A radical’s approach to change and innovation

Most people think change in an organization means doing something different just for the
sake of doing something different. They are wrong, of course, but their thinking is not
unfounded. They’re just victims of “bad change initiatives.” Too many organizations try
to drive change through elaborate processes and procedures, often structured by large
consulting firms that never have to implement their own plans. Consequently, these firms
rarely take the time to understand what is being done, let alone why it is being done.
Their view is strategic, and often take the built on the goal to align the organization with
a “best practice.” However, best practices need to be adapted for every organizational
culture and this is almost never done. It’s no wonder, “The more things change, the more
things stay the same,” becomes a popular mantra.

I could tell you everything in this post that a top tier consulting firm would tell you to do,
including, “get top management support,” if you want to create a change initiative. I’m
not going to do this not because it doesn’t work—sometimes it does. My experience is
real change and innovation within an organization doesn’t begin at the top because those
at this level only see the symptoms, not the cause. Change and innovation is tactical, not
strategic. Those closest to the cause are the ones who can best overcome the challenges
and begin the change necessary for innovation. Unfortunately, these folks often don’t feel
empowered to do so.

So, let this serve as empowerment to the individual: Be radical. Change and innovation in
the organization begins with you, the individual, right now. Today. Here’s how to get the
ball rolling:

> Start with things you can control. It’s easier to start small and change the things that
are within your control. Look around. There are many, many things that are in you do
every day that could benefit from improvements. Make those improvements. This kind of
change and innovation is infectious and will flow throughout your organization faster
than you might imagine.

> Look for things to “blow up“. Approach everything with the mindset that it needs to
fixed. This doesn’t mean it really needs fixing, or that you need to be the one to fix it, but
it forces you to look for the flaws. When the flaws outnumber the benefits, destroy it. The
hard reality is that sometimes the only way make change is to blow it up and start over
from scratch. Don’t be afraid to push the red button when you need to do so. This is often
the origin of true innovation.

> Stretch the chain. Every day you should stretch “the chain” (people, processes,
technology, etc.) until you find the weak links. Break them, put the chain back together,
and stretch again tomorrow. When you find you are unable to break a link, take a break
and look back on your accomplishment. These successes will help you build your
credibility as change agent. However, don’t forget to come back and stretch the chain
again later. No link is failsafe for very long.
> Cross the cultural minefield. Every organization has some approaches or things that
are sacred. Before you start, know if the change you are attempting is going to put you at
odds with the culture. You should know the dangers going in, but it’s likely you will still
need to trip a few mines, purposefully. Trip the mines when it is the right thing to do
without regard to fallout, but know that you may sustain injuries. Tripping the mines and
slaughtering sacred cows is a messy job.

> Grow a thick skin. If you really want to be a successful change agent, you cannot
worry about making friends while driving change and innovation. This is not to say you
have to be mean or insensitive. Most people just hate change, not you, and will not
hesitate to share their feelings. Some may even try to retaliate with a little political
sabotage. Don’t take it personally. You’ll know you’re on the right track when people
begin to complain about what you’re doing. Be prepared for the fall-out.

Please know that this is an individual approach and not a “team approach” to driving
innovation. I have never believed that teams are successful leading change or innovation.
“Innovation team” seems like an oxymoron to me. Even team of radicals will fail if they
are forced to work too closely together. In my experience, the most successful innovation
happens when individuals are motivated to make things better. An organization’s success
with change and innovation is rooted in the personal initiatives of individual radicals who
desire to make a difference.

To innovate and change an organization, find the radicals who strive to make a
difference. Then turn them loose to do what they do best—stir things up.
In so doing, they exercise a form of leadership within organizations that is more
localized, more diffuse, more modest, and less visible than traditional forms—yet no less
significant. In fact, top executives seeking to institute cultural or organizational change—
who are, perhaps, moving tradition-bound organizations down new roads or who are
concerned about reaping the full potential of marginalized employees—might do well to
seek out these tempered radicals, who may be hidden deep within their own
organizations. Because such individuals are both dedicated to their companies and
masters at changing organizations at the grassroots level, they can prove extremely
valuable in helping top managers to identify fundamental causes of discord, recognize
alternative perspectives, and adapt to changing needs and circumstances. In addition,
tempered radicals, given support from above and a modicum of room to experiment, can
prove to be excellent leaders. (For more on management’s role in fostering tempered
radicals, see the sidebar “Tempered Radicals as Everyday Leaders.”)

 Tempered Radicals as Everyday Leaders

Since the actions of tempered radicals are not, by design, dramatic, their leadership may
be difficult to recognize. How, then, do people who run organizations, who want to
nurture this diffuse source of cultural adaptation, find and develop these latent leaders?
One way is to appreciate the variety of modes in which tempered radicals operate, learn
from them, and support their efforts.

To navigate between their personal beliefs and the surrounding cultures, tempered
radicals draw principally on a spectrum of incremental approaches, including four I
describe here. I call these disruptive self-expression, verbal jujitsu, variable-term
opportunism, and strategic alliance building. Disruptive self-expression, in which an
individual simply acts in a way that feels personally right but that others notice, is the
most inconspicuous way to initiate change. Verbal jujitsu turns an insensitive statement,
action, or behavior back on itself. Variable-term opportunists spot, create, and capitalize
on short- and long-term opportunities for change. And with the help of strategic alliances,
an individual can push through change with more force.
   A Spectrum of Tempered Change Strategies

Each of these approaches can be used in many ways, with plenty of room for creativity
and wit. Self-expression can be done with a whisper; an employee who seeks more racial
diversity in the ranks might wear her dashiki to company parties. Or it can be done with a
roar; that same employee might wear her dashiki to the office every day. Similarly, a
person seeking stricter environmental policies might build an alliance by enlisting the
help of one person, the more powerful the better. Or he might post his stance on the
company intranet and actively seek a host of supporters. Taken together, the approaches
form a continuum of choices from which tempered radicals draw at different times and in
various circumstances.

But before looking at the approaches in detail, it’s worth reconsidering, for a moment, the
ways in which cultural change happens in the workplace.

How Organizations Change

Research has shown that organizations change primarily in two ways: through drastic
action and through evolutionary adaptation. In the former case, change is discontinuous
and often forced on the organization or mandated by top management in the wake of
major technological innovations, by a scarcity or abundance of critical resources, or by
sudden changes in the regulatory, legal, competitive, or political landscape. Under such
circumstances, change may happen quickly and often involves significant pain.
Evolutionary change, by contrast, is gentle, incremental, decentralized, and over time
produces a broad and lasting shift with less upheaval.

http://hbr.org/2001/10/radical-change-the-quiet-way/ar/1