‘Switch’ is a very good book about managing change, with an elegant framework that can be very helpful if you, like most leaders, are in the midst of transition. My contention is that every business is going through some kind of change at any given time.
I’ve written in my previous letter about change being ever-present and bubbling away, even if the visible aspects of this change are not yet noticeable. For context, the changes that we’ve identified and which we help our clients navigate at Lockstep are as follows:
I’ve written in my previous letter about change being ever-present and bubbling away, even if the visible aspects of this change are not yet noticeable. For context, the changes that we’ve identified and which we help our clients navigate at Lockstep are as follows:
Renewal
Businesses that have lost their mojo
Pivot
Radical change owing to failure
Expansion
Rapid growth
Merger
Two distinct entities coming together
Rationalisation
Forced contractions
Elevation
New and higher ambition
This is the Switch framework:
1. Direct the ‘riders’
Metaphorically, the ‘rider’ means the rationale that underpins the reason behind the change process. The business case.
2. Motivate the ‘elephant’
The ‘elephant’ refers to the collective emotions of your people who are being asked to change.
3. Shape the path
And the ’path’ refers to the sequenced steps a business needs to make to effect the change.
The brutal truth of change is that behaviours need to be changed, and behaviours are typically very sticky. Hence, the need for a clever process to drive this behaviour change.
The rider is, seemingly, in command, pulling the reins left and right. However, the might of the elephant (i.e. the emotions of a business) ultimately overwhelms the rider on account of their collective power.
Hence, there is a need to manage both. Once both are in line, the pathway forward is made clear for broad understanding and buy-in.
The learning here is this: all three dimensions are in play – the thinking, the emotions and the pathway – and most aren’t adequately taken into account. And if I were pushed to highlight the most neglected of the three, it’s the emotions of a business – the elephant.
The rider is, seemingly, in command, pulling the reins left and right. However, the might of the elephant (i.e. the emotions of a business) ultimately overwhelms the rider on account of their collective power.
Hence, there is a need to manage both. Once both are in line, the pathway forward is made clear for broad understanding and buy-in.
The learning here is this: all three dimensions are in play – the thinking, the emotions and the pathway – and most aren’t adequately taken into account. And if I were pushed to highlight the most neglected of the three, it’s the emotions of a business – the elephant.
All change processes need a story to shape these emotions – a narrative that excites, guides, encourages, and placates. This is where the storytelling aspect of leadership comes into play: the ability to articulate a change process in a way that wins broad buy-in from a body of employees. These followers need something like a story to believe in and get behind. Their day-to-day endeavours are micro by nature and keep them in the weeds, making change efforts challenging to land.
A story appeals to a different aspect of these people. The ‘rider’ helps by explaining the logic and rationale, but at the end of the day, it’s the elephant who decides.
Change is deft and subtle – a legit higher-order skill. If (or when, most likely) your business experiences change, I hope this framework gives you something useful to lean on.
Have a great, powerful and joyful week ahead.
A story appeals to a different aspect of these people. The ‘rider’ helps by explaining the logic and rationale, but at the end of the day, it’s the elephant who decides.
Change is deft and subtle – a legit higher-order skill. If (or when, most likely) your business experiences change, I hope this framework gives you something useful to lean on.
Have a great, powerful and joyful week ahead.