In a recent conversation with a colleague at a consulting company where I partner, we discussed change and how limited the processes are for dealing with the period of transition which is between the change and the new beginning.

As we all know “the only constant in the universe is change”. However most of us want things to stay the same or constant and so we resist change.

If we can initiate a mindset of the Transition as an exciting and creative period, our perspective will change, as will the success of innovation and new initiatives.

As a consultant I have worked with many companies who are engaged in acquisition, merger and reorganization. The stages of transition outlined in William Bridges’ book, Managing Transitions, Making the most of Change, introduce some practical mindsets and actions that make change have a positive transition period that will increase the success of the new beginning.

Change is situational, transition is psychological.

The stages of change and transition are: 

1. The intentional ending phase where we stop doing things the old way and recognize that letting go of the old to make room for the new is important.
2. Transitional Neutral Zone where innovations, new processes and enhanced perspectives can occur.
3. New Beginning vs. New Start.

There are three crucial things to remember to allow change to create a positive environment.

1. The change itself is something that is a given. Often people are expected to move forward without having let go of the previous way. I am sure you have seen organizations move forward with a change without taking the time to let go of the old way, or clarifying what will remain the same and what is going away. A good example of this is a company acquisition; change exists for both the company that is bought, as well as for the acquiring company. Discussions about what will be different are important, with the recognition that some of the old processes will disappear. Often change is only couched as a positive without the recognition that letting go of what has been the norm is a process that is necessary to bring forward new positive behaviors.
2. The second stage, which can be the most neglected, is what Bridges calls the Transitional or the Neutral Stage during which the adjustment to the new takes place. It is important that the recognition of this essential stage be given time and priority for adjustments to take place. This can be a time of innovation and the development of new perspectives that will enable a successful new beginning.
3. The third stage is the New Beginning which is greater than just a new start. The new beginning includes new perspectives and new practical tools that will be used to leverage the change. This follows the opportunity to realistically let go of the old processes and use the transition period for discovery and for innovation that may not have taken place otherwise.

Change management is a skill; however, the how-to for that skill can be learned and implemented if it is given time and priority. Giving an organization the opportunity to recognize the three stages of managing change, and to enable the transition throughout, is an essential first step in creating new reference points for new behavior.

Do you have a question, challenge, or success you would like to share? Please be sure to leave a comment. I would enjoy hearing from you! – Patricia

Purpose, Values, Brand Promise and the BHAG create the foundation of strategy and execution, which of course is driven by the people in the company. In the past, and currently in some businesses, the process of creating roles, job descriptions and skill-sets has left out the most important aspect of employee success within your business.

Today, on the eve of the New Year, I am encouraging you to take a different approach to your hiring process. Consider the qualities you are looking for in a candidate, and make those qualities the most important aspect in hiring new employees. In a recent newsletter published by Gazelles International Coaches, they highlighted an article in Harvard Business Review, “How Southwest Airlines Hires Such Dedicated People”. The Southwest Airlines premise is that “we talk about hiring not for skills but for three attributes, a warrior spirit (that is desire to excel, act with courage, persevere and innovate); a servant’s heart (the ability to put others first, treat everyone with respect and proactively serve customers); and a fun loving attitude (passion, joy and an aversion to taking oneself too seriously).”

The following attributes correspond to a list developed from Jim Collins and through Gazelles International Coaches. The definitions are based on my experience with leadership teams and on the descriptions I have developed for these qualities that are essential in hiring for success.

1. Will –  which would include success, focus on solutions, accountability and the willingness to do what it takes to achieve goals on a daily basis.
2. Values – matching core values to the values and culture of the organization.
3. Results – clearly knowing what the results expected of the role are as well as what qualities are essential in the individual to achieve results.
4. Skills – last on the list because these can be coached and trained.

I’ve talked a lot about Top Grading as a way to look at the leaders, managers and staff within your organization, and I’ve found it to be a very helpful tool in the hiring process. (For more information on Top Grading I recommend Brad Smart’s Book, “Top Grading (How to Hire, Coach and Keep A-Players”) The most important aspect of the book I’d like to highlight for the purpose of this article is seeing how A-players, B-players, and C-players are described and how you can use the system practically to create an A-player corporation:

An A-player is high in performance and in demonstrating core values. A B-player is high in core values but lower in performance, a B/C-player is high in performance and low in demonstrating the values, and a C-player is low in both.

There are challenges and methods for bringing B and C-Players up to the A level: B players can be coached for better performance and demonstration of core values; B/C players need to be warned about bringing up the demonstration of core values; and C-players may have to be let go unless there is immediate and significant improvement. But spending time to encourage and bring up performance and core value awareness and action must have a limit so that results can be achieved.  Avoid the C-player trap which is defined as spending an inordinate amount of time trying to bring that person up and often neglecting the expansion and challenge for A players.

Recently, during a Leadership Team Workshop, I  worked with a team  of leaders using this process to help them define the performance and value demonstration of their teams, and gain a clearer idea of how to proceed for better results. They found the process extremely valuable as it gave them a precise road map for creating greater success, accountability and cultural strength within the organization and alignment in their teams.

So, again, I strongly encourage you to incorporate the Top Grading process into your hiring and strategic planning process for the New Year to create greater results for your organization in 2016. In the meantime, I’ll be continuing the discussion in future articles, so please stay tuned.

As always, if you have a question, challenge, or success story you would like to share, please be sure to leave a comment. I would enjoy hearing from you! – Patricia

Would you like to join a leadership class to discuss and to learn more about Topgrading and its implementation for your organization? If you are interested contact me to learn more about the format and results that are possible.

Now many see that meetings are the core of successful implementation or execution of strategic planning. Both of these areas can be done more successfully by setting priorities and giving teams the ability to communicate, set up accountability, and problem solve with greater trust.

The essential component of business growth and success is the Health of the Executive Leadership Team which cascades down into the business no matter how large the company. Meeting Rhythms are an effective way to promote a healthy company culture and ongoing awareness of priorities within the organization, which is essential to moving business goals and business growth forward.

Meeting rhythms encompass the course of a full year, and are positioned as an important part of the overall business strategy and flow. Below are the recommended meetings to include in your company rhythm , from daily huddles to the annual meeting. Some may already be a part of your execution culture, some may not. The important thing to remember is that team cohesiveness at all levels is vital to the process.

Daily Huddles: these meetings typically start the day, and are held with everyone standing (who is able), and last 15 minutes or less. Daily huddles must have a specific agenda:

• What’s Up for you related to today
• What is the top priority for the day
• Am I stuck

Weekly Team Meetings for focus and collaboration: The weekly meeting should be held at the same time each week. Most organizations hold them either at the start of the week to set the stage for a productive week ahead, or at the end of the week, to serve as a recap of the week’s activities and performance. This is an opportunity to gather brain power to discuss strategically issues and solutions. This is also an opportunity for the leader to spend time with the team encouraging team relationships.

Monthly Meetings include front-line, middle and senior management and focus on strategic discussion and collaboration on issues and solutions, and further learning. They can be half or full day.

Quarterly Meetings: These are typically held offsite for one day to encourage uninterrupted focus on action planning and review of the yearly strategic plan.

Annual Meeting: This is typically held offsite as well for up to two days and includes review and strategy of the plan for the upcoming year.

The term Meeting Rhythms is used because the successful implementation comes from making the above meeting structure a part of everyday work patterns.

In my last article, Are you Thinking and Planning or Just Doing, I mentioned the basic foundations of strategy; Core Values and Purpose, along with Brand Promise and knowing your Core Customer. In all meetings, except the huddle, it is a good idea to review your organization’ values, purpose and brand promise, or have them visible. This way the foundation of your business is always present in each meeting as the planning and review are done.

Huddles and Weekly meetings provide opportunity to build trust and to correct difficult interaction issues. When things are left unspoken they tend to grow. However, adopting the business practice of regularly scheduled time together can help teams lift above their emotional reactions that stop progress, and bring them back into focus. Meeting rhythm creates consistency, which in turn, creates greater trust, and comfort in accountability.

You can find more information on Meeting Rhythm in Verne Harnish’s book, Scaling Up, How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t.

Do you have a question, challenge, or success you would like to share? Please be sure to leave a comment. I would enjoy hearing from you! – Patricia

I started writing this post on Monday and decided to share the process of living through and with Hurricane Sandy in New York where life as all know it has changed. New ways of thinking and arranging have come forward for all of those affected. I have written this from Monday through Wednesday as I moved through my process of acceptance and new arrangements for traveling:

Today is Monday, I find myself sitting out the super storm in New York City. It’s the afternoon and we are awaiting the landfall which continues to be predicted at an earlier as the speed of the hurricane accelerates.

The predicted path of the storm is being followed almost perfectly. It is amazing how technology can work so well even though the predictions were not what I had hoped. My wish was that the storm would stay in a straight path East out into the ocean instead of making the predicted left turn into the central Atlantic states. But here in New York the winds continue to build and there is no exit until the storm passes and we can begin the business of traveling again.

Since I last wrote I have completed the Global Institute of Leadership Development and once again was very happy to meet the leaders with whom I coached and consulted. The variety of situations I became involved with was amazing from a large hospital and medical school to one of the top executives in an international wine business.

As I spoke to these leaders, I was gratified to see how many of them were focused on the people within their organizations and the importance of collaboration and teamwork. However, I am becoming more and more convinced that the new culture needs to develop from the top down so that everyone has “permission” to step up to greater expression, empowerment and leadership.

For example, I had the opportunity last week to participate with a team in a pre-strategic planning exercise. Once again I saw a process where engagement can be created so that strategy will be implemented. There was discomfort, however, when the facilitators of the group did not provide a meeting structure, even though the processes for arriving at strategy and implementation were clearly outlined.

It is interesting to note that we often have left it to someone else to tell us what direction to follow. Yet when we are given the opportunity to create direction and focus do we take it or do we defer? How often do we complain about a situation rather than creating a solution and presenting that?

These are important questions and challenges that many organizations face, which our Strategic Planning Process addresses, outlined here on the Bridging Associates website, and helps leaders empower their teams to create direction rather than wait for it.

Wednesday: The storm has finally moved out of the area. However, the damage and changes to the infrastructure have kept most of the travelers here, including me. After several cancellation disappointments I have secured a flight out of New York and have been able to check in. I will fly home tomorrow through several cities to reach my final destination, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

As I wait, I continue to reflect on the opportunities I have created in my own business and the expansion in my thinking, and how my experience relates to what I call the new business paradigm that requires a restructuring of mindset regarding success and the use of essential collaboration to achieve results.

Take a look at the Strategic Planning Process on the website. If you have time, it would be great to hear your comments on the blog site or via e-mail about how your experience has required creative thinking and a change in mindset to accomplish the goals for leadership and innovative practices in your organization.

Sending a special message of safety and healing for those of you on the East Coast.