Opinion
Why Innovation?: Why drop a bomb…
Mette F Johansen
May 21st, 2016
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This article is more than 8 years old.
This photographer was surely tipped off (photo: US Air Force photo by Senior Master Sgt. John S Chapman)
Why drop a bomb … when you can hit the ground running?
Cautious about change
When it comes to change, all leaders know it lowers productivity and leads to attrition and insecurity for a while. Therefore some leaders are very cautious in communicating the change.
They tend to keep the imminent fact among very few people, rather than sharing it with the organisation in order for them to prepare themselves and play their part.
The assumption tends to be that leaving people in the dark keeps the level of resistance, and that this lowers the productivity for longer.
A certainty in life
No matter how innovative or explorative you are as a person, a change – defined by others than yourself – is uncomfortable.
Ironically enough, change is the only thing to be certain of. It happens – no matter if you want it or not.
Even though we should be used to it somehow, change challenges our beliefs, the things you do, and the way you do it. And this is hard work for the brain, leaving many people irritated and insecure, with little energy to embrace and enjoy the change – also called resistance.
Small doses
All books about change address communication and highlight it as a key to success. Neither myself nor any of the books encourage going out and communicating to everyone that their lives will look radically different in six months. But we need to communicate the change ahead in small doses, helping the brain to accept and adapt and thereby lower the level of resistance.
On top of that, we have to empower people to change by 1/ Making sure they know WHY they need to change and 2/ Make sure they all have the tools and competencies to be a part of the change.
This way we can hit the ground running when we implement the new strategy.
About
Mette F Johansen
As the CEO and innovation adviser at the communications agency U (u-communicate.dk), Mette’s most important responsibility is helping organisations who have lost sight of their very reason for existing – their ‘raison d’être’ so to speak. She reminds them that it’s not about looking good, it’s about being successful.
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