The secret ingredient to effective digital change? Better listening.
By now most of us understand that we need to address culture and behaviour if we really want technological change to ‘stick’.
But knowing we need to shift our organisational mindset and being able to achieve it are two very different things. We don’t always manage it effectively, or even know where to start. How can we support teams or individuals who might feel threatened by new technology, especially with the growth of AI? How do we implement changes when the natural human instinct is to sit in our comfort zone?
In this blog, we’ll look at a few ways to help our organisations, teams, and the individuals within our teams learn how to adapt in a constantly changing world.
Organisational mindset is everybody’s remit
If we want to gain technical skills, we might go on a training session or course. But the way we work, plan and ‘are’ with each other (mindset and culture) cannot be trained in the same way. Sometimes we may be fortunate enough to have the help of a coach or a mentor, but for the most part we learn these soft skills through experience and practice.
This means that, ultimately, everyone has a chance to influence behaviour within their organisation and shape the new culture. Here’s how we help each other get there.
Supporting individuals to embrace (digital) change
Maybe you’re managing individuals who are feeling resistant to new technology – perhaps you’ve even felt that way yourself?
The assumptions we make about the changes that are coming, and the stories we tell ourselves about our own capabilities, can get us stuck in a negative loop. Here’s how we can break the cycle:
Gently challenge assumptions – what are the facts? Sometimes we treat our assumptions as truths. This can hold us back from changing something. For example, we may believe that if we agree with someone else’s idea it makes us look stupid, incompetent or bad. The Immunity to Change framework can really help us address this.
Use pull not push – give people a sense of what the new way of working is like, make it desirable. I see in my work with clients how people who are part of an agile process grow to love it and become the biggest champions of it.
Involve subject experts and other stakeholders in the design of technology solutions. While their expertise is super valuable, they will also have a stake in making the new solution a success.
Audience centricity applies to all technology users – whether they are your colleagues or your audiences. Many moons ago I made a mistake to not involve our finance team in the design of a donation journey. As a result, we developed an excellent donor experience, but broke the journey the finance team used to process the donations. The lesson learnt? Always put the audience first and that includes your colleagues who are working on the backend of a system or journey!
It’s amazing the difference it makes when we take the time to listen to people’s thoughts and contributions on an individual level – and show them they are a valued and important part of the process.
2. Supporting teams to embrace (digital) change
Helping a team feel invested in (digital) change means giving everyone a sense of ownership and input – so it goes without saying that teams need to be involved from the early design stages. But when “we’ve always done it this way”/“if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” attitudes persist – what do we do?
Managers need to be supported by being given the soft skills to manage their team in a supportive way (as opposed to command and control) – and the time to listen and involve their team. If you are a manager – ask for a coach or a mentor. If you are working in HR, change management or L&D – offer a team leader who’s in the middle of change a coach or a mentor, wherever they are in the hierarchy.
Watch out for the labelling of resistant individuals as ‘dinosaurs’ – it can increase resistance, and create ‘us and them’ division in the team. Involve everyone equally so they can get the sense of the new ways of working.
Time may be tight, but don’t assume that a grudging or half-hearted ‘yes’ means agreement with a decision. If you plough on, it will come back to bite you. I’ve been in many meetings where participants say they have agreed to something, but it’s clear from listening to their contributions that they have very different views – or that there are underlying issues that need to be resolved to prevent confusion further down the line. Listen until you find the real source of the fear or disagreement, then address it.
Co-design ‘rules of engagement’, ‘team principles’ or a ‘team manifesto’ with your team. This will also set accountability for behaviours and decisions, helping teams be more transparent about problems and focussed on finding solutions. Check out Kasperowski’s team protocols for inspiration.
When everyone feels heard by each other, as well as by management, the team will feel more enthusiastic about moving forwards as a collective.
3. Supporting organisations to embrace (digital) change
I’ve supported many organisations on their path to digital maturity over the years. It takes time for the culture and behaviours of an entire organisation to change – it’s definitely an evolution and not a revolution. Here are some of my best tips.
Don’t try to do it all at once – start small, where there’s appetite and excitement.
Roll out slowly where the need is greatest and allow organic spread, e.g. individuals moving between teams and bringing new methods with them.
It’s vital that the senior leadership team is aligned on change to see it through, and have an adaptability mindset, good teamwork and support amongst themselves. You want the senior team to confidently lead change, even if the individuals on the team leave and new people come on board.
Guiding an entire organisation through digital change is a mammoth, multi-faceted task – but the basic principles used with teams and individuals still apply: take your time, be transparent, listen effectively, analyse data, adapt, and provide support to your teams to keep moving in the same direction.
Getting better at change
To get the buy-in required to collectively work towards change, we all need to listen to each other, even when it’s hard – either because time is tight or because you may not want to hear what is said!
“A manager’s ability to turn meetings into a thinking environment is probably an organisation’s greatest asset” - Nancy Kline
If you think your organisation or team could get better at listening to each other and identifying the obstacles that are holding you back – and what people really mean when they say “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” – the Digital Maturity Assessment (DMA) can help.
Since 2015, more than 2,000 individuals and a few large non-profits have used the DMA to flag up problem areas, enabling them to have practical discussions about how to improve and move forwards. It’s a simple approach to measuring how ready your team or workforce are for digital change – and identifying your next steps.
Find out more about the DMA at digitalmaturity.org/about or join us for Digital Maturity 101, a free workshop on Thursday 13 March – and see the DMA in action!
