Thriving on discontinuous change by Carol Kinsey Goman

var sc_project=3372029; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_partition=37; var sc_security=”918325f4″; Home Books Clients How I work Pricing Research Services Free eBooks Home Articles Courses Nonverbal Products Twitter Case studies Presentations* Info Pack* –> My blog is here About me Search * opens in new browser window Second Life blog (both links open in a new window) –> Current Adelaide time: obj = new Object;obj.clockfile = “5002-blue.swf”;obj.TimeZone = “ACDT”;obj.width = 192;obj.height = 19;obj.Place = “”;obj.DateFormat = “DD-mm”;obj.TimeFormat = “hhmmTT”;obj.wmode = “transparent”;showClock(obj); Contact me: +61 410 642 052 Thriving on discontinuous change by Carol Kinsey Goman var sc_project=3372029; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_partition=37; var sc_security=”918325f4″; Home Books Clients How I work Pricing Research Services Free eBooks Home Articles Courses Nonverbal Products Twitter Case studies Presentations* Info Pack* –> My blog is here About me Search * opens in new browser window Second Life blog (both links open in a new window) –> Current Adelaide time: obj = new Object;obj.clockfile = “5002-blue.swf”;obj.TimeZone = “ACDT”;obj.width = 192;obj.height = 19;obj.Place = “”;obj.DateFormat = “DD-mm”;obj.TimeFormat = “hhmmTT”;obj.wmode = “transparent”;showClock(obj); Contact me: +61 410 642 052 Fresh News: Thriving on discontinuous change Thriving on discontinuous change by Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D. IBM’s 2008 Global CEO Study finds that organizations are being bombarded by change, and many are struggling to keep up. Executives see significant change ahead, but the gap between expected change and the ability to manage it has almost tripled since the last Global Study in 2006. The question is: How do we create the kind of organization that not only adapts quickly to current trends, but is aggressive about shaping and leading change? There are two kinds of change — incremental and discontinuous — that are taking place simultaneously and constantly in business organizations around the world. Incremental change is the process of continuous improvement — what the Japanese refer to as “kaizen.” Discontinuous change is the kind of large-scale transformation that turns organizations inside out and upside down. If managing incremental change can be compared to encouraging a group of joggers to gradually pick up the pace, then leading discontinuous change is like getting those same joggers to leap off a cliff and build their parachutes on the way down. Incremental change fits the Newtonian framework of a linear, progressive and predictable world. There is an unmistakable logic behind incremental change that makes it easy to communicate and relatively easy for people to adopt. Best of all, it uses current practices as a baseline for the systematic improvement of a product, service or system. And people like the fact that they can base their future success on their past performance. But much of the change our organizations are facing today is not incremental. It is discontinuous. It is restructuring, reengineering, transformation. It is these actions – and others – that challenge our most deeply held beliefs about the past. Discontinuous change confronts the entire organization with the possibility that the very roles, actions and attitudes that were most responsible for past success will be insufficient, and perhaps even detrimental, in the future. And that concept is difficult to communicate and much harder for people to adopt. No one likes to contemplate letting go of the skills and behaviors that “got us here.” As individuals, we become psychologically attached to the status quo because it is familiar and comfortable. But even more difficult than fighting off the inertia of comfort, we find it hard to let go of the past because it is there that we’ve experienced personal success. People like the experience of mastery. That’s understandable. It’s basic human psychology – but not an attitude that helps us move forward. Although “knowledge is power” may have been an accurate assumption in the past, the reality of today’s high-speed business environment is that information and skills become outdated faster than the current fashion. In this climate, employees are valued primarily for how quickly they can learn, unlearn and relearn. One of the greatest challenges for anyone who wants to become change adept is to identify those practices and attitudes that need to be unlearned in order to more quickly adopt new behaviors. Here are a few questions to consider: What do I do best? (What skills and abilities am I most proud of?) Which current skills, abilities, and attitudes will continue to make me successful in the future? o How does feeling competent stop me from doing things differently? (Where are the “comfort zones” that I’m most reluctant to leave?) What new skills do I need to learn to stay valuable to the organization? What do I need to unlearn? (Which skills are becoming obsolete? What practices — attitudes, behaviors, work routines, etc. — that worked for me in the past are no longer valid?) Leaders who help their team or department thrive on discontinuous change begin by identifying those skills and behaviors that they themselves need to learn and unlearn. Then they address the topic openly: They talk about their own problems with letting go of past competencies, they empathize with the feelings of awkwardness that come with leaving the “comfort zone,” and they are candid about the reason why they decided to leave some behaviors in the past in order to better serve the future. Then they massage damaged egos by applauding the efforts that all team members are making. Building a style of corporate behavior that is comfortable with — even aggressive about — the significant change that CEOs project for our future, means that everyone needs to realize that the process of continuous learning, unlearning and relearning is the key to both organizational and personal success. Carol Kinsey Goman Ph.D. is a leadership communications coach and international keynote speaker at corporate, government, and association events. She offers informative, interactive, entertaining and custom-tailored programs. • Expert contributor for The Washington Post’s “On Leadership” column. • Leadership blogger on Forbes.com • Author of “The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work (Bk Business)” and “The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help–or Hurt–How You Lead.” To contact Carol about speaking or coaching, call +1 510 526 1727 or email CGoman@CKG.com. For more information or to view videos, visit Carol’s websites: www.SilentLanguageOfLeaders.com and www.CKG.com. You can also follow Carol on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CGoman, on FORBES http://blogs.forbes.com/people/carolgoman/, or “Like” her Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carol-Kinsey-Goman-PhD/105398069543578 var owHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://” : “http://”);document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src='” + owHost + “onlywire.com/btn/button_3798′ ad=’no’ title=’TITLE’ tags='”business communication” communication nonverbal’ url=’URL’ class=’owbutton’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”)); Reports I have written: Measuring the impact and ROI of social media – for Ark Group Making Social Media work for your business – for Ark Group Social Media: The New Business Communication Landscape – for Ark Group How to get started with podcasting in your organisation – for Melcrum Publishing Contributing author to How to use social media to solve critical internal communication issues – for Melcrum Publishing Contributing author to How to use social media to engage employees – for Melcrum Publishing Contributing author to How to communicate with hard-to-reach employees – for Melcrum Publishing Have you subscribed to my weekly newsletter yet? 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