December 24 2011
Sometimes it’s Good Not to Talk about Change
TweetSo the festivities of the holiday season are now upon us and for
many people this will be an opportunity to take a break from work
and to spend quality time with friends, family or other loved ones
in their life. Some people will have the luxury of the whole week
off and others just part of it, but however you approach this time
of year and whatever work free time you have, it is good to switch
off and wind down and not think about work for some time. I think of
it as the annual battery recharge.
So how does this bring me to change management thoughts? For many
businesses they rush headlong into change, and in whatever capacity
they employ (or don’t!) the services of a change manager the
pressure is on to “make it happen” as soon as possible, if not
earlier! Even though engagement and communications are paramount to
making the change happen, sometimes it’s good to stand back and fall
silent for a while and let each person think on the change.
For me a time of silence can be just as important and beneficial
as any amount of engagement. Have you ever been in one of those
meetings when everyone is talking around you and all you can here is
noise? That’s a time for silence and regrouping. Unfortunately the
egos of some people you may encounter work on the principle of
achieving what they want by shouting loudest! Not a good principle
and something I have regularly managed with a quiet low key firm
voice of appreciation of comment before moving on. But coming back
to the benefit of silence and thinking time, it is all part of my
take on the Pareto principle – otherwise known as the 80 – 20 rule!
My view is that for every change event there should be 80% of
your time given over to planning, preparation and engagement prior
to the change and 20% after. As part of that 80% whatever
communications vehicles you incorporate into your methodology, you
should also incorporate a period of non-communications. That is time
for each stakeholder to go away from the discussion table and think
about the impact of the change to them and how the plans and
processes being suggested will enable and engage within their
dominion.
And how you might add does this bring the holiday break back into
the equation. Well its not rocket science to realise that everyone
is likely to be away from the discussion table around this time of
year. So my recommendation is to try and use this time as thinking
time, non-communication, an opportunity to regroup thoughts and
rationalise without interference. Make the break part or the change
schedule and give the stakeholders the opportunity to ponder the
change independently at this time of year. Now I’m not promoting the
idea of working throughout the break, but we all know that the mind
never stops considering the workplace, no matter how much time we
are away from it – so focus the mind on this role and let this be
the opportunity it can be.