A635.3.3.RB
50
reasons not to change/the tribes we lead
I have been asked to view two presentations and
reflect on the following questions in a well written post on my Reflection
Blog.
- How
do you react when you hear colleagues using some of the excuses listed in
the 50 Reasons Not to Change graphic?
- Do
you ever use any of these excuses yourself?
- How
can you overcome the thinking that creates those responses to change
efforts?
- Do
you agree with Seth Godin’s concept that change is driven by tribes?
- What
can you take away from this exercise to immediately use in your career?
Who likes change?
I certainly do not. It is just
good old human nature to resist change and it is so much easier to come up with
reasons not to change. Basically, fear
of the unknown.
According to Dr. Donald R. Brown, “The greater the
impact on the existing culture and norms, the greater the amount of resistance
that is likely to emerge, and thus the more difficult it will be to implement
the change program. On the other hand, an organizational culture that values
change and innovation will positively influence the acceptance and support of a
change program. GM has for decades been a leading example of having an
organizational culture that valued the status quo. Former GM CEO Roger Smith, as
long ago as the 1980s, referred to the tens of thousands of managers made complacent
by the golden days of GM as the “frozen middle.” For a number of reasons, including
a GM culture that did not value change, Smith was not successful in many of the
changes he attempted to make.
Organization members may have a psychological resistance
to change because they want to avoid uncertainty. Past ways of doing things are
well known and predictable, and unwillingness to give up familiar tasks or
relationships may cause resistance. Many people feel comfortable doing things
the same way as always—they prefer to remain in “the comfort zone.” Douglas Solomon,
the chief technology strategist at IDEO, which is a consulting firm
specializing in in-novation, believes that companies who are in their comfort
zone are not aware of a need to change and are likely to resist change. He
says, “There are still people who say, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ And I
don’t think these companies are in a good position to really change, because they’re
happy with where they are [their comfort zone]. So you have to have a certain
degree of discomfort in your business to be willing to make the changes that
are necessary.” (Brown, 2011)
As a
secondary educator, I experiences excuses daily. Everyone from tenured teachers down to young freshmen. Some of them are exactly as Dr. Watkins
describes like “The Union will scream”, “It’s too much trouble to change”, “It
can’t be done”, “It’s not my job” (Watkins, n.d.) to things so brazen like, “I
don’t want to do it”, I don’t feel like it”, “Who cares” and “That’s stupid”. Interestingly enough, most teachers have the
same mindset. It is just as Seth Godin
describes in his TEDTalk video, “But there is good news around the corner --
really good news. I call it the idea of tribes. What tribes are, is a
very simple concept that goes back 50,000 years. It's about leading
and connecting people and ideas. And it's something that people have
wanted forever. Lots of people are used to having a spiritual tribe, or a
church tribe, having a work tribe, having a community tribe. But
now, thanks to the internet, thanks to the explosion of mass media, thanks
to a lot of other things that are bubbling through our society around the
world, tribes are everywhere…What all these people have in common is that
they are heretics. That heretics look at the status quo and say, ‘This
will not stand. I can't abide this status quo. I am willing to stand up
and be counted and move things forward. I see what the status quo is; I
don't like it.’ That instead of looking at all the little rules and
following each one of them, that instead of being what I call a
sheepwalker -- somebody who's half asleep, following instructions, keeping
their head down, fitting in -- every once in a while someone stands up and
says, ‘Not me.’ Someone stands up and says, ‘This one is important. We
need to organize around it.’ And not everyone will. But you don't need
everyone. You just need a few people who will look at the rules, realize
they make no sense, and realize how much they want to be connected.”
(Godin, 2009)
When
faced with the negative, I try to be encouraging. I try to impart to the “nay-sayers” that it
is worth the try even though I have been on the side of the “nay-sayers” over
certain required changes. I, too, have
used excuses about not changing things…especially at home. But that’s another story, altogether.
I
completely agree with Godin’s concept of tribes although I have always referred
to them as cliques. There is strength in
numbers. When like-minded people get
together, it is easier to facilitate change.
However, it is also easier to resist change. I good example of this is the current
Presidential race. Those that do not
want change will vote their way and those that want change will vote theirs. There is three four tribes in this
situation. The Republican Tribe, the
Democrat Tribe, the Independent Tribe and the Undecided Tribe.
Moving
forward, I plan on being more cognitive in recognizing “tribes”, analyzing
their like-mindedness to be able to create a course of action that enables me
to influence their decision.
References
Godin, S. (2009, February). TEDTalk: The tribes we lead. [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead?language=en
Watkins, D. (n.d.). 50 Reasons not to change. Retrieved from https://prezi.com/z2v2cvo4t9tc/50-reasons-not-to-change/
Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development. (8th
Ed.). Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ
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