The business term, change management, has been around for a good long while. The term relates to “initiating significant change” within an organization’s processes. This change can include anything from altering work culture to embracing diversity to modifying an individual’s work tasks to increasing company morale and loyalty. The goal of “initiating significant change” is solid, but the focus of “change management” or “change agent” is backwards. In this challenging business climate, it takes more than the title of supervisor, manager, or “change agent” to truly lead people in the direction of progress.
I see an important connection between sales, motivation, solid customer care and leadership. All are achieved by effectively positioning ideas, recommendations, solutions, products, services - even ourselves - as Progress in minds of those we wish to inspire to action. All must be positioned as Progress and NOT Change. It is natural to resist change but we embrace Progress. All progress is change but not all change is Progress. The problem with the term “change management” is that no one really desires to change or plans to change. We desire and plan to progress. We do not want managers to manage our change. We want leaders to lead our progress.
Let’s move the focus of “initiating significant change” from "change management" to what it should be: Progress Leadership. Progress leadership means working to understand and communicate how a team member’s personal goals can dovetail with the organization's goals and thus create true commitment that gets the team member to act – because he or she wants to, not because they have to. Progress Leadership means striving to help others find meaning in their work.
In a time of continual transformation, committed business leaders – Progress Agents – should focus on inspiring the progress, not apologizing for the change. Progress Agents don’t just TELL people what to do.
Progress Agents include others in the progress as well as the process.
It is reasons that shape, nourish, and sustain the thoughts that create the actions necessary to reach desired results. As, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of The Little Prince wrote, “If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
Companies are most successful at “initiating significant change” when the reasons to act connect personally with the individual employees making the alteration in behavior. If the reasons don’t connect with the individual, then the planned progress will be viewed as merely change and will be resisted or at least not acted on. Team members may still physically clock in but have often mentally checked out.
Dale Carnegie wrote his classic How to Win Friends and Influence People way back in 1936, and its wisdom is no less true and vibrantly powerful today. The book is packed with insight on leading and building strong relationships by lifting people up, making them feel good, and “spurring people on to success.” Wisely, the book is not called How to Lift People Up and Make Them Feel Good or How to Spur People on to Success. No, Carnegie’s classic is appropriately titled: How to Win Friends and Influence People. And who is doing the winning? It’s you and me, along with the person being lifted up, made to feel good, and spurred on to success (read: influenced and led).
In his book, Mr. Carnegie encourages us to, among other things: Talk in terms of the other person's interests, respect others’ opinions, try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view, and try to make the other person happy about doing the things you suggest. In other words, genuinely care about people and their feelings.
But Mr. Carnegie’s classic does not only encourage us to take these actions for the benefit of the people we are respecting and “making happy.” The book doesn’t even make the argument that it is even morally right to care about people’s feelings (although I am sure Mr. Carnegie would agree that it is). No, the book simply makes the clear case that caring about others’ feelings is good for the person (or company) who cares.
Companies are formed by people (humans) partnering to get their wants and needs met by helping other people (humans) get their wants and needs met. Leaders who do not take the individual into account and do not plan for the human side of Progress often find themselves scratching their heads about where their plans went wrong. Welcome the rise of Progress Leadership!
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