3 tips for creating momentum by changing the physical things
Imagine you are a leader who wants to transform a culture. How can you show that working life is going be different? One approach is to learn from individuals who ‘change’ their lives. People can think about change for years, but the first steps often begin on a physical level. They take care of their body, start running, move house, or whatever. Physical change leads to psychological change - they feel better - which reinforces the philosophical change. Let’s explore how you can follow similar steps to transform a culture - ‘the way we do things around here’.
* You can change the physical things.
Physical changes set the tone. But they must be followed by deeper changes if you are serious about transforming a culture. ‘Re-branding’ by changing the airline’s colours, for example, means nothing unless there are deeper changes. Start by making physical changes for the employees - beginning with the hygiene factors. Pay the market rate, improve the building and give them the tools to do the job.
“Three years ago I took over a company that was in the dark ages,” said one leader. “So we modernised the entrance, gave the receptionists smart uniforms, displayed our products in the reception area, put in proper coffee bars, installed wireless and gutted the office. Previously it had been ‘open plan’, full of 90’s style ‘chicken run’ desks, with little privacy. Stress and sickness were at an all time high. Redesigning the office, we got the balance between public and private spaces so people can talk or do creative work. Several Atrium areas are constantly occupied by people working or having informal meetings. They are also encouraged to work from home on Fridays. Customers now use our offices for their meetings, productivity has improved and the changes paid for themselves within one year.”
People believe what they see, not what they hear. Actions speak louder than words. Change the physical things, then move onto the next step.
* You can change the psychological things.
Create a winning feeling. When taking over a failing football team, for example, I organised a pre-season tournament with some top name clubs - teams they had only previously dreamt of playing. At the same time, however, we organised the group stages so that our club had a good chance of reaching the semi-finals. The team achieved this goal, got a medal and boosted their self-confidence. The Board were impressed and granted extra funds for buying more new players. Here are some ideas for shifting the psychological state in a culture.
Communicate the company’s road map for achieving its picture of perfection. People enjoy having a sense of direction - they like a ‘plan’. Put the road map in place where people can see it everyday - such as on their screen saver. Give people ownership for implementing their part of the strategy. Encourage them to get some early successes. Publicise these successes in, for example, a newsletter called ‘weekly wins’. Reward the behaviour you want repeated. Promote people who live the values you want in the future culture. Spend time with the positive people. Don’t pay people who choose not to opt-into the new culture. Recruit new people who show the drive required to reach the team’s destination.
* You can change the philosophical things.
Great leaders harness people’s energy towards achieving a compelling goal. They tap into peoples’ aspirations - be it to gain freedom, deliver great customer service or create a pioneering product. Keep communicating the picture of perfection - which is the ‘What’. Remind people of the ‘Why’ - the benefits, both for themselves and the ‘customers’. Start meetings by highlighting steps that have been taken towards the goal in the past week. Show people how the philosophy is working in practice.
Why is it succeeding? They are doing something ‘physically’ different. They have changed the physical things to change the psychological things to change the philosophical things. They are changing ‘the way we do things around here.’
* You can change the physical things.
Physical changes set the tone. But they must be followed by deeper changes if you are serious about transforming a culture. ‘Re-branding’ by changing the airline’s colours, for example, means nothing unless there are deeper changes. Start by making physical changes for the employees - beginning with the hygiene factors. Pay the market rate, improve the building and give them the tools to do the job.
“Three years ago I took over a company that was in the dark ages,” said one leader. “So we modernised the entrance, gave the receptionists smart uniforms, displayed our products in the reception area, put in proper coffee bars, installed wireless and gutted the office. Previously it had been ‘open plan’, full of 90’s style ‘chicken run’ desks, with little privacy. Stress and sickness were at an all time high. Redesigning the office, we got the balance between public and private spaces so people can talk or do creative work. Several Atrium areas are constantly occupied by people working or having informal meetings. They are also encouraged to work from home on Fridays. Customers now use our offices for their meetings, productivity has improved and the changes paid for themselves within one year.”
People believe what they see, not what they hear. Actions speak louder than words. Change the physical things, then move onto the next step.
* You can change the psychological things.
Create a winning feeling. When taking over a failing football team, for example, I organised a pre-season tournament with some top name clubs - teams they had only previously dreamt of playing. At the same time, however, we organised the group stages so that our club had a good chance of reaching the semi-finals. The team achieved this goal, got a medal and boosted their self-confidence. The Board were impressed and granted extra funds for buying more new players. Here are some ideas for shifting the psychological state in a culture.
Communicate the company’s road map for achieving its picture of perfection. People enjoy having a sense of direction - they like a ‘plan’. Put the road map in place where people can see it everyday - such as on their screen saver. Give people ownership for implementing their part of the strategy. Encourage them to get some early successes. Publicise these successes in, for example, a newsletter called ‘weekly wins’. Reward the behaviour you want repeated. Promote people who live the values you want in the future culture. Spend time with the positive people. Don’t pay people who choose not to opt-into the new culture. Recruit new people who show the drive required to reach the team’s destination.
* You can change the philosophical things.
Great leaders harness people’s energy towards achieving a compelling goal. They tap into peoples’ aspirations - be it to gain freedom, deliver great customer service or create a pioneering product. Keep communicating the picture of perfection - which is the ‘What’. Remind people of the ‘Why’ - the benefits, both for themselves and the ‘customers’. Start meetings by highlighting steps that have been taken towards the goal in the past week. Show people how the philosophy is working in practice.
Why is it succeeding? They are doing something ‘physically’ different. They have changed the physical things to change the psychological things to change the philosophical things. They are changing ‘the way we do things around here.’
You can find more ideas on this theme - together with how to build super teams - at:
http://www.thestrengthsway.com
posted by Mike Pegg at
18:40
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