business change, business change management, Change Management, Managing change, Podcast

145: Ask Andi—How To Successfully Achieve Change Management Step 1

Posted on by Andrea Simon

Learn actionable, lasting ways to manage change in turbulent times!

At SAMC, we routinely receive requests to lead workshops or provide consulting support for companies that have been struggling with changing their organization, especially in these rapidly-changing times. Is managing change something you’re struggling with too? To help you initiate a change process that will stick and that your employees will actually buy into, we’ve put together three Ask Andi podcasts that take you through the key concepts of this unique approach to business challenges. Here’s the first one. Enjoy, learn and share!

First, what archetype are you?

In this first podcast in the series, I talk about the power of who we are and why our archetypes keep us comfortable in the way we do things. Since humans are very herd-like, we often find ourselves happiest when we can behave in ways that match our styles, personalities and archetypes. 

This tendency should not be underestimated as a powerful hurdle to overcome if you are going to change a group of employees in your company, or even the entire organization. If over the years, you have recruited people who are very similar to one another and share common beliefs and values, it will be a challenge to help them do things in new and different ways. This is going to bump up against the very essence of who they are. 

To begin, take a look at this CultureTalk survey to determine what type of person you are. Are you an Explorer, like I am? A Ruler? Perhaps you are a Magician or a Caretaker. When you have a team of people that you want to change, your first task will be to figure out who they are today. Once you know this, you can think about the best way to help them change for tomorrow.

This graphic explains the 12 different personality archetypes: 

archetypes

It also shows how companies themselves become archetypes. Ikea, for example, is an Everyman company. Nike is for Heroes. Jeep is for Explorers. What’s your company’s archetype? What are the archetypes of your employees? Think long and hard on this because the answers you come up with have a lot to do with how to start, implement and sustain the changes you want to implement in your organization. 

Next, what archetypes are your team members?

Once you have a sense of the archetypes you are dealing with on your staff, you’ve accomplished the beginning stage of the challenge. Well done! The second critical part of change management (discussed in my next Ask Andi podcast, “How To Successfully Achieve Change Management Step 2″) focuses on key differences between the generations that in very real ways affect the way your business operates. Boomers are very different from Gen Xers (now in their 40s). Both of these are very different from Millennials (Gen Ys) who will make up 50% of the workforce by 2020, which is right around the corner.

Add to this the rapid changes that are influencing the way we work, consume goods, get from place to place, plan vacations, pay our taxes…everything. And don’t forget the big changes that are already here, such as robots, AI, self-driving vehicles, cryptocurrencies and blockchain. With all of these massive changes coming at us faster and faster, it’s no wonder the older generations are having a hard time keeping up and often feel left behind, particularly at work.

Join me for Change Management Step 2 where we focus on CULTURE

Having set the stage for why it’s so important to identify your own archetype and those of the people in your organization before you can start a change process, I will pause here and save my next thoughts for the second podcast in this series in which I shift gears and talk about company culture: how to assess your culture today and determine what you would like it to be in the future. Please join me for that one too, as there’s a lot more to learn!

For more on change management, we recommend these blogs, podcasts and white paper

Need some help adapting to change? Let’s talk.

More than ever before, businesses need to be able to sustain growth in changing times. Otherwise, they risk being left hopelessly behind. Are you nimble and adaptive or stuck in the old “that’s how we’ve always done it” syndrome? Do you have a plan in place for the future or are you on the brink of being disrupted? At Simon Associates Management Consultants, we specialize in helping organizations change, grow and thrive amidst today’s fast-changing times. Please contact us. We’re ready to help you change your organization so it can soar!

Resources

Get the full transcript of this Ask Andi episode here.