Posted by Kathleen on July 2, 2009 – 3:16 pm
Whenever the leaders of an organization decide to implement change, internal consultants need to collaborate closely with them to carefully consider, and plan for two different processes–the outcomes they are trying produce with the change, and the individual psychological transitions that will be necessary for successful implementation.
Successful implementation of any change requires a clear vision, careful planning, cogent communications, visible sponsorship, and effective engagement to attend to the individual psychological re-orientation that is so critical to success.
Internal consultants who are experinced facilitators understand the value of engagement at every stage in a change process. But one of the most critical stages for individual transitions is at the beginning of a change effort. Leaders need to be prepared to talk about the change in terms that people can relate to–identification of what will change and be lost. If individuals are to adapt their behavior and change their skill set, the transition must begin with an ending, a recognition of the old way, behavior and skills.
Not engaging others to discuss the reality of the changing situation creates sub-communications underneath the change effort where people voice their concerns, resistance and suggestions for improvement in confidential discussions. Managers can improve their chances for success by using tools like the GLAD/SAD/MAD tool
glad-sad-mad This tools offers consultants, managers and leaders a step-by-step guide to planning and facilitating an engaging discussion with team members to clarify and align understanding about:
- What individuals are Glad about with the upcoming change
- What aspects of the change make an individual SAD
- What aspects of the change make the individual MAD
There are lots of tools for talking when the stakes are high, this one helps structure a conversation to allow individuals to share their perspectives and understand the importance of the ending of the old way before we ask them to transition to the new and unknown.
Posted by Kathleen on June 8, 2009 – 11:38 am
Employee Engagement gets a lot of attention from leaders today. The Gallup organization began assessing the levels of employee engagement in organizations several years ago with it’s Q 12 Engagement Survey, and that created higher visibility for efforts that we have championed for years–get people involved in planning and decision-making around changes that affect their work.
Today Gallup has collected plenty of data to clarify that there is a direct corelation between high levels of employee engagement and positive business results. According to the latest Gallup Q12 Engagement data, businesses with low engagement have 51% more inventory shrinkage, 31% - 51% more employee turnover and 62% more accidents than businesses with high employee engagement scores.
Building Engagement in this Economic Crisis by Jennifer Robison
Leaders everywhere are taking notice that employee engagement isn’t just a fad–it is a fact of life for successful, sustainable change and positive business results. So what stands between you and a fully engaged organization?
Howick Associates advocates for engagement, involvement and collaboration with key stakeholders in all of our efforts with clients. We developed the Pyramid of Engagement with our partners at SC Johnson more than ten years ago to help leaders understand the levels of engagement, and give them tools to convene individuals and teams in critical conversations that drive change and improvement efforts.
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Our partners and clients use this model differently–They are all in unique situations. It is a helpful input in communication planning. It is useful for identifying different activites aimed at influencing others, and it can be invaluable engaging employees in problem-solving.
We are co-hosting an event on June 24, 2009 at Briggs and Stratton headquarters in Milwaukee where our partners at Briggs will tell their powerful story about the importance of engaging and involving employees in efforts to solve problems and achieve bottom-line results. Join us and learn more.
3-2-1 Engage–A Roadmap for Unleashing the Power Within
Posted by Kathleen on May 20, 2009 – 12:32 pm
Influence can make or break your best efforts as a consultant. If you have influence on your side, you can minimize barriers and break down obstacles to understanding and progress. Everyone who works inside a large organization understands the power of influence. But how do you access and plan for positive influence?
We’ve used influence maps to chart a course for success on large-scale projects and smaller, individual coaching efforts. Proactively discussing and planning for positive influence can take time up front. But the rewards of those efforts pay off when you have influential leaders on board who are champions of change.
Every expert acknowledges that executive support is the linchpin to success in organizational effort so why not take time to identify key influence strategies at the beginning of your project?
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The Influence Map outlines a structured process that helps individuals and/or teams:
- Identify key audience groups
- Determine the nature of resistance
- Plan influence strategies to positively impact stakeholders
Using this process early on in a change effort will clarify communication and influence plans, minimize ambiguities, and support the development of broad-based understanding and buy-in. This tool includes a worksheet to help individuals and/or groups identify influence strategies on three levels–personal motivation, social/group motivation and structural motivation. This approach helps leaders influence more efficiently and effectively by addressing the specific needs of their key stakeholder groups.
Posted by Kathleen on April 27, 2009 – 3:37 pm
Experts everywhere agree that in order to create successful, sustainable change, those leading the effort must engage key stakeholders in the planning and execution of activities that will bring about change. And leaders must be change champions, engaging, communicating and collaborating throughout the entire lifecycle of a change implementation to share plans, challenges, and successes along the way.
At Howick Associates we harness the power of leaders influence in the initiation phase of our work with the Influence Map tool. We use the influence mapping activity as an engagement opportunity and work with others to identify all those impacted by a specific change and brainstorm strategies to influence the groups, communicate more effectively and address resistance to minimize obstacles.
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By identifying our stakholder’s commitment to change and clarifying who can influence them proactively, we are more successful in planning for barriers and minimizing obstacles to successful change. Use this tool engage others and to help leaders engage others to strategize and leverage influence to help your change succeed.
Posted by Kathleen on January 23, 2009 – 6:05 pm
Some relationships in the professional world are all business. Others are more involved, including mutual interests, and shared experiences. Consultants have to practice reading the social style of their business partners in order to leverage their strengths, tailor interactions, and create a working relationship that reflects the style and needs of each individual customer.
Internal consultants need to have a systematic approach–We need to deliver consistent service, and excellent results, using tools and methods that build collaboration, buy-in and support. But to create trusting, working relationships with our customers, we need to deliver our products and services with a personal touch too. That’s where leveraging your strengths comes in.
In every consulting situation Howick Associates relies on our natural curiosity and willingness to ask questions to help us define the scope of work. But we use those skills to get to know our clients, and create relationships with them. By demonstrating our real interest with questions and dialogue, we can differentiate ourselves from others, and provide more personal service.
I’ve added a video link here to YouTube. This is a short, inspirational video on how one individual leveraged his strengths to create a more personal service, even though he was “just a bagger.”
The Simple Truth of Service
Consider your natural talents, and identify one or two strengths you can use to make a difference in your professional relationships. Share your ideas with others through comments on this site!
Posted by Kathleen on January 16, 2009 – 3:36 pm
Internal consultants need to be skillful negotiators. Our work within organizations is about creating outcomes that benefit all interested parties. In order to be successful, we need to be prepared.
Effective negotiation requires clarity about the specific objectives of our discussions. We also need to understand the benefits of those objectives to individuals and others that may have different (and sometimes competing) agendas. As you prepare to negotiate, good high-gain questions to consider are:
- In this negotiation, what are my objectives?
- What are the objectives of other parties involved in these negotiations?
- What are the benefits of the objectives?
While the specific details of any situation will dictate how consultants need to prepare, all negotiations share some similar characteristics that require consideration and planning for successful outcomes. We have offered high-gain questions here for self-reflection to help you prepare:
- Get your facts straight–Have I done all my homework?
- Assess the power dynamic–Who has the organizational power in these discussions? What steps can I take to level the field for negotiation?
- Plan the discussion–Have I identified the benefits, considered all the alternatives and worst-case scenarios? Have I organized an agenda with input from all parties to focus on action-planning and decision-making?
- Share information thoughtfully–What information is most valuable to this negotiation?
- Maintain control of the discussion–What are the parameters of this discussion? What is in-scope, and out-of-scope now?
But perhaps most importantly, successsful negotiation depends upon effectively communicating–articulating ideas, actively listening, and asking good questions. So, our communication style, our experience, and our emotional intelligence all affect our ability to negotiate.
The words we choose, our ligusitic behavior, and our body language can be as important as what we say. As you prepare for negotiations, consider how you will plan to manage the anxiety that accompanies stressful conversations. Ask yourself:
- How do I react in stressful situations?
- What emotional triggers are present in this negotiation that may side-track my focus?
- How will I manage my anxiety in this negotiation?
- How can I plan ahead to demonstrate flexibility, and sensitivity to improve negotiation outcomes.
Consultants can improve their negotiation outcomes by planning carefully and approaching discussions with self-awareness. Try using these questions to help you prepare for your next consulting negotiation. Share your results with us in comments, and then share your own tips and techniques for successful negotiation.
Posted by Kathleen on January 13, 2009 – 11:47 am
When we are consulting we are always juggling multiple priorities. It is the nature of our work. It is challenging to balance our efforts, and meet the different needs of multiple clients. Sometimes we can leverage our work with one client to help another. But more often each consulting opportunity requires specialized expertise. How can we prioritize effectively?
The beginning of a new year represents an opportunity to re-assess how we manage the balancing act that is consulting. We often find ourselves prioritizing by deadline. We put effort and energy into accomplishing what is required most immediately, and in the process, we set aside work on other opportunities. But we may not be managing our work efficiently when we prioritize in this manner. And we may not be aligning our efforts with other colleagues appropriately.
We use TASK LISTS and a prioritization-grid-tool to help ourselves understand priorities and gain agreement with others about where and how we spend our time. This tool includes a facilitation guide and worksheets for helping us analyze multiple priorities.
The facilitation guide is helpful for engaging others in discussion about priorities. The dialogue that results from these discussions builds buy-in and creates alignment on teams. The worksheets are important tools for helping anyone who works as a consultant to gather data on all their different project work and then organize those projects in terms of their urgency and importance.
Posted by Kathleen on August 11, 2008 – 12:24 pm
Those who study communication estimate that listening takes up more waking hours than any other human communication activity. If you are not listening, you are not learning.
We demonstrate that we are not listening through non-verbal messages and unconscious behavior. reasons-for-poor-listening In doing so, we reveal that our mind is closed and there is nothing of interest being conveyed to us. This is not effective consulting!
Measures For Success
Successful listening as a consultant includes both attentive and critical listening. These skills go beyond the basics of developing understanding and memory recall of the facts and ideas. When people listen attentively and critically they have engagement goals as well.
Consultants are successfully listening when we:
- Make eye contact
- Maintain an engaging posture and attitude while we facilitate dialogue, rephrase and reflect the facts, emotions and meanings in what we are hearing.
- Analyze and evaluate what we hear as we put this new information into the broader context of our knowledge and experience.
- Focus and concentrate to minimize distractions
- Prepare to interact with others in an intentional way even during informal discussions.
FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS FOR ALL CONSULTANTS!
What listening approaches have you adopted to better gather information?
What listening approaches have you adopted to improve or strengthen relationships?
To Learn More
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