Seven Ways to Help Your IT Organization Embrace Change

Don Draper, the fictional advertising guru on the television show “Mad Men” says, “Change is neither good or bad. It simply is.”

Good luck convincing your team of that.

All CIOs want the change they introduce to be accepted based on their credibility and the team's belief that they have the organization’s best interests in mind.

It doesn’t happen that way, does it? Despite our best job of explaining the benefits of a change, there are always those who respond with benign acceptance or even outright resistance.

All people view change through a lens of perception that is influenced by seven key questions that we ask ourselves. Your chance of increasing buy-in to the changes you introduce increases substantially when your communication plan answers them.

1. How does it affect me?
A new process will be a good thing if it makes it easier for you to complete your work. It will be a bad change if it adds complexity or extra steps. On the other hand, you don’t really care or have little more than a passing interest about the change if it doesn’t’ affect you. The same can be said for big societal changes. The European sovereign debt crisis is a big deal if you live in Athens, Greece. It is probably not as important if you live in Athens, Texas. If it changes what you do or experience every day, it is a big change.

2.    How does the change move me/us toward something that we want or need?
Does it move me/us toward a goal that is important for the individual or team? If not, you can expect only passive support or even resistance.

This observation from a seasoned manager early in my career still rings true today: “Just because things are different, that doesn’t mean that anything has really changed.” Chances are that you, like me, have seen changes that didn’t produce results. Define results early. Measure them often, and fine tune your change as needed.

4.    Are the costs of changing less than the costs of staying the same?
Or put another way; is the pain of staying the same greater than the pain of changing? Pain creates urgency, and there will be those who evaluate any change that doesn’t solve an immediate problem as a waste of energy and resources—even if the long-term payout is significant. The challenge is to make the benefit outweigh the cost.

5.    How much do you know about the change and how much credibility does the person who is communicating it have with you?
The national debate over healthcare reform is an excellent example. One person’s Affordable Healthcare Act is another’s Obamacare. It is the same legislative change, but perception about the change is based on, to a large degree, the credibility of the person framing our perceptions about it. Many people (including elected officials on both sides of the argument) never read the details of the Affordable Healthcare Act before forming an opinion about it.

6.    How much influence can I have in the change process?
People support what they help create. It isn’t always possible to involve everyone in planning details of the change. If not, explain why. And, consider adding opportunities for input if it will increase support. A change process that takes a little longer and works is always better than one that is quick and ignored.

7.    How does this change add to or reduce my overall ability to function and cope?
The best leaders are in tune with their team’s capacity for additional change. There are times when a change that is widely acknowledged as useful will be resisted because of diminished capacity to cope or function.

Change, by definition, causes discomfort. If it happens easily and overnight, there is no real change. You can minimize that discomfort and increase the buy-in for change by successfully answering these seven questions.