You’ve been there. The VP announces a new initiative. The organization is going to become “Agile.” It’s going to revolutionize the way work is getting done. It’s going to fix all the problems the organization currently have and any new ones that come up in the future. You roll your eyes signifying “here we go again.” The first thought that pops in your head is “If I just hang on, I can wait this out. Things will go back to normal.”
This is common in large change initiatives. Some folks with passive-aggressive tendencies portray that they are in favor of the new vision, appearing to be helpful. Yet it seems like every sentence starts with “That’s great in theory, but that won’t work here……” Others are more direct and say “that’s not the way we do things here.” Finally, there are the meek who don’t say anything. They just go along waiting for the leaders to focus on something else so they can go back to the way it was before.
Resistance comes in many forms. Why do people resist? Some are just against change and will tell you such. For the rest, the fear of change rules the day and has its roots in VUCA. VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. Throw in the differences each person has in cognitive ability, affecting how quickly people learn and how much they can retain. Does anybody wonder why 70% of change initiatives ultimately fail?
There are only three constants in life: Death, Taxes, and Change. Leaders often believe they are unicorns. They believe they are smarter than everyone else and can use their gut feelings to determine what is going on in the minds of those they are supposed to lead. Using their gut feelings, they can guide the organization by focusing on the masses, rather than realizing the masses are really a collection of individuals.
The problem with leaders using their gut is that they are using 1/3 of the information available. Leaders make a majority of their decisions based on the limited data that is available. That limited data is mostly based on fictional generalizations of the collective experiences, education, and knowledge that is estimated across their team rather than considering what is going on inside of each individual.
To be successful, leaders need to consider the other 2/3 as well. The life skills and cognitive capabilities of each individual either inhibit or supercharge the performance of each individual.
Rather than just addressing 1/3 of each individual, we prefer a holistic approach we refer to collectively the Head, Heart, and Briefcase (HHB) Approach.
The Head, Heart, and Briefcase approach has its origins in the core principles of Predictive Index’s concept of Talent Optimization. Let’s talk about each component.
Head
The Head component of HHB consists of the drives and behaviors of the individual. Using business assessments, such as Predictive Index, Pairin, or Kolbe, provides an objective view of the individual and if they have the soft skills and emotional intelligence to succeed as the change is adopted.
Heart
The Heart components of HHB consists of the values & culture inside the individual. Core values, principles, morals, work ethic, and your “WHY” are part of your heart. To evaluate heart, assessment results can be used to identify areas to explore to determine if the individual’s values and culture align to what is required by their role.
Briefcase
The briefcase is what is most often looked at with respect to the individual. Previous knowledge, skills, certifications, and experience are part of the briefcase. Another way to think about the briefcase is to consider it as the resume or LinkedIn profile. This is often the main criterion for recruiting and hiring yet is proven not to be a good indicator of success.
The Whole Person Shows up to Everyday
Every day, the person who shows up to work brings all three components with them. Organizations should consider changing the way they hire, but also create a work environment where leaders can lead and manage easily knowing they have an understanding of the what the individual’s core values and skills so they can create an environment for great work.
At beLithe, we firmly believe in the concept of Head, Heart, and Briefcase. Moving forward, we are going to start taking into account the HHB approach in everything we do. We will indicate how our workshops, blogs, and social media posts support the HHB approach.
As you continue on your personal journey, don’t just consider your briefcase. Consider the whole you: Head, Heart, and Briefcase.
More to come!
Chris
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