by Barbara Wilson | Nov 9, 2020 | Change, leadership
Change is difficult, that’s what we often hear, and yet the pace of change is unrelenting.
Let’s start by looking at why change is difficult.
All change involves people and their habits . We build habits over time and these change our attitudes and behaviours. It is possible to change these and to develop new habits, however, it is not easy because habits become embedded. This is particularly strong when we look at cultures in organisations and the habits that have developed within them. Habits show up when we try and answer the question, ‘what is the way we do this in my organisation?’ For example, it could be a simple action taken on a daily basis such as how the leader addresses everyone first thing in a morning.
How often have we heard the response, ‘we have done this before and it hasn’t worked’ when a change initiative is introduced. Yes, this could be due to a general reluctance to change. However, it can also be due to other factors. Often people do not see the need to change and are therefore not engaged in the change process, or, the change may not have been addressing the ‘real’ problem.
So, what can help overcome resistance to change?
A way to address these concerns is to treat the change as a messy problem. That is a problem with many dimensions to it and which does not have one clear solution. This is particularly appropriate when change is required around people and their actions. I would suggest therefore that any change program start with a creative problem solving process. This ensures a thorough investigation into the reason why change is needed; that is, asking the question, what is the problem to be resolved by change?
By introducing a creative problem-solving process involving those affected by the change, there is more likely to be a higher rate of engagement in the change. When you engage people and they can understand the need for change, they are much more likely to work to make the change happen rather than resist it.
Engaging people in the change process
Engaging people requires a participative leadership model. To rely on deciding strategy at the top and disseminating it downwards does not engage them. Leaders need to involve people in the process of why the change is needed and what it will look like. It is a top down and bottom up approach.
An excellent example of engaging people in change can be seen in the change process facilitated by Marjorie Parker and detailed in her book ‘Creating Shared Vision‘. The leader created a vision for the culture change that was needed. This was shared throughout the organisation. Each department interpreting the vision in order to make the changes needed.
A process I undertook when leading a culture change programme involved something similar. We started by involving everyone in identifying the problem, then creating a vision for what it would look like when the problem is resolved. The gap between the current situation and the future vison was identified by teams of people working together. Then behaviours were identified which were needed to get from the present situation to future vision.
When individual behaviours are identified in the process of change, it breaks the process down into manageable parts. A great overview of change and the importance of behaviours in the change process can be seen here in the interview with Edgar Schein, one of the gurus of culture change.
Change is difficult, it is also a long process and can take years, particularly if it involves culture change. Therefore it is important to keep people energised and engaged throughout the whole process. In the example above, we had regular small collaborative meetings in the different areas where change was needed, and there was constant follow up on the actions required. It was important to keep the momentum and energy up.
Summarising the key points:
- Change is hard, habits are enduring, and there will be resistance to change.
- Engage people in order to overcome resistance to change; in the analysis of the problem, and the steps to change.
- Provide or co-design a compelling vision of the new post-change situation to engage people.
- A participative and collaborative leadership style is needed to engage people in change initiatives.
- Working at the level of behaviours makes the change process more tangible.
- Change takes time and energy and requires resilience of all involved.
Barbara is an executive coach, leadership and creativity facilitator. She has coached women and men in a variety of corporate settings, and has developed a unique approach to using creative techniques in her coaching and workshops to enable change at a group or individual level. She has recently co-authored a book on creativity for leaders, called Creativity Cycling , with Dr. Tracy Stanley.
by Barbara Wilson | Jun 19, 2020 | creative problem solving, Creativity, leadership, personal development, Vision
Many organisations talk about creating a vision for their future. However what many do is to create a vision statement. This just doesn’t work for me. Visions need to be inspirational and for this to happen they really need to soar above the limitations of words.
For this reason, I usually recommend creating a future vision through image work, at least in the first instance. To check out ideas for creating a vision using drawing, take a look here. In my next blogpost I will take a look at some other tools for creating vision, such as collage.
Ok, so you have an inspirational vision and you have shared or even better co-created it with your employees, colleagues, family. What next?
One process that you can try, is to create a storyboard to show both your future vision, where you are now, and the steps to get there. This seems to be versatile enough to satisfy people who need a structured approach, and is also attractive to people who dislike a structured approach. For this latter category it can be fun to complete all the boxes using images.
To complete your storyboard
Take a large piece of paper and create 6 numbered boxes as shown.
- Put your vision image into box 6, and in box 1 you put a picture to represent where you are now.
- Brainstorm the gap between where you are now and your future vision. Find other people to work with on this.
- Turn the ideas coming out if this brainstorm into actions.
- Put all the actions down on a separate piece of paper and then work out where they fit on the journey from box 1 to box 6.
- It is often difficult to take those first steps from box 1 to box 2 . It’s a bit like stepping into treacle and you may get stuck. Working backwards from box 6 can help in this process. so ask yourself, what is the last action I need in place before I achieve my vision.
For people who are less structured, this can remain as a loose journey based upon some big action steps. Drawing them can be fun and inspiring.
If you are a more structured person then you can work with defining each step and adding targets etc to them. Bullet proofing can be helpful at this stage to check out what can prevent and what can help achievement of the final vision.
This process can be used in many different ways. for example, I have coached people to use it to develop their strategy, or to map out their personal and professional development. It is also very useful as a process withing creative problem solving to pull together the different stages of the process.
I hope this has given you some ideas for working with putting vision into reality. The next step to take is to do exactly that – take some action!
Barbara is an executive coach, leadership and creativity facilitator. She has coached women and men in a variety of corporate settings, and has developed a unique approach to using creative techniques in her coaching and workshops to enable change at a group or individual level. She has recently co-authored a book on creativity for leaders, called Creativity Cycling , with Dr. Tracy Stanley. The use of storyboarding and how it fits into creative problem solving is covered in this book.
by Barbara Wilson | Mar 27, 2020 | creative problem solving
We are living in extraordinary times, and it is even more important not to shut down our minds to new ideas. When we do, we often leap into solutions for our problems. Creative problem solving (CPS) is an approach which encourages fresh and open thinking. However, with more of us living in a confined situation, due to COVID 19, how do we work on CPS techniques when we are working alone?
One approach is to use technology to set up virtual meetings and I am sure that many are doing this. However, we can work successfully alone in a creative mode. There are many possibilities in the technology field for working alone, such as this mind mapping software.
However, working with a screen all day can be counterproductive. Often, we have our best ideas when doing something away from our desks such as going for a walk, taking a break, even while we sleep. It helps to prepare our minds to allow ideas to incubate while we are doing other things.
So how do we prepare our minds?
I propse here to lead you through an approach to the three-stage process on creative problem solving whilst working alone. You can of course try any of these techniques on their own.
Stage 1: understanding the problem
In the same way as we prepare in group problem solving, we can use techniques to explore the problem. I favour using imagery for this and suggest you draw the problem as a rich picture or put together a collage to represent the problem. This is an activity you can do alone. You can virtually share this with others if possible as it helps to get reflections and perspectives around the problem..
After working visually you can then pull all the elements of the problem together using mind mapping or a fishbone diagram.
Stage 2: Exploring solutions
When we understand what the problem is, then we can brainstorm ideas to resolve it. This is also something we can do on our own, even though input from others is so much better.
Other techniques you could try include using metaphor as a prompt for new ideas. Find a random image from magasines or photos you find online, and ask yourself, in which way is this image like your problem. Note what comes up. don’t search for anything spexiific, it is imporatnt that the mage you choose is a random one.
At this stage you could select your best solution and move onto stage 3 or collect your ideas together into a storyboard.
Stage 3: implementing the solution
At this stage of the CPS you start with some bullet proofing to see if your ideas are viable. Some techniques you can do on your own might include drawing up a help/hinder diagram or a force field analysis. Both identify the forces that would work in favour of any ideas being implemented and those that would work against.
A fun approach to try on your own is the Disney strategy. Although this is normally done with others. Place three chairs in a triangle , marking each one to represent one of the three roles, Dreamer, Realist or Critic. Then spend a short time in each position making the case for the idea you are bullet proofing. Note the arguments that would be made in each position, and on the next round adjust your ideas to take these into account.
When this is finished, after three or four rounds, collect any insights or changes you have made to your ideas and start to build your action plan.
If you have used the storyboard then this becomes your action plan and you can add in more detail as the plan takes shape.
You can find all of these techniques and more in the book, Creativity cycling that I co-authored with Tracy Stanley.
Stay safe, stay creative.
Barbara is an executive coach, leadership and creativity facilitator. She has coached people in a variety of corporate settings, and developed a unique approach to using creative techniques in her coaching and workshops to enable change at a group or individual level. She has recently published a book on creativity for leaders with Dr. Tracy Stanley, entitled Creativity Cycling .
by Barbara Wilson | Aug 29, 2019 | creative problem solving
When working with the three stage creative problem solving (CPS) process, the third stage is to test possible solutions before they are put into practice.
As with the previous stages, this stage requires both a divergent and convergent phase. In the divergent phase, one of my favourite tools to use is the Disney Strategy to do the testing.
This can be a fun way of looking at the factors that can help or hinder the implementation of a solution. It’s based upon Walt Disney’s way of working, and developed into a tool by Robert Dilts, one of the founders of Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
It simulates the kind of feedback that could be encountered when a solution is put into practice. So, it unearths the barriers there may be to implementation. It then offers a process for reflecting on how these can be overcome. This process can be a very valuable way of testing any ideas before presenting them to wider audience. It’s a kind of bullet-proofing.
(more…)
by Barbara Wilson | Jul 31, 2019 | creative problem solving, Creativity, leadership
Last month I wrote about stage 1 of the creative problem solving process (CPS). Today’s post is about the second stage, exploring options to resolve the problem.
The first part of this stage 2 is to open up to all possible approaches to resolving the problem. There are many techniques which you can use to do this, and a lot of them are based upon brainstorming.
Brainstorming is something that is much abused and I want to share with you ways in which you can improve it.
Brainstorming
Let’s start with your experience. I am certain that you will have experienced that time when someone has suggested that you all brainstorm a topic. It might be, for example, ideas for the next marketing campaign, or ways of handling customer feedback.
So, it goes something like this –‘lets brainstorm’ -then you all get together and throw a few ideas out. One of the ideas gets picked up and a discussion follows. During this process you may not have noticed that one of the more introverted members of the team is very quiet. At the end of the 15 minutes allocated, you have a direction to move on, however is it the best? and have all members of the team felt that they have been heard? I would bet that the answer is no these questions.
(more…)
Let’s start by looking at why change is difficult.
Barbara is an executive coach, leadership and creativity facilitator. She has coached women and men in a variety of corporate settings, and has developed a unique approach to using creative techniques in her coaching and workshops to enable change at a group or individual level. She has recently co-authored a book on creativity for leaders, called Creativity Cycling , with Dr. Tracy Stanley. 
Barbara is an Executive Coach, leadership, and creativity facilitator with a passion for creative tools and writing about creativity and leadership.