for the people they are leading. It also reinforces expectations for people in a visible way. Change champions play a role as well, in being visible supporters of the change by doing and demonstrating vs. just talking about it. I talk about communications and what works well in our rapidly changing world. I also highlight the single biggest failure point for communication that people still mistakenly rely on. Fully captioned videos are available on YouTube
Are you a new Change Manager? Have you just been handed a big change project and don't know where to start?
Follow along for this 4 episode series on my expert advice to Change Managers just starting out and how to set yourself up for success. In this episode we talk about the Change Management Plan. I find that clients often think that this is a magical document that will solve their problems and answer their questions. Like a crystal ball! The change plan to me, is more about finding ways to document the approach and communicate effectively. I talk about one thing that has made working with this document a lot easier for me, that I've applied on every project since I discovered it! In the future we will be making these key templates a tools available via connected change, so stay tuned for more over the next few weeks as we start rolling out content and tools. Fully captioned videos are available on YouTube
Are you a new Change Manager? Have you just been handed a big change project and don't know where to start?
Follow along for this 4 episode series on my expert advice to Change Managers just starting out and how to set yourself up for success. In this episode we talk about the fundamental role of the change manager, and thinking about change leadership and the people they are leading in two key ways. Understanding how change affects people is the cornerstone to strong change management results and a key part of the Connected Change (TM) Approach. Bridging the gap between those leading change and those affected by it as well as the one key activity and skill that you need to hone in the first part of change are the focus of this episode. Fully captioned videos are available on YouTube
The first step in successful change is letting go. Letting go of the past, expectations, what has always been, is a critical part of the change journey. Without letting go of the past, we cannot make space for what is to come. We have a hard time doing this, however, and letting go brings up a lot of very negative emotions that people typically want to avoid. So how can we better manage our thinking around letting go, and our desire to have control over our circumstances? I talk through 2 examples I've used in client and personal situations and what to expect with the negative emotions that can come up in this stage of change.
Bridges and Bridges, Managing transitions have a great framework for this - Check out a link to the book below. Fully captioned videos are available on YouTube
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The organizational ecosystem helps us understand how our organizations respond to change and how we can manage change more effectively as change leaders. Over the past few episodes we've discussed systems theory and how understanding organizational systems help us better understand how change happens in a group setting.
Well, this is where we get to the good stuff. What if there was a change model that talked about the organization as both a structure and an ecosystem? I developed Connected Change for this specific purpose - to address gaps in the current change models and come up with a focused approach that helps us better understand and predict how our organizations respond to change. Furthermore, Connected Change is an integrated change approach that defines the system attributes we are changing alongside core organizational components, AND helps us identify which interventions will be most effective in moving us from current to future state. In this episode I talk about the Connected Change model and the 5 elements: Power/Influence, Politics, Culture, History and Stories and how we use these core elements to bring out profound changes in organizations. You can learn more about connected change here: https://www.charthouse.ca/connectedchange.html |
AuthorNatalia Lobach is the founder and principal of Charthouse Advisory Services Archives
December 2022
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