Change for Operatives

Editor's Notes

• #2: My name is Chris Evjy and I’ve been asked today to speak to you all about change management.Why me?
• #3: It’s one of my Linked In skills, of course.I encourage all of you, if you would like to get asked to speak on a subject to add this skill to your LinkedIn profile By clicking on that little edit button up there
• #4: Type in….Click ADD…And there you go.You should be getting some calls in a couple weeks.
• #5: While you at it…Skills that are little research projects of yours…
• #6: Little know facts about yourself…Be sure you capitalize…and that’s all I’ve got, thank you.
• #7: When I was asked to give this talk, I really had ask myself: “Why did I have the gall to click that edit button sometime last winter (can’t remember) and type in the words change management.”I asked a friend and changer manager in-chief what I should talk about and for this and she said, “talk about what you want to talk about.”And I said oooookaaaaaay.But a couple weeks later after some thinking, I said Ah Okay! And realized that that was the best possible advice she could have given me.Cus I’m a change operative. I don’t ponder this stuff. I don’t read about this stuff very much. Who has time for that?! It’s just in my blood. It’s how I think and operate.But at the end of this session, I want you all to be able to honestly, without hesitation endorse me for this skill on LinkedIn, cus I need some help there evidently.And if you learn something, well that’s nice too.
• #8: So, what do I want to talk about?Change management models have enabled me to think better about my organization.Understand and analyze your change environment, the context in which you workWhat is your org’s disposition to change?Where people are coming from: the key players, stakeholders, people affected by changeWhat stage you are in, how fast are you travellingWhat comes next You can project where this will lead?
• #9: Change management practice as enabled me to act smarter and increase my chances of success -- of achieving the outcomes I am trying to achieve.Timing is everything, choose the moment when you chances of success are greatestAvoid plowing throughCoach & mentor your team members to contextualize speed bumps, bad reactions from people, perceived failures
• #10: This Bell curve is often used to talk about adoption of new technologies.Today, let’s use it in terms of measuring your organization’s disposition toward change.Let’s focus on three:Approval processesLikely require formal approval processes Are heavily document/policy orientedExtent to which initiatives are document drivenLess document driven, seek out other venues to forward your ideas Conversations, a staff intranet or other collaboration platformsImportance of languageEvery org has a shared lexicon, learn it and push its boundaries deliberately and consistentlyRight: tend to be more inward focused  lang. very importantStart conversations in the existing lexicon, then move them outward and push the boundaries by crafting new phrases/elevator pitches/analogies you use over and over again.Left: more externally focused  lexicon might be more fluid[Redesign project overview]JCPL toward the right of this curve.So how did I introduce what I wanted to do and communicate it to colleagues?
• #11: A document!And that document went on little voyage, aka an approval process….That document was endorsed by my supervisor the Deputy Director of the library system,Who took it to our Senior Management Team where it was approved by every director including our Executive Director.And when I had to answer pointed questions from our IT department about aspects of the proposal, where did those answers end up?
• #12: A document! An appendix to the project proposal.That was edited by my supervisor the Deputy Director of the library system,I sent it to our IT Director who shared my answers with the dept and I received their blessing to move forward.So, next, I needed to fundamentally change the way the organization was thinking about their digital venue to start moving them from their status quo warehouse of information conception to a powerful, efficient machine for public service and engagement. How did I do set that rolling?
• #13: A document!That was endorsed by my supervisor the Deputy Director of the library system,Who took it to our Senior Management Team where it was approved by every director including our Executive Director.So, the Redesign Project had three phases. How did I move the project from phase to phase?
• #14: A document!That was endorsed by my supervisor the Deputy Director of the library system,Who took it to our Senior Management Team where it was approved by every director including our Executive Director.
• #15: Where it all began.
• #16: Not the website, the library’s website.Create an empty vessel that can be filled with positive experiences. In our case, a new pseudo sub-brand.
• #17: I can’t tell you how many times….Works because it draws on a common context.Then applies it to this new area of work and makes it more real for people using analogy.Web content created using a web form. The analogy orients them to the new thing.
• #20: You get the idea. Documents were key to making progress. They were key because my library’s disputation toward change is toward the right of the Rogers curve.If yours is too, as many manymany libraries are, embrace it. Make your document sing. Use graphics, visual and data to make your case. Find a graphic designer to give you advice on their appearance.Also, cultivate a relationship with someone on your admin team. Connect your initiative to the library’s mission and don’t be shy about doing so. Make that person an advocate.Activity: Everyone find a partner. Only criteria: someone you haven’t talk with today as of yet.Think about your org’s disposition toward change. Where does it fall on the Curve? Think about an initiative you are leading or taking part in, or something you would like to take part in. What methods could you employ given your org’s position on the curve?Bonus question: How can an org’s position on this curve change, both toward the left and the right?
• #22: JohnKotter…The first three steps are about creating a climate for changeThe next three steps are about engaging and enabling the whole organization. The last two steps are about implementing and sustaining change. 
• #23: Don’t just create negativity by saying we’re not meeting this benchmark or our customer service survey says people are pretty unhappy w/ X service.Make sure you’re taking a positive turn and connecting it to our potential to reach for the ideals of the profession. “Library service” new potentials
• #25: Follow up by:jeffcolibrary.org is without a doubtis a major service point for the library.= worthy of investment of your time and resources.= the ROI is there, people!Your peeps have expectations, you need to meet them!
• #26: Mix of members from different parts of the library and diff levels in the hierarchy. Maximize the perspectivesLook for allies and seek out advocates.Learn how to run a meeting and study consensus building.
• #27: This actually came first.
• #28: Back to our language discussion. Communicable.Focused, avoid platitudes. Connect the status quo to the desired outcome.
• #29: A document!Seeded by the Web Team.16 iterations.
• #30: Communicate consistently and frequently.Share the exact language you use with your advocates, your team, your boss and especially the Director and Senior Management.My roadshow!Illustrating the new principles we were using.Showing how we were implementing them.Sharing our timeline.Communicating what it meant for us (Web Team, JCPL).
• #32: Who are the biggest resistors, how can we work with them?Who are the biggest advocates, how can we support them?What is getting in the way? Is it an outdated process? Is it a gap, where work is not getting done, but no one realizes it.Creation of Web Content Coordinator to put in place a content production regime from strategy to accountability.Battling back other work not connected to strategic priorities.
• #34: Start to produce your own narrative with small wins. Begin to write the story of a successful change.Look for opportunities to create wins and then communicate about them. Create momentum.They will lend you credibility and win you trust.
• #38: Kotter warns us against declaring mission accomplished too early and risking the roll-back of the change, back to the old status quo.Watch for slips back into old habits, patterns of thinking or the re-emergence of false assumptions you battled early on.
• #39: Continue to reinforce especially with new employees and new leaders. Orientations.Content production work ended up in job desctipions for Patron Experience coordinators, Core Service Coordinators and Outreach Librarians.
• #40: Activity: