VitalSign: Forcing Change

Dear EQ Ally,

First, I'd like to take a moment to note the tragedy in our country -- I am horrified by the news about the shootings at Virginia Tech; I can barely imagine how awful this must be for those families and friends. All these circles of life sundered by senseless brutality.

I am also afraid that we, our society and world, will let this slide by as yet another set of statistics. What will it take for us to get serious about raising healthy people and healthy communities?

How do we start? I suggest that starting right now, this minute, this hour, we could each interact just a little differently and this would yield a massive change.
The brutality in Virginia is a symptom of a larger issue, and it's tied to a way of seeing and keeping power and prestige; a paradigm of force=right. While we don't go killing others, the vast majority of us use this same paradigm as leaders, parents, lovers, and friends -- we hold ourselves "right over" others. This month's VitalSign is about the failure of this paradigm in leading change.

VitalSign: Forcing Change

Change Works... Sometimes. The difference is people - and how they are led.
When the stakes are high, life and death for the people or the company, change will happen - right? Fast Company senior writer Alan Deutschman was surprised that the answer is "no." He was attending a conference on the future of healthcare where the dean of Johns Hopkins talked about what happens to cardiac patients when they're told to "change or die." Only 10% do.
The incident led to an in-depth analysis of individual and organizational change with a startling conclusion: While change is possible, the usual approach doesn't work.

While the notion that people won't even change in a "Change or Die" situation sounds bleak, Deutschman isn't: "We're change machines. We improvise, we adapt, we overcome. And normally we do very well with change. It's just an issue when people or organizations get stuck. When we've tried the solutions that we know, the supposed solutions again and again, they keep failing. At these times, we can change but we need to learn from other people."

The real challenge isn't change, but the "conventional wisdom" that change requires the Three Fs: Force, Facts, and Fear. He points back to the heart patients - where even a doctor's expertise, extensive medical information, and the fear of death are not motivating. "You can't just tell people that they need to change. You can't try to just scare them. And you can't try to force them by relying on the moral authority of your position or expertise."

Most business culture is steeped in the exercise of positional power and the control of facts. We constantly hear messages that need to conform, “or else,” and if we want to propose change we will only convince people with hard facts. Yet if you accept Deutschman's conclusion (and it's hard not to given the evidence in his new book, Change or Die) we have to turn all that tradition on it's ear and recognize a fundamental truth: People are not logical.

To become more aware of this dynamic in your leadership and in your organization, try this 3F test: For two work days, count how many times you and other leaders rely one of the Fs in communicating priorities:

•Facts: The case will be made based on data only - leading through the spreadsheet.

•Force: Leaders will use words like “drive,” “push,” “demand,” or “nail” reinforcing the notion they have the power to “make it happen.”

•Fear: Either veiled (“you better not go there…”) or explicit (“this won't look good in your jacket”) threats will be made to reinforce the leaders' position.

Email me an let me know how many incidents you track in two days. I suspect that if you see less than 50 you're either working alone or in an exceptional workplace.
In an extensive interview about Change or Die, Deutschman and I discussed the hope for change - it's available here from 6seconds.org and you can download a PDF.

Warmly yours,

Joshua Freedman
Director, Six Seconds Consulting Group
Director of Programs, Six Seconds EQ Network