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In this article, Niels challenges the common metaphor of change as a “journey” and proposes an alternative perspective of change as an additive process, using the analogy of adding milk to coffee.

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Change is not a journey. Never has been. Trouble is: Change agents around the world have been imagining change as projects, programs, planned exercises to be “kicked off” and “implemented”. We have interpreted change as difficult ventures, endlessly long hikes, and exhaustive trips. No more: Here are 5 key insights into the true nature of change, and into how to create profound, transformational change, effortlessly and fast. Sounds impossible? Then check out these concepts for a more constructive and robust alternative to change management, or planned change, as you know it.

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Insight 1. Change is not a journey – instead, it is constant flipping

The most widely used metaphors of change are related to that of a journey from the current state (often labeled ‘status quo’) to the desired state (a.k.a. ‘vision’). The desired state, in this metaphor, is seen as a place out there in the future. Or as a north star – never quite to be reached. We tend to believe change-as-a-journey has to be long and arduous. That it is hard and dangerous. Consequently, armed with delusional maps, project plans, or blueprints, we embark on what we imagine will be a long and difficult journey. We start to foresee all sorts of obstacles – that don’t actually exist, as we will see later in this article. But we find ourselves believing the milestones we invented are real, and get anxious when they don’t appear on the horizon.

This approach misrepresents change as a “controllable process” composed of a sequence of discrete stages, phases or steps; and it deludes us into thinking we have to make a map for getting from the current state of affairs to the desired state. So this approach also trivializes change. We call this approach Planned Change. This is what we commonly think change management is all about: planning and controlling the change journey. The journey metaphor tricks us into ignoring the possibility that the desired change might be accomplished quickly, with little effort, right now, with existing resources and with minimal disruption. The metaphor itself makes change hard.

“Profound transformation never takes more than 2 years – independent if it´s about an organization with 20 people, or 200.000.” 

Now, spill a tiny bit of milk into coffee, and with this tiny nudge a new pattern is instantly being created. It’s altogether different from the original one, pure coffee, and the change is permanent. there is no way of returning to the first pattern. This is much more similar to what change actually is than calling change a journey.

“Change is like adding milk to coffee.” 

This is a more helpful metaphor than the widespread notion of seeing change as a “journey from here to there”. It means to see change as a something of a flip from Now (the current state) to New (the desired state). What is important: Both Now and New are in the present, not in the future. The New can be produced right here, right now. Profound change, different than problem solving, requires a sequence of flips. Or many flips.

“Profound change means sequenced flipping the system from Now to New – right here, right now. A thousand times or more.” 

Insight 2. There is no such thing as Resistance to Change – only smart response to dumb method

The man who invented Resistance in Change is Kurt Lewin, one of my heroes. Lewin, the brilliant founder of social psychology and of organizational change as such, introduced the term resistance as a systems concept: as a force affecting managers and employees equally. Unfortunately, only the terminology, but not the context, was popularized. We now cast resistance as a psychological, individualized issue, personalizing it as “employees versus managers”.

In this mental model, it is always the others. Employees “resist”, top management “isn´t committed”. We judge others saying things like: “They have an interest in preserving the status quo.“ The They is very important, of course. The resistance assumption is implicitly arrogant. As long as we accept this mental model, it confuses our understanding of change dynamics, perpetuates the status quo and command-and-control organization. It´s better to let go of the term and embrace more helpful mental models for change.

So let´s give it a try:

“People don´t resist change.” 

Can you say that to yourself, in your head? Now that is a start. But what is behind the behavior, then, that we are observing all the time, in change efforts, if it is not resistance to change? Take a step back and you will see that people act consciously and intelligently (overall), to other things than the change itself. They may resist loss of status and power – which is quite intelligent. They may resist injustice, stupidity and being changed. Which is also intelligent. The change may also cause need for learning that is not properly addressed. And these are the things that we have to deal with in change: power structures, status, injustice, consequence, our own stupidity, top-down command-and-control, and learning.

“The more resistance to change you observe, the more likely it is that your methods suck.” 

Instead of watching out for the possibility of resistance, we should watch out for common mistakes in implementing change and deal with the perfectly natural reactions to (our) poor interventions.

Let me be clear: The notion that people resist change is not held up by social sciences. It is actually completely opposed to our scientific knowledge about human capability to change (Alan Deutschman wrote a wonderful, summarizing book about this). But It is a fairy-tale that people resist change. There are symptoms of struggle with adaption and the new that should not be confused with resistance to the change itself. Once you start with kind of projection, the trouble really starts. We generally tend to have a hard time imagining future possibilities, though. This is why any change effort will have to deal with the need for imaginization, or visioning.

Insight 3. The problem is in the system – almost always

If resistance does not come from people, then where does it reside? Resistance is much more likely to be found elsewhere. Edwards W. Deming said: “94% of the problems in business are system-driven and only 6% are people-driven.” Which means: If the problem is in the system, almost always, then change should mostly be about working the system.

Removing obstacles in the system to promote profound change is clearly easier than introducing entirely new features, rituals or memes within a system. This is what makes organizational hygiene such a compelling idea. But whether you are removing something, or introducing something new while flipping from Now to New: Making changes effectively in organizations requires specific, targeted action – not blaming. Which means: If the anticipated change will result in the loss of status by some employees, then we must develop strategies for dealing with the loss of status. Likewise, if the change will result in the loss of jobs, that issue must be dealt with. If the change will result in the need for learning, then let´s take care of that. If the change will come at a cost, then there should be space for emotions and mourning. Labeling these difficult, real-life problems as resistance to change only impedes the change effort. Resistance then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Put differently:

“Change done well does not produce losers. Only consequences.”

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The full article was written by Niels Pflaeging originally posted here.

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