Upcoming business merger? Big shift in strategic direction? Organizational realignment? To move forward successflly, executives must not only lead change, they must manage transition.

Leading change is about gaining willing followers and keeping their commitment to follow a new vision. Efforts at leading change, however, can be inconsequential, if not outright disastrous, unless you also manage transition. Yet managing transition is often the most neglected part of a change initiative.

There is a difference between change and transition. Change is an observable event that often occurs very quickly – e.g. you get a major promotion to a new level of responsibility. Transition is an inner state – how long it takes you to learn that new job. Transitions are challenging due to the amount of energy it takes to learn new behaviors and make emotional re-adjustments. (see the previous article, Worry About Transitions, Not Change).

So how do you manage transition? Read the full article to explore seven actions that help leaders successfully navigate the shoals of transition while leading a change initiative. Read More...

Tags: Change Mastery

The Last Lecture
Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow (2008)

Randy Pausch died less than a week ago, on July 25th, after a struggle with pancreatic cancer. Despite his terminal diagnosis, this past September he presented a “last lecture” at Carnegie Mellon University. A professor of Computer Science, Pausch chose to focus the lecture on humanity rather than technology. His lecture and the book of the same title leaves a legacy for his family, and a small treasure for the rest of us.

The Last Lecture is a small book of big wisdom. Pausch offers us wisdom worth bringing to our attention, whether a reminder of wisdom already known or wisdom introduced for the first time. Make life about achieving childhood dreams. Enable others to achieve their dreams. Brick walls help us discover what we really want. People working together can accomplish incredible things.

The Last Lecture is a short read, perfect for vacations or plane trips. (I read it at a family beach trip a couple weeks ago.) It is full of good humor, delightful stories, good advice, and certainly inspiration to enjoy life. Definitely worth putting on your reading list.

Link to book on Amazon

Last Lecture video on YouTube

July 7, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The SAC® Release

Coaching the All-Stars Pays Bigger Dividends Than
Most Other Training and Development

Coaching all-star performers pays higher dividends than virtually all remedial training, notes Alan Weiss, Ph.D. who is CEO of the Society for Advancement of Consulting® (SAC®). In a poll of its international membership and their clients, "We found that too many organizations ignore their best performers—and best source of return on investment—when developing people," he says.

“It’s all about taking a strengths-based perspective,” notes SAC charter member Tom Stevens, whose consulting company Think Leadership Ideas is based in North Carolina. “Individuals gain superior performance by building on strengths more than shoring up weaknesses. Companies gain superior performance by accelerating their top-performers more than bringing their under-performers up to average.” Stevens acknowledges that often companies agree in principle but not in practice when it comes to allocating resources to develop their people.

What do other SAC members say? Read More...

One of the most widely accepted beliefs is that people find change difficult.

Not necessarily so! Or at least, it’s not what leaders and managers should worry about. What trips up most people, and most organizational change efforts, is not change but transition.

Change and transition go hand in hand but they are not the same. What’s the difference? Think of change is a discreet event, while transition is protracted process or state of mind. For example, selling your car and buying a new one is a change. Getting used to the new car, how it handles and knowing where all the controls and switches are located, requires a period of transition. The change to a new vehicle is quick, perhaps driving to a dealer with your old car and driving out with the new. The transition, however, could last for days, weeks, or months.

This same distinction applies to acquiring a new residence, a different job, or adopting a new company policy. The specific change is typically quick, whereas the transition takes some time...and effort.

Following are three reasons why transition is often the difficult aspect of change initiatives. Read More...

Tags: Change Mastery

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
How Successful People Become Even More Successful
by Marshall Goldsmith (2007)

Marshall Goldsmith is one of the worlds premiere executive coaches, and this book is a gem of clarity and insight.

Goldsmith outlines twenty workplace habits that sabotage careers and reduce performance of otherwise highly successful professionals and executives. Goldsmith likens these habits to an actor blowing a line, writer misusing commas, or a chef leaving out a key ingredient - small things that nevertheless undo achievement.

Identifying these habits is critical, but the author warns of the trap of wasting time trying to understand them. What is important is how to change, and Goldsmith offers seven key actions that get people on the right track: obtaining feedback, apologizing, advertising intentions, listening, thanking, following-up, and practicing feedforward.

I found his final chapter on the challenges for people in charge particularly interesting, with realistic and relevant insight for those carrying executive responsibility. Goldsmith is a thought leader in the executive coaching world. Leaders who seek excellence, and coaches who help them along the way, will benefit from this book.

See book on Amazon

Postscript 8/7/08

A highlight of my attendance of the National Speakers Association National Convention earlier this week was seeing Marshall Goldsmith’s keynote. As with his writing, Goldsmith comes across as profoundly human and presents his ideas with simple clarity. We were encouraged to use any of the material he has written, available at www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com. He knows business, but he uses the language of life, not bizspeak.

The interactional speech gave the audience an opportunity to quickly taste the techniques described in What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. I walked away with greater appreciation for this book, one of 22 he has authored or edited, and of Goldsmith’s overall philosophy.

Does your team incessantly talk about the same issues? Does it seem that too many issues never get resolved?

I find that most groups get stuck in one or more of three areas, discernment, design, or discipline - i.e understanding what is going on, crafting a satisfying response, and following through with meaningful action.

Following are twelve questions leaders can use to stimulate progress on those persistent issues that plague your team or organization.
Read More...

Tags: Uncommon Thinking, Artful Leadership