Change Leadership: Overcome Resistance and Implement Changes

1. Rely on the power of influence instead of positional power.
2. Present succinct new information needed for them to make the change.
3. Seek out objections and ask quality questions so the objections are answered by them.
4. Help them tie the desired change to a personally-held value.
5. Engage them in every step of the change process.
6. Ask them to choose how to implement and ask for a commitment to take this action within a 1-2 week time frame.
7. Provide time for them to perform the action.
8. Use the Success Story Follow-Up Format. (developed by Umberger Development Partners Inc.)
9. Calculate the dollar value of the changes made … and list the values that cannot be calculated.
10. Celebrate successes!

Copyright Umberger Development Partners Inc., 2008-2012. All rights reserved.

The Next Step in Taking Ownership

For a non-supervisor or person new to management, the concept of “taking ownership” usually refers to being diligent to do the best job possible, taking pride in one’s own work, being the “go-to” person, and being passionate about being the best at doing the work.

The next step in taking ownership is personally to take responsibility for a successful completion of the finished work product, regardless of who does the actual work. This is a key difference between doing and managing.

Concepts

 

1. The reason an employee deserves a paycheck is because he or she added enough value to the company so it made more money than it paid the employee. The necessary profit to justify hiring the employee is calculated by organization.
2. Employers have a right to expect that employees will do their best work. Because lack luster performance has been tolerated at some companies in the past, working to one’s fullest capacity is a new concept to some. They mistake this for “taking ownership.”
3. In addition to actually owning the business from a financial perspective, the concept refers to an employee taking responsibility for one’s results or one’s job by caring for it as one would care for his/her own business. To be passionate about it. To take care of customers. To solve problems. To engage one’s mind, heart, and hands. This should be expected of every employee – the doers.
4. As one moves up the leadership ladder, the concept takes on much greater meaning. Leaders represent the company owners to employees. They set the pace for performance. Not only are they responsible for their portion of the doing, but they are also responsible for the outcomes of others’ doing. This, in fact, is the essence of management.
5. Taking ownership at this level requires overseeing every aspect of one’s area of responsibility and includes creating and casting vision, planning, delegating, instructing, conducting quality checks, holding others accountable, overseeing continuous improvement, keeping accurate records, dealing with people issues, investigating and correcting mistakes, and reporting on all outcomes – successes, mistakes and outright failures.
6. Concepts contrary to taking ownership include blaming, relenting (“It’s not my job!”), doing the bare minimum, taking care of personal issues while being paid for business production (which also crosses ethical lines), and not taking full responsibility to communicate.

Application

 

     What one area of taking ownership will I continue to build on first?

Copyright Umberger Development Partners Inc., 2011-2012. All rights reserved. Full length programs are available on Employee Engagement as well as introductory workshops. Contact JoUmberger@TrainSpeakCoach.com.

The Motivation Process

This is an excerpt from Umberger Development Partners Inc.’s Motivation Process. For the entire process, contact Jo Umberger at JoUmberger@TrainSpeakCoach.com

CREATING INTERNAL MOTIVATION

 

1. TARGET: Write one area you wish to improve.

2.   VALUES: What inspires, enthuses, and drives you?

3.  xxx

4. CONNECT

5. xxx

8. LEAP: What obstacles are most likely to get in my way of accomplishing #1?

9. xxx

10. xxx

11. DO IT! WHEN? Make a list of every action necessary for you to implement #1. Beside each action write either your Targeted Start Date or Targeted Completion Date. (Write on the back of this sheet.)
12. COUNT: How will you monitor your progress toward implementing #1?

13. ACCOUNTABILITY

14.  XXX

15. CONCLUSION: Are you sold 100% on implementing #1?

16. SUPPORT: If you are would like additional support to accomplish what you have planned today, contact Jo at 214.697.0242 or email JoUmberger@TrainSpeakCoach.com.

© Umberger Development Partners Inc., 2008-2012. All rights reserved. No portion of this article may be reproduced with the written permission of its author, Jo Umberger. Ms. Umberger provides training and coaching to organizations on how to effectively use the Motivation Process. Contact her at JoUmberger@TrainSpeakCoach.com

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Proven Strategies for Creating and Sustaining Change

These proven strategies for creating and sustaining change may seem very simple. They have been tested and proven to be effective at many organizations across the US for the past 15 years. The process has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars of results as well as   ideas for corporations to implement that has the potential to return hundreds of thousands of dollars to their top line.

1. State the current situation and ask the change agents (leaders, employees) to articulate the desired state. (Sometimes the desired state is the objective for the discussion, already having been articulated by an authority figure.)

2. Determine the information needed by the change agents and break it down into bite-sized pieces.  Provide only one piece at a time. People are too busy to assimilate too much information simultaneously.

3. Ask them what they will do this week to implement the idea you just covered, the first bite-sized piece. This is referred to as their commitment.  Be sure to inform them that when the group reconvenes, you will ask them to share Success Stories — specifically to remind us of their commitment and to share with us what they did and the results . . . which may be as simple as “What’s different now?”

4. Give them a week or two to implement the idea.

5. Begin each subsequent meeting by asking each person to share (a) their commitment, (b) how they implemented their commitment (what they did), (c) results. Give each person an encouraging word. Focus on what DID happen rather than on what didn’t. If someone didn’t keep up their end of the bargain, ask if they will do it the coming week. They will soon hear their peers telling their own Success Stories, which becomes an incredible motivator. Provide feedback and troubleshooting as needed.

6. In this same meeting, share the next bite-sized piece of information the group needs and ask what they will do in the upcoming week.

7. Repeat at least seven (7) times.

Copyright Umberger Development Partners, Inc. 1996-2012. All rights reserved. This article may not be copied without written permission from its author, Jo Umberger. Ms. Umberger trains groups of leaders to use these strategies effectively. If your organization is interested in learning more about Success Stories, contact Jo at  JoUmberger@TrainSpeakCoach.com.

Leadership Trends to Watch for in 2012

Welcome to the 2012 Leadership Trends Watch!

1. Perhaps Employee Engagement is at the heart of accomplishing organizational goals more than ever. Two questions must be considered if there’s room for improvement in this area. How will you go about gaining greater engagement? Do leaders know all they need to know in order to fully support employee engagement? If not, don’t count on upticks in continuous improvement, increased communication between layers in the org or between sites, morale, or productivity. If these two issues are not addressed properly, resources are likely to be directed toward covering for missed work, employee retention, missed communication opportunities, and spinning the story. Instead of spending resources on the clean-up, consider preparing everyone to increase engagement.

2. As pressure for increased performance continues to climb, set a direction for the organization regarding healthy ways to accomplish the goals. Some organizations have tapped their people for as much time and effort as humanly possible. This approach may be as involved as a culture shift or as simple as a productivity plan. It’s time to go beyond making expectations clear and measuring results. It’s time to re-think the possible and the plans to reach it.

3. Communication continues to be of supreme importance as we seek to do more … possibly with less. It must be tackled from a top down perspective, with particular emphasis on ensuring that middle management communicate clearly, concisely, and in a manner well-received by their employees (direct and in-direct). Supervisors must be kept informed of plans and changes and must be able to get the message to the operator level in a way that represents well the intentions of the owners. Additionally the culture must encourage (by word and deed), even expect, operator-level employees to communicate upwards. And not only when their manager is not listening. Remember this: Don’t plan all of your time each day. Otherwise you will miss what others are saying to you and you are not likely to communicate all you need to.

4. Preparing Successors with leadership skills is just as important as ensuring they have the necessary technical knowledge. Otherwise the culture of the organization hangs in the balance.

For more information on any of these important issues for 2012, contact Jo Umberger, President and CEO, Umberger Development Partners Inc., at JoUmberger@TrainSpeakCoach.com.

Copyright Umberger Development Partners Inc., 2012. All rights reserved. Do not reprint without permission.

Getting the greatest ROI from investments in people

Are you getting the greatest ROI on salary and benefits? Here are two key questions to help you know.

1. What percentage of your employees (especially the hourly ones) take a high degree of ownership over their work and their results?

2. What percentage of this group comes to work every day looking for ways to continually improve quality, productivity, sales, processes, engagement, and/or safety?

Consider what would happen to customer service and bottom line results if most were fully engaged, based on these two criteria!

How helpful would it be for you to know what your employees really think about matters related to engagement? Ask about a free trial of our on-line survey for 10 of your employees (anonymous, of course!) so you can know.

Drop me a note at JoUmberger@TrainSpeakCoach.com to request your free trial.

What can Corporations learn from America’s experiences?

I am not an economist nor a politician. The purpose of this article is not to suggest a plan for the Great Recovery nor to make a political statement. The purpose is to suggest some potentially valuable lessons businesses may learn from many of our country’s experiences over the last several years.

1. Consider long-term consequences of potential solutions to what may appear at first glance to be short-term problems.

2. When you’ve checked the facts and the stakes of a decision are extremely high, check them again using different sources.

3. Define terms to manage expectations.

4. Continually question whether your decisions are based on realities.

5. Involve others in the organization in creating the corporate values. Take these values into account when creating priorities. Communicate clearly to everyone which shared values you are upholding when decisions are announced.

6. Build credibility on the influence that comes from character rather than on positional power.

7. Seek advice from many counselors, not exclusively from those whose jobs are dependent upon your retaining them.

8. Don’t let your celebrity status (leadership position) lead you to believe you are above the standards that others are expected to follow. In fact, if you have celebrity status, realize that others expect you to live by a higher standard.

Just say Thanks

Does anyone ever outgrow the desire to be appreciated? Of course not. While an acknowledgement of appreciation means more to some than others, everyone likes to be told, “Thank you.” It says, “I see what you are doing and it is valuable. Keep it up!”

How many people can you say these magic words to today?

Making Difficult Financial Decisions

The answers to many financial quandaries don’t come to us easily. Sometimes we want more than we can afford … whether personally or corporately. Sometimes the confusion is due to not articulating our beliefs, our values, and where our loyalties lie. Sometimes we make financial mis-steps because we fail to count the cost.

When we are not held personally responsible for the results of the financial decisions of the entire organization, it’s easier to look out for our special interests. In fact, we may not even realize that they are considered “special interests” by those whose job it is to have the bigger perspective. If we are doing things the way we’ve always done them and this serves the needs of those we are responsible to serve, we probably don’t even realize the implications on others of our decisions.

Here are a few points to consider when we are in this predicament.

1. Someone else is bearing the brunt of the financial risks of the organization. This includes hiring me.

2. The only way employees will have the opportunity to work for this organization is if it is profitable. That means that the owners/shareholders meet their earnings quotas.

3. Therefore, part of my job is to do whatever I can to help the organization make/save money, including using my influence to encourage others to do the same.

What is one way you can save the organization $10,000? How about $100,000? If you think this is impossible, request the Financial Savings Calculator at JoUmberger@TrainSpeakCoach.com.

Productivity. Profit. Fun.

Enjoying one’s work is more about perspective than about circumstances. If I focus too much on the circumstances (it’s hot outside; things aren’t going as well as they could; my team has a problem; etc.) . . . OR if I focus too much on how I am feeling in the moment (I’m tired of doing this same job; I have a headache; I wish they would do what I want them to do; etc.), then I am on a steady diet of negativity. How can I have fun at work if these are the thoughts I am feeding myself? Fun and joy will most likely allude me UNLESS everything is going the way I want.

Perspective is the angle from which we view something . . . and that angle can be chosen. I am not saying it is always easy or ever easy. It takes mental discipline and effort. I can choose to think about the positive benefits that I am receiving from my assignments, those my family members or other loved ones are receiving, how I am making a significant contribution, and other positive thoughts. Thinking tends to lead to feeling. So if I focus on the good, the positive, the things for which I am thankful, then I am more likely to feel better.

Bottom line: We may not be able to make ourselves “go have fun,” but we can choose a frame of mind that puts us in a positive place for fun to happen.

On a personal note, here’s a summary from the Christian Bible that helps me. Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on these things.