Being an agent of change

One of my co-workers described me as “an agent of change.” The funny thing is, I don’t think of myself that way. My DISC (https://www.innermetrix.com/disc-index/) profile says that I am a 99 in Stabilizing, which means that I tend to prefer a controlled, deliberative, and predictable environment. I also, as indicated by my 53 Cautious score, have a preference to adhere to the defined and proven way of doing things. So how could I possibly be an agent of change? I think it came to the point where the way of doing things just didn’t make sense to me. I, for whatever reason, really love improving on existing inventions. I’m not so good at initial ideas but can take the initial idea and make it happen. In fact, I’ve made a pretty decent living doing just that.

So, how did I become an agent of change?

1. Get involved with the team – I don’t think I’ve ever had an original idea. Some of the best change ideas come from the teams themselves. Teams tend to like change if they own the change and if they have input into what is being done. By owning the change and being involved, the team will believe in it. I often start out my change discussions with a “bitch session” or simply with, “Hey, I have an idea and I’d like your feedback.” The more that the team can lash out – hopefully not at me – the more they will have ownership.
2. Start small – Most needs of change come from a management edict like “get more done”. Well, the change is not “get more done”; it’s really about figuring out what could be done better. Plant the idea of “a change might be good” in an abstract way before suggesting your change. Many people have had other jobs so I’ll ask, “Did you do things differently where you were before?” “Was it better?” Then follow up with, “Do you think the same things could work here?” Or, “You seem to know a lot about it, is there something you think might help?”
3. Come up with a plan – Now that you’ve talked to the team and have some ideas, work with a few team members to come up with a plan. Keep the process transparent to the entire team and ask for feedback. Usually there won’t be much feedback, but transparency really helps to minimize resistance when you try to initiate the change.
4. Believe in the change – I really have to believe strongly that the change has many benefits. I hate to see people wasting their time, so as long as the change contributes to that, great. If the team learns something new, I really like it. I have to believe it, but more importantly, the team has to believe it.
5. Marketing – I call it top down and bottoms up. I market to the people who will realize the benefit and those making the change. Once I have a plan, I market that plan to all of the internal customers that the team serves and to the team itself – before I officially suggest the change. It can be, “The dev team really came up with some good ideas on how to do their job better. I’d like your opinion.” Or, “Would it help if…”Then there is the marketing to the team itself. “I’ve gotten some good responses from your customers. I’m excited for the change, are you?”
6. Execution – The hardest part is executing the change. If you have a measurement or KPI (Key Performance Indicator) on the current state, that is great. If not, take a couple of weeks before execution do some measurements. This way you can show how well you did. Market the fact that the change is underway as hard as you marketed the idea for the change. This does two things – it motivates the team to execute the change because they know that everyone is watching and it prevents the customers from being surprised.
7. Recap – I run a retrospective after the change is in place with the team and with the team and customers. This way we can get better next time and people will be comfortable with one another.

I think that’s what I do. I have never really put it to paper before. Maybe I’m doing something other than this. I’d love to hear other people’s ideas too.