Resisting change – Are  you a manager who believes if it ain’t broke, why fix it?

I’ve recently been watching some re-runs of a Mary Portas series where the outspoken retail expert looks at some of the major retailers on the high street, challenging them in terms of their customer service and how they do business generally.

Interesting stuff!

This particular show was about mobile phone stores. She’d done some canvassing on the streets and some secret  filming in a couple of stores as a mystery shopper. The results were less than pretty. Boring and unimaginative store layouts and sales assistants who were “a bunch of geeky blokes” seemed to be the norm. Customers complained of heavy sales tactics and uninterested assistants who talked “at” them about tariffs, number of minutes, texts and megabytes, and didn’t listen or bother to try to find out what they actually needed.

She approached all the major retailers to see if they would be willing to work with her to look at how they could improve the way they do things.

All except one – Fone House – refused to let her anywhere near their stores. The CEO of Fone House was open minded. He decided that, if Mary could help him increase sales and improve his business then he was willing to face the scrutiny and the possibility of changing the way he did things across his stores and franchises.

It got me thinking about why – as managers – our mindset is critical when it comes to change. We spend all our time worrying about how we’re going to manage it in others – but fail to start with where we’re at ourselves.

Because the truth is – what your mindset is as a manager, will be reflected in those you manage.
Your team is a reflection of you.

Bear with me for just a little longer while I continue the story with Mary and Fone House.

The CEO’s mindset was open. He believed his business was doing well, (and indeed it was, with plans for opening another 18 stores over the next 12 months already in place), but he was open to be challenged, and to suggestions about how it could be better.

On the other hand, his top performing franchisee took the view “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  This cocky, complacent, Lamborghini driving store manager was totally convinced there was no need for change and he resisted any and all attempts by Mary Portas to try some new approaches to how they did things in the store.

Why a manager’s mindset matters when it comes to change – do you resist – or are you open minded?

I believe however you view change yourself as a manager will impact how it is viewed by your team. Peter Drucker stated; “one does not manage change. One leads and directs change.”

So – are you resisting any changes right now yourself?

The first thing to understand is that, just like that cocky Fone House store manager, you may be totally blind to the fact you’re resisting change. Don’t worry about that! We all have our “blind spots”! However, the most outstanding managers and leaders know this, and are willing to examine their own actions and motives on a regular basis, even if it means they might realise they are being less than effective.

One of my favourite books on management, (because I’m a simple soul!) is “Managing for Dummies” from the Dummies series. They give some tips on how to figure out if you’re fighting change – which I’d love to share with you.

Am I resisting change? Take a simple quiz!

Take a look at the following list and ask yourself – is this true for me right now?

• You’re still playing by the old rules.
  Take that cocky franchisee: because business was good he never even bothered to look at what was going on around him. He had no radar up, looking for trends; he didn’t care to ask what his customers thought; he believed the old rules worked – so why change them?

  Not that long ago the high street giant M&S thought they were invincible too – and totally missed the signs of the Zara’s of this world quietly taking their customers away from them.

  If this is you – wake up and smell the coffee!

  Not only can you not afford to get complacent, if you’re complacent – guess what your staff will be?
  What type of culture are you generating?

• You’re dodging new assignments.
  Do you find  yourself deliberately making yourself so busy you cannot possibly take on anything new?
  Then don’t be surprised if your staff play the same game with you!
• You’re trying to slow things down.
  Do you find yourself analysing endlessly the pros and cons of making any changes?

  No-one’s advocating jumping into major change too quickly – but research shows the most successful managers are those who don’t wait to be 100% sure about a new initiative. They take the necessary precautions, accept they will never be 100% sure, they trial anything major first and they implement – they “suck it and see.”

  What’s more, they accept they sometimes might make mistakes and get it wrong – but they learn from those and move on.

  What great lessons to teach your staff.

• You’re working hard to control the uncontrollable.
  I’m going to quote the authors of the Dummies book here – because they say it so eloquently!

  “Maybe you’re trying to head off a planned reorganisation, or stop your foreign competitors accessing your domestic markets, or delay a much larger company acquiring your firm. The world of business is changing all around you, and you can’t do anything about it.

  You have a choice: You can continue to resist change by pretending you control it  (believe us, you can’t), or you can concentrate your efforts on how to respond to change most effectively in order to ensure everything works to your advantage.”

• You’re playing the role of victim.
  Don’t get me started on this one! Perhaps a subject for a complete article! However what I will say is this. Once anyone plays the victim role, they become helpless – and when human beings feel helpless they give away any hope of taking control and moving forward. Instead they become stuck in a cycle of moaning and despondency which not only makes them feel depressed, it depresses everyone around them too!

  So honestly – if you’re a manager who recognises you’re doing this, consider what you can influence; accept what you can’t – and work with your team to channel your energy and creativity into dealing with the changes as effectively as you can. You, and they, will feel a whole lot better – and you could even end up realising the brave new world is actually better than the old one!

• You feel paralysed by the change
  I think this one really follows the last – because often we end up doing nothing when we feel helpless.
  The trouble is – if you do nothing – what will be the result? And what sort of signal is that sending to your staff?

So how did you do? Honestly? Do any of these apply to you?

The  postscript to the Mary Portas story.

How did it all turn out?

Well – as usual, Mary initiated a brilliant new store layout and better staff sales training which brought .

about incredible increases in sales and customer satisfaction ratings, not to mention far more confident and productive  staff.

Mr Lamborghini man began to realise that actually, his resistance was hurting only one thing – him and his franchise profits. Neither his ego nor his love of the finer things in life were going to let him fall behind in this brave new world for Fone House. He too implemented the store layout changes.

The truth is – maybe sometimes things may not appear “broke” – but the manager who signals to his team that it’s OK to be complacent, or to believe there’s no room for improvement should not be surprised when his competitors overtake him, and he finds himself with a team full of complacent, arrogant, change resistant staff.

OK – Lamborghini man was an extreme example of worst practice.

I’m sure you’re not in that league.

But understanding how our own attitudes, beliefs and mindset can shape our team’s approach to change is the first step to improving how you manage change in the future.

So I think it’s worth repeating  –

What your mindset is as a manager, will be reflected in those you manage.

Your team is a reflection of YOU.

“Want to learn more about how you can manage existing change

and build a more resilient team for the future?

Learn some simple techniques for the comfort of your own desk!

JOIN ME IN OUR SECOND WEBINAR THIS MONTH: How to manage resistance, negativity and hostility.

Find out more: Webinar 2012