Championing Change
October 14th, 2005 | by EvergreenRotary |Last Friday, October 7, 2005, Tom Athenour visited Evergreen Rotary to talk about “Championing Change”.
Tom is the Co-Founder and Client Services Director of Star Quest Learning Systems, Inc., a group of training and development professionals dedicated to increasing the performance of leaders, managers, and sales professionals within organizations.
In his presentation, he emphasized the importance of three proven concepts in change implementation: (1) Building the Case; (2) Creating the Vision; and (3) Keeping the Momentum.
Building the case for change, he explained, is establishing the reason for the change. You have to make the current situation uncomfortable for people before they are willing to embrace the unknown. It is important to collect historical data and gather evidence to prove that the change is necessary.
After establishing the reason for the change, it is very important to create a vision. He advised Rotarians to paint a compelling “picture” — i.e., to envision what the change will look like when it has been successfully implemented.
The vision should inspire pride and responsibility; supply meaning and emotional energy; as well as motivate people to contribute their full effort to make the change work.
When change has been implemented, it is important to keep the momentum. The key is frequent and repetitive communication.
To illustrate his point, he quoted Patricia A. McLagan in her book ‘Success with Change’: “It is important for managers to find the mental and emotional stamina to keep talking about the same message over and over again.”
Celebrating milestones —such as building in early wins and celebrating small successes, as well as finding and acknowledging effective steps — will also ensure that the momentum is maintained.
Tom also taught Rotarians the “FeedForward” Exercise, an effective practice that requires you to: let go of the past; listen to suggestions without judging; learn as much as you can; help others as much as you can; and be open and learn ways to be more successful.
He concluded his presentation with an insightful quote: “Act differently to think differently.”
Click here to review Tom’s complete presentation.
