Essentials To Success in Change

Seven Essentials To Ensure Success In Change

Seven Essentials To Ensure Success In Change is about changing our Behavior– the most challenging and difficult kind of change to make, but also the most rewarding – in many ways. We are not dealing with the act of acquiring something – hundreds of millions of dollars worth of exercise equipment is gathering dust because the people that bought the equipment did not follow through with goals, action, persistence and determination to make real differences in their behavior.

The Four Stages of Change

These four stages occur in every successful change initiative - from losing ten pounds, to the adoption of new ways of doing business, to working with a new boss or new owners. Remember them and use them for your success.

Stage One – Enthusiasm – This stage is characterized by high energy, commitment, high expectations and aggressive goals. This is the stage driven by opportunity and the commitment to meeting aggressive goals.

Stage Two – Frustration – This stage is characterized by a reduction in enthusiasm, frustration with dates and goals missed or delayed, the beginning of friction and blaming, the stage where energy declines and initial commitment is questioned.

Stage Three – Renewal – This is the stage where the lessons of the first two stages help create an experience - based set of goals and expectations that lead to success. This is where individual leadership and determination and persistence take center stage and create a renewed energy and commitment.

Stage Four– Success –In this stage success becomes the norm rather than the exception. Goals are being met; the lessons learned from the first two stages are being applied; and things are looking good. Celebration of big successes arising from small successes begins. Evaluation of the process for use in future projects occurs.

Seven Essentials To Ensure Success In Change

The following Essentials are the behaviors that will ensure success for you in any change process or project or initiative. They are not easy – but working to adopt these behaviors will create success for you.

Essential #1 – Persistence and determination – nothing will support personal and professional change more than your own determination to see the process to its successful end – and your persistence to “Press On” through all four stages.

Essential #2 – Choice - while many changes are beyond our control, we always, and I mean always, have the freedom to choose how we will deal with and respond to change. This is the most important belief you can have – how you act and respond is up to you. To the extent that you embrace change and accept it and see it as being helpful to you, you will prosper – in many ways.

Essential #3 – Set yourself up to succeed. Big successes start with a series of small successes. The big picture may be fuzzy, but you can establish goals and expectations for yourself that will lead you toward success. In setting up realistic, time measured, specific, results driven goals we can celebrate small successes on the way to big success. It is essential for our own energy and motivation to do that.

Essential #4 – Replace judging behavior with evaluation of results. Judging is one of the worst behaviors we can practice. Why? As individuals we share the same behavior profile with no more than 10% to 20% of the population. When we judge others based on behavior, we are judging based on how we would do something, not how others may do it, and we stand the chance of being wrong 80% to 90% of the time!! Create a results - driven climate to help ensure evaluation is based on performance to goals and expectations.

Essential #5 – Replace assumptions with expectations. Just like judging based on behavior, we will be wrong about 80% to 90% of the time if we assume that others hear things the same way we do, or see them the same way, or interpret them the same way . Create expectations – communicate them – or communicate your understanding of them – and clear away a lot of the “fog” that gets in the way of creating the results necessary for success.

Essential #6 – Communicate – communicate – communicate. When you think you have communicated enough, communicate some more. Identify the “universe” of people that you work with; that you work for; that work for you; that support your work; and whose work you support. Create channels of communication with all of them. The more trust you create through communication with your “universe”, the more time you will have to meet your goals and the goals of your organization.

Essential #7 – ACT!!! All the plans and communications and intentions mean nothing if you do not act to meet requirements. Act today – keep your head in today – accomplish goals today, and you will be successful.

Remember this: The only security any of us have – individually, professionally or collectively, is in our own accomplishments. The more we embrace change and make it work for us, the more opportunities for accomplishment will be offered to us, and those accomplishments are our greatest source of success and security.