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The third step of a change management effort is the key for team’s buy-in.
Every improvement effort needs to answer the three universal questions. The first question of ‘What to change’ is usually clear to people, although they may not fully agree to it. If we use the focusing steps of TOC, we will identify real leverage points for improvement, to maximize overall system benefits.
The second step involves answering the question ‘What to change to’. Usually, this is also well articulated by the leaders and discussed in detail with the teams.
The third step is often the culprit. After articulating what to change and what to change to, leaders normally jump to ‘How to change’ and describe in detail the steps required to switch to the improved system. If we reflect on it, the question does point to a ‘push’ methodology where change is sought to be pushed to the teams. We know that a push does lead to resistance.
Dr. Goldratt came up with a brilliant way of managing change by modifying the third step to ‘How to cause the change’, which intuitively implies a ‘pull’ to be created.
Next time you manage a change, do think about the third step.