“I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn’t just one aspect of the game, it is the game. In the end, an organization is nothing more than the collective capacity of its people to create value. ”

— Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. - Former CEO of IBM

Last week, I revealed why leaders delay in implementing change. Here, I unveil the ways to overcome the forces against change by shaping a culture of change. Unless you are intentionally shaping what you want, you will find yourself immersed in another culture by default. That culture never creates value. It defends turf: And it’s led by complacency and resistance.

The Unseen Guardians of Complacency and Resistance.

Complacency is misplaced satisfaction that feeds a false sense of security. It is buoyed by three strongholds:

1. Image: Your employees defend a measure of their success. The success may be real or perceived, but the current culture dictates that their image is maintained.
2. Insecurity: Your employees avoid change for fear of what it exposes in them or may demand of them. Have you ever not participated in anything because you weren’t sure you would succeed at it? That is insecurity, and it victimizes learning and growth.
3. Internal focus: Your employees fail to engage in radical external focus, which is the heart of value creation. They will do what is necessary to be noticed or needed within, but not necessarily to the market itself.

Resistance is the dastardly villain of heroic change, the thief in the night of value creation. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you.” Resistance grows in strength as change initiative grows in maturity. If you don’t like resistance to change, change the resistance.

But Paul Gibbons sheds helpful insight on the fight: “People who appear to be resisting change may simply be the victim of bad habits. Habit, like gravity, never takes a day off.”

He is right, and his counsel underlines the importance of creating a culture of change. We must lead people from bad habits into change habits. We must help them see that complacency and resistance is really self-sabotage, not self-defense.

Two Essential Tools to Shaping a Culture of Change

1.    You get what you celebrate – Celebrate Change.

Think of what you celebrate in your organization. Sales numbers. Seniority (pay increases and promotions accordingly). Demonstrations of company values.

These are good; and they represent what people strive for in your company and, therefore, defend. But we rarely celebrate change itself.

Consider implementing these practices:

• Have those with seniority tell stories about the progress they have seen since they started working with the company. We love tales of progress, and it encourages growth in us. (Obviously, you don’t want them telling it with the tone of “See how easy you all have it. In my day….). The tone is gratitude: “I’m so glad we have come this far, and I can’t wait to see what is up ahead.”
• Celebrate the “natural changes” that happen with your employees and staff: Babies born, certificates earned, weddings, illnesses overcome. These are all stories of change that is good.
• Remind people always: “We love it when things change for good. We are committed to change things for good.”

2.    Build change into reviews, growth plans and strategy sessions.

Here are tools that have been proven to be effective.

(a) Business coaching legend, John Whitmore, came up with four questions to help people get from where they are to where they want to be: It is in the acronym form of G.R.O.W.

• What is the Goal?
• What is the current Reality?
• What are the Options?
• What Will you do?This simple form is the heart of a change initiative, whether it is at a personal level (employee review), or is a corporate strategy.

(b) To determine the goal, a classic business innovator, Tom Patterson, developed four additional questions:

• What is right that you want to maximize?
• What is wrong that you want to correct?
• What is missing that you want to add?
• What is confusing that you want to clarify?

Again, it is a simple assessment effective at all levels and drives the heart of change. Notice, that when each of these is applied, it targets a desired result to move toward. That “changes things for good.”

One additional consideration: The strongest force in shaping a culture of change is implementing coaching as deeply into the organization as possible. If everyone has a coach, to some degree, change is inherent. If you would like to know more about adopting a culture of coaching, I can help.

Howard Stevenson of Harvard University contends, “Maintaining an effective culture is so important that it, in fact, trumps even strategy.”

What do you think? Is your company victim to complacency and resistance? Do you feel confident you can shape a culture of change? What have you done well and where do you need help? Contact me know and let me know.`