Archive for Organizational Change
Thank goodness that many of us have Achievers in our organizations! Achievers get things done! Why? Achievers, as defined by StrengthsFinder 2.0 “…feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day, Achievers must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about themselves. And…’every day’ to an Achiever means every single day ~ workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much Achievers feel they deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, Achievers feel dissatisfied.”
That’s great, right? Well, not so fast. Those same Achievers oftentimes (unintentionally) overlook or underestimate how their need to work in hyperdrive doesn’t necessarily align/integrate with their organization’s change culture, change capacity and change appetite. I know this because I used to be one of those Achiever people who built Achiever Teams who could “take any hill” at 150 mph, not realizing that the rest of the organization wasn’t ready for our stealth capabilities! But one day the light dawned and I “got religion.” I realized that I could still be an Achiever and build Achiever Teams, but instead of taking one hill at 150 mph, we could successfully take several hills at a reduced speed if we implemented “right fitted” Organizational Change Management (OCM) Plans for each of our major initiatives. And the cool thing ~ even though more upfront thought was required to build and more energy investment was required to implement OCM Plans, when properly executed, OCM Plan results saved us time and money, increased our outcome success rate, and created client and organization goodwill!
My advice to all Achievers ~ including those Leader Achievers that I’m currently coaching ~ keep achieving, but before starting that next big initiative (or even small or medium size initiative), analyze your culture, its capacity and its appetite relative to Organizational Change and build a realistic OCM Plan that meets your company’s needs. And if you have any time left over, being the Achiever that you are, look for other creative and subtle ways to move your organization forward so you fulfill your needs without driving change too hard and too fast ~ which will frustrate both you and your company if your change adoptation rate isn’t realistically calibrated with your organization’s change adoption rate.
More to follow with Part II as we explore “Learn How to Successfully Approach Cultural/Organizational Change”!
The Business of IT and Human Connectedness
Posted by: |TechEdge LLC is pleased to announce that our president, Gwen Walsh, will be presenting at the upcoming event, “The Business of IT and Human Connectedness”, presented by NEO IT Think Tank. Here is the full program description:
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The Business of IT and Human Connectedness
Presented by NEO IT Think Tank
September 22, 2010
Corporate Plaza 1
6450 Rockside Woods Blvd S
Independence, OH 44131
Gwen Walsh, President and Founder of TechEdge, will be our program speaker.
Being in the Business of IT, a large chunk of our success depends on our ability to understand and positively influence our customers, executives, managers, peers, staff and business partners. Every time we engage in a conversation, pitch an idea, investigate a problem, fulfill a request, initiate or implement a change, address (or fail to address) a conflict or provide a product or service, we’re being evaluated and judged by others. The cold, harsh truth is – each interaction and corresponding judgment directly impacts how others perceive us, how they will react to us now and in the future, whether or not they will support us in the work that lies ahead and how our legacy will be shaped.
Because we’re in the Business of IT and predominantly focused on technologies, activities, tasks, pressures, deadlines, you-name-it, we oftentimes forge ahead without critically thinking through our human-to-human interactions. Before you know it, we’re working in environments where trust, collaboration, positive attitudes, high productivity and employee morale are plummeting, and silos, territorialism, personal agendas, infighting, apathy, negativism, adversarial relationships and missed deadlines and service levels are on the uptick.
We must create environments where people genuinely matter, and to do that we need to become better at HUMAN CONNECTEDNESS.
Our next Face-to-Face meeting will address Human Connectedness. We will:
- Define Human Connectedness.
- Discuss the compelling reasons for increasing Human Connectedness.
- Ask simple questions that will help us assess our own Human Connectedness effectiveness.
- Explore the principles that, when followed, create a Human Connectedness environment.
- Take away tools that can be immediately applied in your workplace to increase your Human Connectedness factor.
Special thanks to Clay Bediant, VP at Ratliff & Taylor, for sponsoring our location.
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You can RSVP to this event on LinkedIn or Facebook. We look forward to seeing you there!
TechEdge is helping Cleveland youth STEMout
Posted by: |Happy Monday from everyone here at TechEdge LLC! We have some great news to share. Our president, Gwen Walsh, has been elected to STEMout’s board of directors. The following is an excerpt from today’s press release:
STEMout announces that Gwen Walsh, President of TechEdge LLC, has been elected to their board of directors. “Gwen is doing a terrific job at advising and guiding her clients so they may reach their greatest potential, and as such, we are looking forward to her contributions as a member of STEMout’s board of directors,” said Katie Jagusch, STEMout Board President. “We think Gwen’s insights, leadership experience and technology credentials will be very valuable in helping to guide STEMout in the years ahead!”
“STEMout is one of those amazing organizations that I truly admire because they inspire youths to choose STEM careers and are helping us shape our youth’s future,” said Gwen Walsh. “I’m really looking forward to working with Katie and STEMout’s board to help with STEMout’s impactful outreach program!”
STEMout Inc. was founded in 2010 with the sole mission of increasing science, technology, engineering, and mathematic career-path awareness among students. For more information on outreach or STEM Squads, please visit www.STEMout.org.
What a great way to kick off the week. Congratulations, Gwen!
