It is an open door to talk about all the change that is necessary and all the change programs that are work in process.

However, there is also plenty of evidence (McKinsey, IBM) that the majority of the changes do not deliver the required results. There are two main reasons for this issue.

1. most leaders think that their people (managers and employees)
   should change, but not themselves. And the (middle) managers and frontline
   workers think that they are okay, but that the leaders should change.
2. Most change programs cover only the professional/business
   aspects of change. They forget the crucial aspect of personal/behavioral
   change.

The solution is quite straight forward: change is non-discriminatory, everyone should be open to change and personal change is equally important as professional change.

Please find here an overview of the ProPer Change Cycle.

Organizations

• Change only happens when the cost of the status quo is larger than the risk of change

The 8-Step Process of Successful Change (John Kotter)

SET
THE STAGE

1. Create a Sense of Urgency. 
Help others see the need for change and the importance of acting immediately.

2. Pull Together the Guiding
Team. 
Make sure there is a powerful group guiding
the change—one with leadership skills, bias for action, credibility, communications ability, authority, analytical skills.

DECIDE
WHAT TO DO

3. Develop the Change Vision and Strategy. 
Clarify how the future will be different
from the past, and how you can make that future a reality.

MAKE
IT HAPPEN

4. Communicate for Understanding and Buy-in. 
Make sure as many others as possible understand and accept the vision and the strategy.

5. Empower Others to Act. 
Remove as many barriers as possible so that those who want to make the vision a reality can do so.

6. Produce Short-Term Wins. 
Create some visible, unambiguous successes as soon as possible.

7. Don’t Let Up. 
Press harder and faster after the first successes. Be relentless with instituting change after change until the vision becomes a reality.

MAKE
IT STICK

8. Create a New Culture. 
Hold on to the new ways of behaving, and make sure they succeed, until they become a part of the very culture of the group.

Individuals

Change
is personal or it never happens.

 Rule 1: It is a prerequisite that everyone (leaders, managers, employees) changes in order to grow.

Rule 2: People don’t change when we tell them they should. They change when they tell themselves they must.

Key questions for individual change:

PLAN

*Knowledge

• Why is change necessary?
• What to change?
• What is the new goal (organization, department, personal)?
• What do I have to do differently?
• What is my new metric?
• Where can I contribute (share ideas, give feedback, be
  engaged)?

*Desire

• Want to change
• Will to change
• What excites me?
• What is in it for me (benefits, rewards, recognition)?
•  

*Skills

• How to change
• Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my ‘new’
  work right?
• Where is support available for me to cope with ongoing change?

DO

*Change your thinking

*Change your behaviour

CHECK

• Are you producing the required results, professionally and
  personally?

ACT

• Adapt yourself continuously
• Stay focused
• Reward success

This holistic approach to change will create an environment, a culture, which sees change as a normal, accepted way of working, rather than an exception which needs to be resisted.

So, are you ready to change yourself??

GROW YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS! 

www.theproperway.com

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