A635.3.3.RB - 50 Reasons Not to Change/The Tribes We Lead

It can't be done.  It's not my job.  We don't have the time.  We tried it before.  We don't have the money, personnel, equipment.  

Above are some of the excuses listed in the 50 reason not to Change graphic. It is frustrating to hear  peers using these excuses and unfortunately it happens way to often. After years of learning about the change process through my Air Force career, I can understand why some are reluctant to change. Therefore, I try not to take the negative response personally although that can be tough. For example, when I was the support section chief, I suggested an "express lane" to distribute tools. Almost immediately there were excuses of "We've tried it before" and "It won't work because...". I had to remind myself to keep calm and that it is normal to have resistance which stems from a fear of the unknown (Brown, 2011). After several weeks of explaining the need for change, I introduced the idea and benefits of hosting a Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) event. I assembled a team to participate in the CPI event, with members that supported the change and those opposed. We went through the process and decided on 12 action items to implement the new process and we got to work making changes to our process. Along the way, I had the opportunity to watch my support section members recognize the need for change and eventually a way forward. One-by-one most of my team jumped on the "change bandwagon" and became excited to be part of the change. However, we also experienced a very large reluctance from our customers to the changes we were making. "Proposed changes that disturb habitual routines or patterns are likely to encounter resistance because human behavior is governed largely by habit and routine" (Brown, p. 152). Fast forward a year - we have implemented all 12 action items decided during the CPI and the tool checkout process flows much more efficiently. While I absolutely consider this a success, I am most proud to have introduced the change process to my support team. They were able to see the process first-hand and understand the benefits. More importantly, they now understand that 1) change takes time and 2) they can make an impact.

I use the above experience as a reminder when I hear colleagues using the excuses listed in the 50 reasons not to change. On occasion, I find myself using these excuses and have to take a step back and reassess the situation. This experience and my Air Force training in leadership, change, and management has taught me that change is possible, especially if you have team effort.

Seth Godin's concept that change is driven by tribes is spot on. In fact, I would not have been able to make all the changes in the support section without my tribe/team. "You just need a few people who will look at the rules, realize they make no sense, and realize how much they want to be connected" (Godin, 12:03) My Support section tribe found something worth changing, and assemble (Godin, 2009). That is exactly what we did, and it has built a culture of change in our organization.

There's a saying that the only constant is change. I have found this to be true, especially when working in the Support Section. We were constantly, fixing, changing, improving and chaos is inevitable. I've learned that change is good and that you must be flexible and tolerant of it in order to succeed.

Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experimental Approach to Organizational Development (8 ed.). Upper Saddle River, Pearson Education, Inc.

Godin, S. (2009). The tribes we lead. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead#t-1056930
Watkins, D. (2011, August 24). 50 Reasons Not to Change. Retrieved from https://prezi.com/z2v2cvo4t9tc/50-reasons-not-to-change/

A635.2.3.RB - How Companies Can Make Better Decisions

For this task, I was asked to watch a video interview of Marcia Blenko about decision-making. Blenko argues that decision effectiveness correlates positively with employee engagement and organizational performance. Chapter 3 of the text this week echoes this by recognizing that motivational climate influences the level of performance (Brown, 2011). While there are many benefits of effective decisions being made at top management levels, ensuring the whole team understands the decisions and involving employees in the process are just as important. "When people are involved in the decision making, they know they make a difference to the department’s or company’s success. When people know they make a difference, they find it easier to be motivated and satisfied with their job" (Stark, 2018). I feel employee engagement and decision effectiveness have a reciprocal relationship in organizations. Moreover, having employees involved in the decision-making establishes an environment where employees are able to make better day-to-day decisions. 

Although, decision making has it's benefits, there are some impediments to good decision making. Blenko says one obstacle is not being clear who to make the decisions whereas another obstacle is getting the right information to the decision maker (2010). Employees and management should also know the decision process. “Knowing how to make better decisions does not assure that you will make excellent decisions, but greater awareness of the decision process will help you avoid the pitfalls and make better choices” (Hoch, Kunreuther, & Gunther, 2001, p. 14). Whether organizations use Blenkos 5-step process or another, using a step-by-step process can help them make more deliberate, effective decisions by organizing relevant information and priorities.

Blenko suggests that there are four elements of good decisions: quality, speed, yield, and effort (2010).   There are definitely more steps or elements of good decision-making, such as clarity, considering alternative and thinking through alternatives.  However, these four elements do adequately gauge whether an already made decision was effective.  The only factor I might add would be commitment.  Brown says it may take three to five years for change to take place and that managers must live the new culture (2011).  Once a decision is made, commitment to make it happen is critical otherwise the change-process will fail.

  

This exercise reiterated a lot of information that I had already known or received through military leadership training. However, there is one thing that stood out to me in the interview that I can immediately use in my career and life. I must assess and prioritize the critical decisions, whether in my organization or in life. Benko says critical decisions are not always the big strategy decisions but are also the week-in and week-out operational decisions (2010). This reminded me of a video (Smee, 2016) my kid had to watch for homework that echoed the same sentiment about life. Just like we must prioritize the critical decisions in our organizations, we must put the important things first in life. 

Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H., & Gunther, R. E. (2001). Wharton on making decisions (1st ed.). New York: Wiley.
How Companies Can Make Better Decisions, Faster. (2010, October 13). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=13&v=pbxpg6D4Hk8
Smee, J. (2016, June 02). Tʜᴇ Jᴀʀ ᴏғ Lɪғᴇ - Pᴜᴛ Iᴍᴘᴏʀᴛᴀɴᴛ Tʜɪɴɢs Fɪʀsᴛ! Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0hqBIugr7I&feature=youtu.be
Stark, P. B. (2018, June 14). 6 Reasons to Involve Employees in Decision Making. Retrieved from https://peterstark.com/key-to-engagement/#

A635.1.3.RB - 21st Century Enlightenment

For this task, I was asked to reflect on the video titled 21st Century Enlightenment. Matthew Taylor’s 21st Century Enlightenment video talks about creating a more autonomous, self-aware, and empathic society. This video is a talk about how to shape modern values, norms and lifestyles by living, and thinking, differently in the 21st century. What he means by this is that we must discover our ignorance and consider alternative viewpoints. Taylor (2010) states “Most of our behavior is the result of us responding automatically to the world around us” (2:10). To live differently, to live more empathetically, we must pause and think before responding automatically.

For example, I might question what I truly know about a situation before judging it. I try to do this often while driving. If another driver speeds past me and cuts me off, I can automatically take offense and get upset, resort to obscene language and thoughts. Instead, I try to think about different situations that they may be experiencing causing them to rush and not obey road rules. Perhaps, they found out a loved one is in the hospital and they are trying to get there quickly. "When you actively focus on uncovering your ignorance, you realize you are often wrong" (Elder & Paul, p. 47). Thinking differently and considering alternate viewpoints will shape how we respond and live our lives.  

In the video, Taylor argues that we need "to resist our tendencies to make right or true that which is merely familiar and wrong or false that which is only strange" (4:10). We often assume whatever we believe to be "right". However, "much of what we believe is based on prejudice, bias, half-truths, and sometimes superstition" (Elder & Paul, p.47). We must resist this tendency practice intellectual humility, routinely questioning our beliefs.

I experienced this often as an Tech School instructor. As a seasoned Staff Sergeant, a line number to promote and eight years experience I thought teaching would be easy and that the students would have limited experience. Without knowing my students, I judged them as untrained, incompetent and young. I considered the "kids" or "trainees" and went into teaching with this bias. "We are biased as a result of faulty perception and now we treat the event or person as though the negatives we've identified are the sum total of the person or event, who or which don't treat any other way" (Wignall, 2016). 

However, through my three years of teaching I got the privilege to teach nearly 200 students with a diverse spread of knowledge, experience and skills. I got the opportunity to meet and train Airmen who had been cooks, pilots, mechanics, engineers, and semi-professional athletes. McKay, Davis, & Fanning explain that during unfamiliar situations our brains jump to conclusions based on past experiences. (p.192) This is called generalization of expectations. Before getting to know my students I was them as "kids", afterwards I realized my prejudgments were far from right. 

Along with intellectual humility and understanding that we are not always right, we must practice intellectual empathy. "Intellectual empathy requires us to think within the viewpoints of others, especially those we think is wrong" (Elder & Paul, p. 55). Taylor argues that our society should eschew elements of pop culture that degrade people and that we should spend more time looking into what develops empathetic citizens. Although this may seem difficult, it is possible through simple strategies. For example, during discussions with others you can summarize what each other is saying or put look at the situation from different viewpoints. We, as individuals and as a society, need to put ourselves in the place of others to genuinely understand them.

At the end of the video, Taylor talks about atomizing people from collaborative environments and the destructive effect on their growth.  For our organizational change efforts, this could apply to public education systems – a need to re-conceptualize its mission to reflect this period of human growth, development, and evolution. Taylor is also referring to the collaborative actions of humans. This will take everyone putting aside their differences and working together, much like a colony of ants. One ant will not be able to make a change, but the colony working together will have a much greater effect. In an organization no individual is self-efficient, so it will take a collaborative effort to make a change.  Once again, we need to think about how we think, using a collaborative approach to change. 

I enjoyed Matthew Taylor’s video as it has taught me the overall importance of humility and empathy and how we should help others to be empathetic as well. I must be conscientious of how I react to situations and understand sometimes there is no right or wrong, just different. The video also taught me that we all have the control of our thoughts, and changing the way we think could change the way we live.

Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experimental Approach to Organizational Development (8 ed.). Upper Saddle River, Pearson Education, Inc.
Elder, L., & Paul, R. (2013). 30 days to better thinking and better living through critical thinking: A guide for improving every aspect of your life. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press.
McKay, M., Davis, M., & Fanning, P. (2009). Messages: The communication skills book. Oakland: New Harbinger Publications, Inc
Taylor, M. (2010). RSA ANIMATE: 21st century enlightenment. The RSA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC7ANGMy0yo
Wignall, D. (2016, September 7). Seeing is believing, but is it accurate? Retrieved from http://suindependent.com/seeing-is-believing-selective-perception/