Consultants who specialise in supporting change projects exchange ideas at the round table organised by the German trade journal Personalwirtschaft. Here are a few impressions and thoughts on the two hours in Frankfurt.
Frankfurt, mid-January, bright sunshine on the way to the fairly new FAZ Tower in the Europaviertel district. ‘I can’t hear the word change anymore’ – no, that’s not what the six of us sitting with the editor of Personalwirtschaft, Erwin Stickling, are thinking. This is the thought that many managers have and that we are confronted with in our consulting work. The unanimous opinion of those present: Yes, sometimes we can’t hear the word any more either. Namely when a change is made for the sake of change: The new brooms that are taken out of the cupboard for no relevant reason. And the ones that rust when they rest. Change not only requires a specific, convincing reason and an associated vision for the new. Change also requires a considered approach.
Considered = planned?
All of us in the group agreed that exclusive waterfall planning is just as useless as 100% agility. Especially as – and here too there was agreement – some people wrongly equate ‘agile’ with ‘arbitrary’. A considered approach means not only allowing options and changes in the long term, but also actively integrating them. And it means having a clear plan for the coming weeks and months. Our flow change navigator provides guidance here. Transparency, clarity and honesty must exist for both – rough direction and detailed task plan:
– disclose who knows, can and wants to do what,
– make it clear who does what,
– express goals, interests and concerns without sanctions.
One thing is clear: the necessary ‘transparency culture’ cannot be switched on at the push of a button or even decreed, but will hopefully develop over time.
Time … we do not have
The famous quick wins, which hopefully become apparent soon after the start of a change, are important. And they are also a little treacherous. Because they can lead to the assumption that everything is running smoothly and that the effort and attention no longer need to be so high. During our exchange in Frankfurt, we agreed that the success of ‘change’ lies in going through the difficulties together. Implementing and ‘getting into routine’ are the important milestones of change. The strategic plan drawn up at the beginning is only the impulse, an impulse that – see above – will be redirected in the long term by the changing circumstances anyway. And all of this takes time. If you don’t have that time, you’ll be rushing from one change to the next – and then the image of the ‘pig being chased through the village’ quickly comes up.
It was reassuring to learn that the other five consultants had similar experiences to us at flow. This open exchange between competitors is a culture that has been cultivated for years and I wouldn’t want to miss it.
You can find the report on the round table in the March issue of Personalwirtschaft.
Kind regards
