Change or Transformation is a matter of vision allied to nuts & bolts. Too often organisations fail to understand their own operation, are unclear on what the bigger goal is, cannot see how to change the way they work, and end up changing the manager in the hope that the new manager can do what they themselves cannot.
- Part of both having a vision and ‘understanding the nuts & bolts’ is the experience and credibility that comes with experience. In the days of LinkedIn the first thing the team will do when they know of you will look up your profile.
- That sense of credibility will be enhanced if you listen to what people say, if you encourage, mentor & guide their thoughts and if you empower them by backing their decisions. Whether you are an operator, supervisor or junior manager in the manufacturing sector, or maybe even a member of a church congregation, being told ‘OK let’s try it’ frees the team to suggest more. When they hear ‘no, I don’t think so’ it curbs innovation and cuts communication.
- Ultimately change will result if/when people accept and running with new ideas. The usual approach of changing titles & offices, painting lines on the floor and creating new reporting protocols looks nice, it’s is often what consultants peddle, but makes no difference in the end.
- Start with a vision that makes sense and holds water.
- Then work on the details of how to realise that vision – the nuts & bolts.
- Getting THOSE basics right and you’ll have effective change.
Anything else is more a question of moving deckchairs on the Titanic.