Nothing changes if nothing changes

Moving to the cloud? Introducing Office365 or GSuite? Turning to Slack and Asana? Automating work? Starting with machine learning?

Today’s workplace is going through a major revolution, now also sped up in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organisations that previously hadn’t offered remote working to their employees for example, found themselves thrown into it at great speed.

In fact, we see many companies that have been surprised at how well the imposed change has worked. And this is of course great to see.

However, real change and adoption, real transformation is not just about a great change plan; with software implementation, training and communication. All those things are important, but they are not enough and yet there is too much reliance on them being the catalysts for change and adoption. This is partly a budget question – not enough investment is put into the changing of people’s outlook and ways of collaborating, at a human level.

Nothing really changes if noting changes.

This may seem obvious, but at the same time, it’s often overlooked. Real transformation happens when people start to change HOW they do things, how they think, collaborate and contribute. And that can be expertly supported through great tools and techniques, but it’s not enough in itself.

Are you leading a transformation initiative or leading a team that is impacted by such an initiative? Then take a moment to reflect on what you need to do and how you need to think and be in order to make that transformation a reality.

Do you need to engage more with people?
Listen more?
Empathise more?
Create more opportunities for people to discuss, give input and feedback?
Actively look for opportunities in change?
Do you need to delegate more?
Collaborate more? Beyond your team even?
Build a sense of team spirit?

Whatever it is you are hoping others to do, start with yourself – be the change you want to see, show the way.

Because nothing change if nothing changes.

And everything changes when things change.

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
George Bernard Shaw

Posted On June 18, 2020 By Elisabet Hearn In Change Management & Change Leadership, Culture, Digital Transformation No Comments

Peripheral vision for change

Leading change? Working with digital or business transformation? Then you’re probably great at focusing on what to do, when, how and why.

And focus is great. We all know that.

But at times, focus can lead to tunnel vision, that state of mind when we are so focused that we lose sight of the bigger picture, or what is happening around us and how people are responding to the change.

So, to balance your great focus, develop your peripheral vision too. Peripheral vision is taking in information outside of our immediate focus. It’s widening our view to be able to notice what happens around us. And that’s not metaphorically, it’s a question of practicing having a wider visual field.

Some of the greatest speakers, facilitators and trainers have great peripheral vision; they have the whole room within their view field, so they can notice shifts in people, recognising when people react to something, noticing disengagement or excitement.

So whenever you are in a project meeting for example, consciously notice and use your whole visual field (rather than just looking at the person you are talking to for example) – and notice how much more you become aware of.

Want to know more about peripheral vision for change? Get in touch – we’re happy to talk.

The pace of change is so great, there is always something else going on. What that says to me is that you have to have strategic vision and peripheral vision. Strategic vision is the ability to look ahead and peripheral vision is the ability to look around, and both are important.
Carly Fiorina

Posted On January 6, 2020 By Elisabet Hearn In Culture, Digital Transformation No Comments

FeaturedReal Transformation or Boomerang Change?

Boomerang change is the kind of change that goes forwards and backwards, hesitating and never really transforming anything
Elisabet Vinberg Hearn

Everyone talks about transformation, but is it really transformation they are doing? Could it be that it’s “just” change?

Don’t get me wrong, change is sometimes enough, but the problem is that change often isn’t enough, or the efforts put into change are not impactful enough and therefore don’t really change anything other than what’s on the surface. People fall back into old habits – as habits die hard – we all know that.

Transformation, real transformation, is a marked, significant change, where the change is so thorough, so disruptive, so – well, yes, transforming – that it can’t go back to what it once was. A bit like how a butterfly can’t transform back into a caterpillar.

Real transformation requires more than a well managed project (to change processes, digital tools, organisational structure etc) – it requires a transformation of mindset, habits and culture. And that transformation must be led from the top, where leaders themselves transform how they lead the organisation, how they behave, what they prioritise, what actions and behaviours they ignite in others. Without it, it’s unlikely that transformation will happen.

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything
George Bernard Shaw

So, if you are serious about business/digital transformation, take a moment to reflect on how you can bring all the pieces of real transformation together – the WHY, the WHAT and the HOW, keeping in mind that real transformation is more about people than processes and tools. It’s about connecting with people, with their hearts and minds.