Archive for category: Change Management Insights

The Efficiency Paradox: Why Certain Words Block Innovation

What do an orchestra and your organization have in common?

Both can be destroyed by the pursuit of efficiency.

Sounds strange, right? Stay with me.

One word that always comes up when I work with leaders to define why a change is needed and create their outcome story is efficiency.

Every leader, regardless of level, talks about the desire and need to make things more efficient.

And sure, efficiency sounds good, and it’s important. Who doesn’t want things to run smoothly with the least amount of effort and resources?

However, when it comes to change, efficiency is what I call a trigger word.

And trigger words like efficient and other similar words can quickly sabotage your change efforts.

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Book Club -Mindset

Have you ever said, “I’m not good at math” or “She is a natural leader”?

I used to say things like that, too, until I realized they aren’t simply observations.

They’re indicators of a fixed mindset.

And that mindset quietly limits your performance, your possibilities, and your ability to lead change.

Carol Dweck’s book Mindset: Changing the Way You Think to Fulfill Your Potential explores how mindset shapes what we believe we can accomplish. Her work also connects to The Readiness Mindset®, an approach that helps people thrive because of change.

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Strategic Plans: Turning Goals into Meaningful Change

Before you finalize your next strategic plan, ask yourself: Will it drive meaningful change? Or will it become another document that sits on the shelf, only to be looked at when it’s once again time to create a strategic plan?

Too often, the strategic planning process is carried out in isolation by people who are too disconnected from daily operations. The result is a strategic plan that may look good on paper but fails to achieve the intended results.

Don’t get me wrong. When done well, a strategic plan is a powerful tool. It provides a roadmap, aligns people with the organization, and can create momentum.

However, in my work with executive teams, I have identified three fundamental flaws in strategic plans and planning processes that hinder organizations’ progress.

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Why Pushback Isn’t Resistance

Does it sometimes feel like your best employees – the smart, capable people you depend on – are the ones who raise the biggest objections and create the greatest barriers to change?

It’s easy to label this behaviour as resistance. But what if they’re not resisting anything?

What if they’re doing exactly what their brains are designed to do, and you’ve been interpreting it completely wrong?

Understanding why people appear to push back on change can help you eliminate this apparent resistance and leverage one of your most powerful tools for enabling change.

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Three Steps to Prepare Leaders To Champion Change

What do we do when the change sponsor stops supporting your organizational change effort?

I have been asked this or a similar question many times.

You’re left frustrated, feeling abandoned, and wondering, Why am I even trying to implement this?

This scenario serves as a reminder that committed executive change leaders are essential throughout the transition.

There are actions you can take to ensure your changes don’t stall out and to build and maintain the leadership needed throughout the change process.

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