Who Killed Change?: Solving the Mystery of Leading People Through Change - Ken Blanchard

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his job well, he would reinforce the behaviors that drive Culture. McNally had worked enough cases to know that there was always some gap between espoused values and the day-to-day behaviors of people in that organization. At this place, he suspected it was more of a wide gulf than a small gap. Surmising that Culture was not going to take any responsibility for the disparity, McNally changed tactics.

      “Any idea who killed Change?” he asked.

      “Not a clue,” Culture responded immediately.

      “But surely,” McNally coaxed, “with your long history here and the long hours you put in and with your obvious influence on the organization, you must have some idea of who didn’t like Change—someone who wanted to get Change out of the way.”

      “You flatter me, Agent McNally. Yes, I’ve been around a long time and I do work a lot of hours. I would like to think that I have had, and still have, some influence on this organization. But I still can’t tell you who killed Change.”

      Again McNally found himself leaning forward, mesmerized by the honeyed tone of Culture’s voice.

      There was a long pause. Then Culture asked, “Anything else?”

      “No, I think that’s about it. Where can I find you if I have more questions?” he asked.

      “Oh, I’ll be around,” she said.

      Again McNally thought he caught a glimpse of a smile. He looked down to consult his notes to see who was next on the list. He looked up and began, “Thank you for your—”

      But Culture was gone. He looked behind him and the door was closed. He had not heard it open or shut. With some embarrassment, he actually pulled his chair back and looked under the conference table. Nothing. No one was there.

      That’s just downright eerie, he thought. Just downright eerie.

       Suspect #2: Commitment

      CHASE Commitment was the next to appear in the interrogation room. With an earnest face, Commitment smiled at Agent McNally, shook his hand and sat down.

      McNally opened with “Thank you for meeting me. As you know, I am investigating Change’s death. Would you mind telling me a little about yourself?”

      “My pleasure,” replied Commitment. “Certainly, like most people here, I wear several hats. My main focus, however, is to create buy-in for the Changes we employ here.” He stopped and eagerly looked at McNally.

      “So tell me more. Can you tell me how you work with leadership here in regard to Change?”

      “Happy to,” answered Commitment with a smile. “I’m not sure who you have interviewed so far and I wouldn’t want to ‘steal their thunder,’ as they say. I can tell you that I have learned a lot from the Changes we’ve had here over the years. The greatest lesson I’ve learned is that our employees have fairly predictable concerns when we introduce a new Change. If we don’t respond to those concerns, the success of Change drops dramatically. When Change is first introduced, everybody seems to need more information. They want to hear why they need Change. I work with Ernest Urgency on that. They also have personal concerns—who wouldn’t wonder if they’ll win or lose when someone announces a Change? Whether leadership likes it or not, employees don’t buy in to a Change until they understand how it might affect them. Don’t you see, Agent McNally, that if we get at these concerns and address them, we are more likely to gain employee support? Again, that’s my job.”

      McNally felt Commitment’s passion. In fact, he could envision Commitment on stage behind a podium delivering a motivation speech, his audience in reverent attention.

      Commitment continued, “We must be able to create a picture of the Change and help our people see what it will look like. I need Victoria Vision for that. And doesn’t it make sense that we should let some of our people be involved in the decision making about Change? I lean on Spence Sponsorship and Pecs for that.”

      “Pecs?” McNally asked.

      “You’ll meet him later, I’m sure. Everybody knows Pecs. Anyway, after Change has been here a while, our employees wonder whether or not Change can really be integrated. Perry Plan should be involved. Terry Trainer should be doing some training, and Isabella Incentive should provide the encouragement.”

      Commitment stood up and began pacing, palms and eyes raised to the ceiling as if speaking to a higher authority. “Eventually, employees have concerns about whether everyone will be able to truly work together. It’s here that I need you more than ever, Peter Performance Management and Aidan Accountability.”

      McNally found himself looking around to see if someone had entered the room. Nobody had.

      Head and hands down now, Commitment walked back to his chair and sat down. McNally noticed that the suspect was sweating profusely. He grabbed a bottle of water and placed it in front of Commitment.

      “Wow, as I was listening to you just now, I felt as though I was listening to a sermon,” McNally replied. “But despite all your passion, I couldn’t help thinking that your colleagues might not be totally on board with the lessons you have learned about Change.”

      Commitment’s expression told McNally that he was having an internal debate as to how much information he wanted to share. Finally, Commitment said, “We’re a bit dysfunctional here.”

      McNally used silence to urge Commitment to continue.

      “It’s funny you said ‘sermon’ earlier,” Commitment continued at last, “because that pretty much sums up what I feel like I’m doing here—preaching. The congregation—made up of leaders and managers—comes every Sunday. They smile, nod, shake my hand and then go out and behave any way they want Monday through Saturday. Academically, they understand that people are much more likely to buy in to a Change when they are involved in the planning and have an opportunity to influence decisions. The leaders and managers are just not, may I say, committed to consistently applying the knowledge. And they fool themselves into thinking our employees don’t see what’s going on.”

      Commitment looked exhausted. This was odd, considering that McNally had heard Commitment was typically full of energy and enthusiasm. “One more question,” McNally said. “Do you know who might have killed Change?”

      “I truly don’t,” replied Commitment earnestly. “It’s hard for me to believe that people wouldn’t be committed to Change given what he was trying to do.”

      Once again they shook hands, and Commitment left the room.

       Reflections on Culture and Commitment

      TAKING a break from the interviews, McNally stepped outside the office, lit a cigar and thought about what he had learned from Culture and Commitment. He wrote in his notebook some ideas about what he’d learned.

      CULTURE

      While Culture could readily recite the formal organizational values that were displayed on posters throughout the organization, she wasn’t really in tune:

       She did not understand the real values of the organization—the predominant attitudes, beliefs and behavior patterns that characterized the organization.

       When there is a disconnect between stated values and the way an organization actually operates, the values posted on the wall are disregarded. Employees become skeptical, even cynical, about leaders who say one thing and do another. The real culture and values always speak louder than the stated ones. Change would have been better off spending his time trying to understand and align himself with the real culture and values of ACME

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