Leading Change by Seth Kahan

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Creating Authentic Engagement for Change

Most of my work is with senior managers and executives, helping them to implement large-scale change using participation and engagement to create buy-in and support.
There are three conditions that require change leaders to shift from mandate (command & control) to authentic enthusiasm (connect & collaborate) to generate the results they are looking for:

1. Complex work environment - Work units, work programs, politics, budgets, and sponsors/customers/members do not have discrete, linear relationships. They behave like a multi-variable equation, influencing and overlapping each other. In a complex work environment you cannot rely on a simple, cause-and-effect chain of events to produce the results you are looking for. Instead, you need each participant in the value chain to be alert and working to create outcomes consistent with a clearly articulated vision.

2. Distributed workforce - Whether they are across the globe from each other or down the hall but isolated, people must be personally motivated to be take a proactive approach. Without this, they will simply work independently.

3. Multi-cultural or multi-disciplinary workers - When people come from different points-of-view,  they see the world in fundamentally different ways. They may read the same words, but their minds process the information in different ways. If you can help them make the transition from "what I have to do" to "what I want to do," you can rely on their best efforts to "walk a mile in each others' shoes."

What tools are available to spark and grow the enthusiasm of professionals? Here are three:

1. Story - Narrative has the power to reach deeply into the human psyche, motivate people, and provide memorable messages. Read this from a 2006 conversation I had with John Kotter, Harvard Business Professor and expert on change leadership:

"Five or six years ago I started thinking more consciously about my primary goal: helping people change what they do and get better results. I have spoken at hundreds of meetings. Increasingly it is clear to me that people have trouble remembering what they hear at these meetings. This means it isn’t having an impact on their decisions, their actions, and hence, results on the job.

"As I explored, I became very interested in the brain. I learned about neurology, and emerging fields like medical anthropology and the study of the brain’s evolution. I began to wonder how people learned 500,000 years ago. They didn’t have PowerPoint slides. It was from direct experience and stories of direct experience.

"Stories stick in the brain in a holistic way, better than charts, numbers and concepts. As a result the probability that the message will have an impact on behavior goes up.

"I am often approached by former students or people who have seen me speak. When this happens I make a habit of asking, “What do you remember about that session?” It’s amazing how often it is a story as opposed to anything that is conceptual or numerical."

2. Community - We need each other to test and apply what we know, surface new ideas, transfer our experience to current circumstance. We are social creatures at our core, and rely on the connections and synergies that arise in community to make sense of life, survive, and thrive. Community is the fundamental human learning system. Change leaders that make use of community in their work not only distribute leadership, they draw on people's shared passion to inform the work. I was recently interviewed on the link between community and brand - there is quite a bit in this article that is relevant.

3. Special Events - Bringing people together face-to-face for a shared experience can move progress forward in dramatic surges.  It requires a skilled choreographer to create gatherings that are both professionally appealing and achieve extraordinary impact. Change leaders that master this form have a powerful tool to engage the authentic ardor of their constituents.

- Seth Kahan, VisionaryLeadership.com

12:35 pm | 1 recommendation | 1 comment

The Inner Journey of Leading Change

Change leadership starts within, requiring a commitment to self-transformation. Are there conditions that make this kind of inner work especially effective? What activities are most powerful for genuine inner transformation? Is this something that happens alone, isolated in the interior of one’s private world, or is it best done in a community? If so, what kind of community? Is there a template?

To better understand I spoke recently with Michael Mervosh, a licensed psychologist who provides supportive, transformational experiences for those seeking inner change. His program, called the Hero’s Journey, assists people in altering the course of their lives.  His work is about leading change within. Here is some of what he said when we spoke:

“I began offering The Hero’s Journey to help people experience a transition in their interior world. You can use your will and desire to try and make real change happen inside, but I have found that it is more effective to do this work in an environment that awakens the powerful positive forces we all have inside. In the Hero’s Journey, we work in an atmosphere that rouses these constructive states.

“Several important elements create this environment.  First, there is nature, a wonderful reflecting mirror. The vast beauty of the wilderness has tremendous power to awaken an awareness of the vast, beautiful interior of the soul. What people see in the natural world is a reflection of what is inside them.

“Second, to have this kind of experience you must be in the company of others who are on a similar journey. This includes not only the other participants in the Hero’s Journey, but in the presence of embodied and enlivened facilitators as well.

“As leaders or guides we focus on the present moment as it arises in a participant’s experience, so that our attention can be of service to them as a galvanizing force for their interior worlds. This is very different than telling somebody what to do and giving advice, even it if is very good advice.

“It requires a meaningful framework for change that acknowledges that there is inherent in every person an existing healthy process of growth, waiting to be unfolded. I see myself as an advocate for this health-producing process, working to help people follow their own path and reach beyond limiting points-of-view and behaviors.  I experience this as a palpable ‘felt-sense’ of another’s true nature.

“The center of the Hero’s Journey, the central influence is the work of Joseph Campbell. He spoke of the archetypal mythic dimension. It provides a universal framework for understanding human development and meaning-making. Campbell’s work is drawn from studying all religions and cultures across the span of time.  It is my experience that the mythic dimension is a real state of awareness, something palpable, felt, and not some abstract concept.

“We are here on this earth to be alive, enlivened, to have a spiritual life, to be fully engaged. Self-directed inner change is about tapping into what you love and developing a practice that centers on this.  It is best done in community, with others who value you and can understand the struggles required to achieve real breakthroughs.

“Inner transformation is not trivial. It is an awesome experience that changes lives.  The outer effect is often dramatic, helping people to navigate especially trying circumstances, overwhelming challenges, and significant changes in circumstance.  It is a way for people who are leaders of their own lives to stay on the growing edge of what they are becoming."

Michael Mervosh and the Hero’s Journey can be reached online at Hero’s Journey Programs.

Joseph Campbell's work can be accessed through the Joseph Campbell Foundation.

- Seth Kahan, VisionaryLeadership.com

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Dying for Compassion

Dr. Irv Rubin has been leading change in the healthcare industry for 35 years. I spoke with Irv recently to learn more about his approach, and in particular why he chose to write the novel, Dying for Compassion.  Here is what he said:

“I work with professionals to help them understand the fundamental correlation between quality of relationships and quality of care. I do this through workshops, consulting, and writing. My novel takes place in a hospital. I want to educate people about what I call managerial malpractice which can result in the death of patients.

“In the book, an attorney in a court of law holds the protagonist, a CEO, Joshua, accountable for the death of a patient he never touched.  The attorney has no difficulty proving through outside, empirical data that the toxicity Joshua helped stir, foster, and tolerate around the boardroom table trickled down to the culture. Ultimately it manifested at the patient interface where a nurse was fearful of giving feedback to a doctor in the same way that Joshua’s own board was fearful of giving feedback to him.

“For me, Dying for Compassion is about taking leaders to the edge of their own growth. It reminds them that they have a non-negotiable responsibility because of the power of their position to delve into those weaknesses and shortcomings which are hidden from their view – what psychologist Carl Jung called the shadow. They must work to understand the impact of this shadow on their day-to-day behavior and decision-making. This is not something that can be avoided. Everyone has a shadow side.

“Leaders must take responsible for transforming their hubris into humility.  It is absolutely critical for leaders to do whatever can be done to create a fear-free feedback environment. This creates a triple-win. (1) The leaders themselves profit from the feedback so they can take corrective action. (2) The senior team also profits from the fear-free environment, and as a result increases the quality of their collective impact. (3) A fear-free feedback environment is a critical element for achieving what Peter Senge called a learning organization. Peter was a former student of mine at MIT; his work is a world treasure.

“When leaders build their capacity to constructively examine their own behavior, they are providing invaluable gifts to themselves, their people, their organization, and their beneficiaries. This work saves lives. This type of healing is the basis of all effective growth. We need this today more than ever. We are suffering a crisis of leadership. It is imperative that our leaders have the opportunity to reflect on their behavior in constructive ways.

"This is why I named my organization, Temenos. It is a Greek term suggesting a sacred grove, a place where people are free to create and learn spontaneouslywithout criticism or judgment. Creating such an environment is essential to the success of all our leaders and our world.”

You can reach Dr. Irv Rubin through his website, www.TemenosInc.com

- Seth Kahan, VisionaryLeadership.com

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The Power to Convene and Set Context

While working at the World Bank as a Knowledge Analyst in the late 90s I witnessed a significant change in how knowledge was amassed and applied for greatest impact. Previously, the emphasis had been on certain individuals, those remarkable people recognized for their exceptional experience and acumen. However, aided by collaborative technology, communities of professionals brought their collective know-how to bear on difficult issues and they achieved extraordinary results. Etienne Wenger called these Communities of Practice. At the Bank, we called them Thematic Groups.

This happened not only inside the organization, but also across the planet. The boundaries of community are different than the borders of organizations. Many of our Thematic Groups included people outside the organization.

What the World Bank had to offer was not only the knowledge of our staff, but the ability to convene those who were most knowledgeable anywhere around the world in a powerfully meaningful context.

The power to convene and the power of setting the right context are value generators. Together they are often far more powerful than the influence one person can exert. The robustness of multiple points-of-view is generally greater than what an individual can wield. And the field of impact grows much larger through the resulting expansion of the social network.

For dealing with the most complex problems, we must involve stakeholders from every critical point in the system. Solutions, the good ones, are multi-dimensional. Therefore, we must bring together the most valuable players, helping them to work collaboratively – i.e., lend their enthusiastic engagement – using a framework that embraces their differing needs and unique perspectives. This is what the power to convene and the power of setting the context is all about.

Case in point: Today we are in a complex mess with the national and global economies, energy, healthcare, and the environment. The Wall Street Journal is convening a CEO Council to shape the agenda for the new president.

This is an example of the power to convene: the WSJ has a unique vantage point from which to summon core players. They define them as “The CEOs who have committed to participate in this meeting lead companies that employ 5.9 million people, generate more than $2.2 trillion in annual revenues, and represent a diverse cross section of industries.”

The WSJ has chosen a context that is constructive to our predicament: “focusing on the key priorities facing the next U.S. President and the new Congress as they take office during tumultuous economic times.”

I applaud the context as having the right scope, providing guidance to our incoming leaders. But, I ask, are these the right people to convene? If the WSJ had a magic wand, is this the best possible set of people they could bring together for optimum results? I think the guest list is incomplete. These are certainly some of the most powerful people as measured by traditional standards, and they appear uniquely representative of a WSJ call to action. But, are there others the WSJ could also rally?

What about Warren Buffet (one of the world’s most successful investors) on the national economy, Jim Wolfensohn (former President, World Bank and continuing activist on global issues) on global interdependence, Thomas Friedman (Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and author of just released, Hot, Flat, and Crowded) on environment and energy, or David Cutler (Obama health care advisor) and John Goodman (McCain health care advisor)? These five are not going to make it onto the list of corporate leaders, and that is my point.

To keep the conversation most effective, practical, and focused on generating powerful breakthroughs, you must bring in other points-of-view, not to dominate the conversation, but to challenge it.

There are other stakeholders missing. For example, the public at large: mortgage-holders, people caught in the healthcare system, children, business owners pinched by rising fuel costs, and so on. You get the idea. For effective change in a complex system, you need to find ways to constructively involve everyone who is impacted. This is because in a complex environment if you are impacted, you exert influence.

Nonetheless, I am optimistic about the WSJ’s effort and look forward to their results. I applaud them for exercising their power to convene and set context.

- Seth Kahan, VisionaryLeadership.com

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Personal Empowerment in Difficult Times

Most people would be amazed at how much we can really do ourselves if we only take the opportunities in front of us. You don’t have to know all the answers, but if you keep asking the questions, you will get closer.

This is Ross Wirth speaking, Program Chair of Business Administration at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio. I had a chance to speak with Ross last week. It got me thinking.

I started my career at The World Bank in 1989 as an IT trainer and by the time I concluded in 2002, I was creating institution-wide events and working closely with then-President Jim Wolfensohn. In my last six years, I played a significant role in two major change initiatives with global impact. Yet, many of my colleagues complained of being disempowered. In the same environment, why was it I moved from the bottom of the organization to the top, enjoying so much engagement and influence? Ross' comments offered some insight.

People expect others to lead them, they are willing followers and do not realize how much power they have to influence others. It is a matter of positional control vs personal power of influence. Traditional thought says that nothing happens without top management approval.

Change need not be something that is ‘done to you.’ You have a great deal more influence than you know. The choice is whether to use the positional power you have acquired and how you do so within the framework of the organization. Traditionally people think of empowerment as being delegated downward, but that is only one of two ways of thinking about empowerment.

Here is another way to think of it, empowerment is something you grasp until you find its limits. I tell people that they can constantly test the limits of their empowerment, carefully reading internal politics to see when they are pushing up against a boundary. This adds a lot more power to them in their situation because they are now taking personal control of their life vs being dependent upon others. Too many people think they are not empowered, but they have failed to actually test their limits.

Ross experienced this in his former role in Citgo Petroleum Group, where he held a multitude of positions across the organization over a 32-year career. He used this opportunity of perspective to look at what makes people successful in their personal lives as well as in organizational change.

His insights match my experience. Most managers and leaders in organizations are eager for progress wherever it comes from. When you demonstrate your ability to contribute, they embrace your participation.

But what happens when hard times hit: economic downturns, down-sizing, mergers and acquisitions, difficult external circumstances?

Ross: Throughout my career, I have witnessed many business cycles where many were fearful of losing their job. Putting things in perspective, there are three likely outcomes.

First, nothing bad happens and life goes on. In this case, the best current action is to do your job well and position yourself for future opportunity. Another possibility is that your company is acquired by another, in which case you would be best positioned with a solid track record of accomplishment to compete with others in the acquiring company. The third possibility is not pleasant, the loss of a job through no fault of your own, a victim of ruthless expense cutting in desperate times. In this case you will want the strongest resume possible so you can successfully compete against others for another position. The worst possible action is to be seen as a complainer and wait on others to direct your future.

Examining the present situation within the context of possible futures, many will find that the best action to take is to identify opportunities where they can make a positive impact on their organization either for internal recognition or resume strengthening. This requires empowering yourself and making a difference. This is a choice for personal empowerment.

 - Seth Kahan, VisionaryLeadership.com

10:26 pm | 3 recommendations | 1 comment

New Rules for Mass Collaboration

Rod Collins is the former Chief Operating Executive of Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program, the largest private health insurance account in the United States, a $20billion business.Today Rod works with organizations that want to transform their management model from traditional directive command-and-control to a more collaborative approach. I spoke to him this week. Here is what he has to say:

We are experiencing the most dramatic shift in the nature of business and work since the industrial revolution. The traditional management model is based on the premise that large organizations are about bringing together large numbers of people in central locations and then organizing their work. In the last 15 years with the rise of the Internet and electronic technology we are seeing the rise of mass collaboration and globalization. The premise that large numbers of people are gathered in one place is no longer true.

The challenge now is how to organize large numbers of people who are not centralized or operating in the context of one enterprise. More and more managers are facing situations where they are responsible for the work of people who do not report to them and may not even be in their organizations. So, management models based on central planning and hierarchical organization are no longer working.

Mass collaboration is making decentralization efficient. We have the examples of the Wikipedia and the operating program, Linux. 20 years ago nobody would have thought that those two products, which are not centrally planned and where nobody is organizing the work, could ever be done. This may be the model for how organizations work.

Collective learning needs to replace central planning as the foundation of strategy, and self-organization of knowledge workers needs to replace the hierarchical organization of workers. This requires new management models.In my work today I am a management-team coach and a facilitator. These two roles are fundamental enablers to make this shift successfully. In order to make this change, we have to change the fundamental protocols and processes of how we work on a day-to-day basis. Two things have to happen.

One, meetings have to change. Organizations typically engage in one style of meeting format: the committee style meeting. It is based on the premise that a good debate will lead to a good solution. All too often it leads to least-common-denominator solutions and in fast-changing times we need the best solutions. Organizations need other options for how to get together. We often need a meeting in which dialogue rather than debate is the foundation. This requires that executives learn to become skilled facilitators to ensure conversation happens at a different level.

Organizations need to tap into their collective learning. When organizations do this, they can move far faster than through traditional debate-style meetings. The most untapped resource in America today is the collective knowledge of its workers. It’s all fully paid for. What organizations lack are processes to tap into it. A hierarchical organization is a tremendous obstacle.

The second change organizations have to make is the switch from traditional management to learn-and-collaborate management. This is a radical change in the role of the leader. Leaders are more important than ever, but they are no longer bosses.The idea that we can entrust a tremendous amount of authority to give orders to workers and then construct compliance procedures to ensure those orders are carried out is becoming dysfunctional because no one individual can process what is happening out there in this fast changing market.

Organizations are going to learn that if they don't have quick access to their collective knowledge, they are not going to be able to keep up with the market, the competition. This is another reason that we cannot rely on the smarts of the bosses. The smartest organizations are not those with the smartest people, but those with the quickest access to their collective knowledge. Bosses no longer have to be concerned about looking smart or being the most intelligent in the room. Leaders will quickly realize their role is to quickly get access to the know-how of their highly knowledgeable workers.

Rod can be reached at rodcollins@yahoo.com

07:42 pm | 1 recommendation | 3 comments

Organizational Storytelling

Steve Denning is the world leader in organizational storytelling. He has written five books on the subject. The Financial Times chose his book, The Secret Language of Leadership, as one of the best business books of 2007, and wrote: "If leaders do not immediately implement the findings of this book, both they and their organizations are doomed."

April 16-18, 2009, the 8th annual Organizational Storytelling Workshop will take place in Washington, DC, and Steve will, of course, be there. I asked Steve today to tell me why storytelling is so important to leading change. Here is what he said:

Smart managers have been asking themselves: "Do we need people who can communicate compellingly and engagingly and inspire staff and clients to embrace change with enduring enthusiasm?" And the answer is: "Yes, as a matter of fact, we do."

Then the next question is: "How many of those people do we need?" And in many firms, particularly firms offering high-end professional services, the answer is: "Everyone! We need everyone in the whole organization to have that capability."

And there's a hard financial reason behind the answer: for firms, in a world of deep, rapid and pervasive change, it's tough to think of anything that could have a bigger, immediate impact on a firm's bottom line than a capacity to communicate difficult change messages compellingly to staff and to clients.

Then the discussion moves on to: "Well, if the capacity to communicate compellingly is so important to our bottom line, what are we doing about it? Why aren't we approaching this systematically? What would be involved in creating this capacity?"

So, I often see the following:

• In some cases, firms start with the CEO and the senior leadership team and begin to establish a basic competence in leadership storytelling in this group, before working systematically down through the rest of the organization.
  

• In other cases, the firm starts with the formal leadership program and introduces storytelling as a basic component for all the up-and-coming leaders.
  
• Still other firms take the people involved in grappling with some intractable business challenge where the stakes are very high and train them on leadership storytelling.
  
• And some firms are doing "all of the above." 

If you're interested in learning more about organizational storytelling, hearing from practitioners from a wide variety of organizations and Steve, plan to attend the Organizational Storytelling Workshop this spring. I'll see you there.

03:08 pm | 2 recommendations | Be the first to comment

A Sense of Urgency

Harvard Business School Professor John Kotter is a world-class authority on change leadership. He has written 12 books, each making substantive contributions to the field. His exposure to 100s of organizations provides powerful stories to illustrate his findings. He is perhaps best known for his 8-step model for leading successful change.

Kotter’s new book, A Sense of Urgency, is excellent. It is stimulating, a thoughtful extension of his work, filled with actionable and practical tools for creating the kind of productive urgency that contributes to successful change.

I spoke with Kotter today. Here is some of our conversation:

S: This is the latest in a long stream of books. You appear to have a sense of urgency yourself.

J: There is no question that I’ve got a sense of urgency. I think in terms of 30 years, but I get up every morning to figure out what I can do today to push things along. I have big aspirations and I believe a) they’re possible, but b), let’s face it, you can drop dead tomorrow. So, I play it both ways. The only way you’re going to work on big aspirations is by taking a long view. But, if you’re going to be realistic about things, you might only have two days… so, use them!

S: This book is written for leaders in organizations. Yet, several times you point out that maintaining urgency is good for the individual and the world, too.

J: That is what I believe and what I have found. Some people feel they are being pressed to provide more leadership by their superiors. They are not convinced they can make much of a difference. My messages are a) you can make a difference in your organization – more than you think sometimes, and b) collective differences have a big impact on society. Sometimes even single individuals have this kind of impact. There is no question that the greatest positive impact from a person demonstrating leadership is on himself or herself.

S: When I read the book, it really changed my understanding of urgency. Now, I see it as a hyper-alert state that is aware of danger and looking for opportunity simultaneously. It is similar to what a martial artist experiences. It is about being deeply in touch with the environment and taking action that makes things happen.

J: If you dig into what most people call urgency, it is a frenetic, energy-draining, meeting-to-meeting, taskforce-to-taskforce, activity-and-not-productivity behavior. It is not helping them at all. But, it looks like a sense of urgency. It couldn’t be more different. It is as radically different as complacency is from real urgency. Getting that clear in my own head was an important distinction. When I began showing drafts of the book to people 6-9 months ago, they came back to me with the same insight. I think the way I describe urgency is useful. I hope people will pick up on it and use urgency more carefully, especially executives.

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Kotter’s new book describes the sense of urgency that is a pre-requisite for successful change, how to foster it, live it, and deal successfully with the obstacles to creating it. He also shows how urgency is an asset in an environment of rapid and continuous change. I recommend it whole-heartedly.

10:00 am | 2 recommendations | 10 comments

Who is the better change leader: Obama or McCain?

Harvard prof John Kotter is one of the foremost authorities on change leadership. I thought it would be interesting to apply Kotter’s eight-step process for implementing successful transformation to our two candidates for president, rating their effectiveness as change leaders. Here goes:

1. Increase Urgency – create the feeling that “we must act to address our situation.”
McCain – short on prescriptions, long on attack. John gets a 0
Obama – heavy on diagnosis & prescriptions. Barack gets +1

2. Build the Guiding Team – put together the right group with the power to deliver.
McCain – For the inner circle, Steve Schmidt and the team have had trouble managing the Palin message. For VP, McCain has chosen a new face with some good history. From the party, the current US president stays at arm’s length. I give John -1
Obama – Inside David Plouffe has successfully unseated Hillary and executed consistent strategy to Put Obama out in front for his party. For VP, Obama has picked a seasoned statesman. On the outside he has won the support of Kennedy, Clinton & Carter. I give Barack +1

3. Get the Vision right – Create a compelling future that generates bold action.
McCain – The current cover of the economist says, “Bring back the real McCain.” He talks about all the right things, but prescriptions are eclipsed by attacks on his opponent. I give McCain -1
Obama – Obama proclaims, “Enough.” He lays out specific actions to address top priorities. I give Obama +1

4. Communicate for Buy-in – Send heartfelt messages that appeal to the gut.
McCain – His stalwarts give him a standing ovation. But the crowd is mostly white. Where is everyone else? I give John -1
Obama – His ranks are growing and his audiences look like America. I give Barack +1.

5. Empower Action – Remove barriers so your evangelists can act.
McCain – The Republicans shine when it comes to systematic organized, coherent effort. This election is no different. The machine is in swing. I give John +1
Obama – Democrats are notorious for chaos when it comes to structured, impactful execution. But, this guy is different. Obama has a machine, too. Barack gets +1.

6. Create Short-term wins – Demonstrate success as fast as possible.
McCain has pulled out in front from initial stumbling. John gets +1
Obama’s ascent is nothing short of miraculous: Barack gets +1

7. Don’t Let Up – Generate wave after wave of action until victory is achieved.
Too early to tell. Both John and Barack get +1 for their current intensity.

8. Make change stick – Firmly embed new behavior.
McCain’s past performances show his persistence and ability to plant one win on top of another, legitimately changing the way people think and act. John gets +1
Obama’s previous efforts have made dramatic differences that continue to withstand the pressure to revert. Barack gets +1

total scores:
John McCain +1
Barack Obama +8

You know where I stand. How about you? (Remember, to post a comment, you have to register)

02:03 am | 4 recommendations | 5 comments

The Soft Stuff is the Hard Stuff

In 1999 I was Communications Manager for the World Bank's enterprise resource planning (erp) initiative. We were gutting over 100 disconnected systems and replacing them with a single real-time application.

At the behest of our Steering Committee, I hired Michael Hammer, the international best-selling author of Reengineering the Corporation, to come and speak to our people. We negotiated him to 50% of his regular fee, which was still almost 10% of my total budget. I was not happy about that.

I programmed Hammer's time at the WBank heavily. Over the course of the day we had 6 meetings including two in standing-room-only auditoriums, one with the Vice Presidents, and one with our 200-person development team. The only place I let him go unescorted was the bathroom.

As it turned out, that chunk of change gave me more bang for the buck than any other single activity I supervised. Michael is the kind of speaker who gets better as the day gets longer. Over and over again he repeated his mantras. One was, The soft stuff is the hard stuff. What he meant was that the technology will work, but the people might not.

It is the people-side of the change equation that is difficult to get right. It requires an investment in communications, training, and support, usually 1-3% of the total project. That is a relatively small but exceedingly important portion.

Participation - Engagement - Buy-in - This is the stuff of successful change.And it's not something that can be gained through a transaction.Rather, it requires generative dialogue.It is, in fact, voluntary evolution.

Since that time I have dedicated my professional development to understanding how people change themselves and their business processes in service to a higher goal. The approach is highly interactive. Rather than top-down, it is inside-out. As people generate new insights and understanding their behavior changes.The real territory of change is inner space.

People construct their shared view of the world socially, through interaction. If you want people to operate synergistically from a shared vision, you must give them the opportunity to think and talk about it together. You must go beyond sending emails, constructing power-points, and otherwise delivering messages to them. You must convene them. And the higher the risk and opportunity, the better face-to-face is for getting the job done.

Every major stakeholder must become a player, with skin in the game and the opportunity to craft their destiny. The change leader's job is not so much to set the vision and inform everyone else. Rather it is to convene the players in the right context and allow them to generate the future they will to strive to achieve. That's engagement. That's buy-in.