Change Roles

Any change that is happens on a team seems to elicit a bell curve response. 20% will champion the cause and leap into the change effort with full engagement. 20% will challenge, resist or actively disengage. 60% will hang out with caution on an invisible fence waiting to see what happens or move back and forth between champions and challengers.

While all choices are valid and have wisdom (the champions are often energetic path finders, the challengers strong tradition holders and cautionary great road builders), it's interesting that leaders tend to focus most of their energy, attention and effort on the dissatisfied and wonder why change efforts fail or take so long.

If you want to inspire productive change (and keep your star players in the process) experiment with another strategy. Enable the champions to rock and roll. Identify ways to get the fence sitters moving from indifference to engagement. Set clear expectations and firewalls for the actively disengaged.

Address the key questions on everyone's mind - What is it? Why is it important? Can I do it? Do I want to? Include team members in the process and be clear what decisions they can and cannot influence. Then keep your attention on those willing to explore or move with the change.

Those who cannot adjust will become disturbers, leave or be fired. Once the majority is enrolled most of the rest will follow (by inspiration not fear)!