Developing the Leader within Ch: 4

Lou Holtz and Coaching Change

• Lou Holtz is an American icon and a renowned college football coach.
• He coached the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team to an undefeated season and a national championship in 1988.
• Holtz is known for his dry wit and his ability to turn losing teams into winning ones.
• He coached at six different universities, and by his second year, every team had a winning record and was invited to play in a college bowl game.

Leading Change

• Lou Holtz is a leader who understands how to create positive change.
• He can take an organization that is heading downward, stop the negative momentum, and turn it upward, creating positive momentum.
• Anyone can get out in front of people who are already going in the right direction and encourage them to keep going, but few can make the changes necessary to turn around a group of people who are headed the wrong direction.

Why People Resist Change

• People do not naturally resist change; they resist being changed.
• There are several reasons why people resist change:
  • People feel awkward and self-conscious doing something new.
  • People initially focus on what they will have to give up.
  • People are afraid of being ridiculed.
  • People personalize change and may feel alone in the process.

Overcoming Resistance to Change

• As leaders, we need to help people overcome their resistance to change.
• We need to acknowledge their humanness and work with them to process the change.
• We need to show patience and understanding, rather than expecting people to ignore their feelings during times of change.

The PLAN AHEAD Process

• The PLAN AHEAD process is a step-by-step guide to creating positive change.
• The process involves:
  • Predetermining the change that is needed.
  • Laying out your steps.
  • Adjusting your priorities.
  • Notifying key people.
  • Allowing time for acceptance.
  • Heading into action.
  • Expecting problems.
  • Always pointing to the successes.
  • Daily reviewing your progress.

Personal Notes

• The greatest enemy of tomorrow's success is yesterday's success.
• As leaders, we need to be willing to welcome and champion change to avoid becoming complacent and satisfied with our current success.### Leading Change Successfully
• The biggest obstacle to change is often the people who don't want to change, not the change itself
• To successfully implement change, a leader must:
  • Earn buy-in from key people
  • Communicate effectively
  • Allow time for acceptance
  • Head into action with the support of key players
  • Expect problems to arise
  • Always point to successes
  • Daily review progress

Adjusting Priorities

• Revise priorities to be successful in implementing change
• Cosmetic changes are easier to make but don't address the root issues, while critical changes are more difficult to facilitate but make a greater impact
• Critical changes cost time, energy, resources, creativity, goodwill, or influence, and if it doesn't cost, question if real change is occurring

Notifying Key People

• Identify key people who need to get behind the change to make it successful
• Meet with them individually to share information and earn their buy-in
• Communicate strategically, not just to make the information "fair"
• Give valuable information to make key people feel special and included

Allowing Time for Acceptance

• People usually take a long time to accept change, which often goes through three phases:
  1. It will not work.
  2. It will cost too much.
  3. I thought it was a good idea all along.
• Leaders may see more and before their people do, causing chaos
• Good leaders allow time for acceptance and:
  1. Slow down to give people time to process the change
  2. Communicate clearly and simply
  3. Build in time for people to process ideas

Heading into Action

• Once key players are on board, the change can finally move forward
• Not everyone will be on board, but with enough influence and support, many will get on board in time
• Vision divides people, separating those who will from those who won't
• Leaders must enlist the committed people to help implement the change

Expecting Problems

• Anytime change is initiated, problems arise
• Problems come from unforeseen difficulties and people's objections
• Anticipate the worst-case scenarios and:
  1. Think the worst first
  2. Speak to the worst first
  3. Answer the worst first
  4. Encourage people through the worst first

Always Pointing to Successes

• Celebrate successes, both large and small, to reinforce the change
• Positive reinforcement validates the changes people make
• Point to the people who made the changes happen

Daily Review of Progress

• Daily review of progress is vital to ensure the change is on track and moving forward
• Continually communicate the message of change to people
• Talk about the change clearly, creatively, and continually### Planning for Change
• Predetermine the change needed and why it is necessary, outlining the steps to achieve it
• Describe the current state and the desired outcome, breaking down the process into logical steps

Prioritizing and Notifying

• Identify and adjust priorities to align the organization and people with the coming change
• Notify key influencers and implementers, creating two lists to categorize stakeholders

Managing the Change Process

• Allow time for people to process and accept the change, using observation and intuition to gauge progress
• Head into action, describing the initial steps and their impact on the team or organization

Anticipating and Overcoming Obstacles

• Identify potential problems that may arise during implementation and plan for them
• Celebrate successes and milestones along the way, recognizing achievements and morale-boosting efforts

Monitoring Progress

• Develop a review process to track progress, using metrics and regular check-ins with stakeholders
• Identify key indicators that signal the successful completion of the change

Lou Holtz and Coaching Change

• Lou Holtz is an American icon and a renowned college football coach.
• He coached the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team to an undefeated season and a national championship in 1988.
• Holtz is known for his dry wit and his ability to turn losing teams into winning ones.
• He coached at six different universities, and by his second year, every team had a winning record and was invited to play in a college bowl game.

Leading Change

• Lou Holtz is a leader who understands how to create positive change.
• He can take an organization that is heading downward, stop the negative momentum, and turn it upward, creating positive momentum.
• Anyone can get out in front of people who are already going in the right direction and encourage them to keep going, but few can make the changes necessary to turn around a group of people who are headed the wrong direction.

Why People Resist Change

• People do not naturally resist change; they resist being changed.
• There are several reasons why people resist change:
  • People feel awkward and self-conscious doing something new.
  • People initially focus on what they will have to give up.
  • People are afraid of being ridiculed.
  • People personalize change and may feel alone in the process.

Overcoming Resistance to Change

• As leaders, we need to help people overcome their resistance to change.
• We need to acknowledge their humanness and work with them to process the change.
• We need to show patience and understanding, rather than expecting people to ignore their feelings during times of change.

The PLAN AHEAD Process

• The PLAN AHEAD process is a step-by-step guide to creating positive change.
• The process involves:
  • Predetermining the change that is needed.
  • Laying out your steps.
  • Adjusting your priorities.
  • Notifying key people.
  • Allowing time for acceptance.
  • Heading into action.
  • Expecting problems.
  • Always pointing to the successes.
  • Daily reviewing your progress.

Personal Notes

• The greatest enemy of tomorrow's success is yesterday's success.
• As leaders, we need to be willing to welcome and champion change to avoid becoming complacent and satisfied with our current success.### Leading Change Successfully
• The biggest obstacle to change is often the people who don't want to change, not the change itself
• To successfully implement change, a leader must:
  • Earn buy-in from key people
  • Communicate effectively
  • Allow time for acceptance
  • Head into action with the support of key players
  • Expect problems to arise
  • Always point to successes
  • Daily review progress

Adjusting Priorities

• Revise priorities to be successful in implementing change
• Cosmetic changes are easier to make but don't address the root issues, while critical changes are more difficult to facilitate but make a greater impact
• Critical changes cost time, energy, resources, creativity, goodwill, or influence, and if it doesn't cost, question if real change is occurring

Notifying Key People

• Identify key people who need to get behind the change to make it successful
• Meet with them individually to share information and earn their buy-in
• Communicate strategically, not just to make the information "fair"
• Give valuable information to make key people feel special and included

Allowing Time for Acceptance

• People usually take a long time to accept change, which often goes through three phases:
  1. It will not work.
  2. It will cost too much.
  3. I thought it was a good idea all along.
• Leaders may see more and before their people do, causing chaos
• Good leaders allow time for acceptance and:
  1. Slow down to give people time to process the change
  2. Communicate clearly and simply
  3. Build in time for people to process ideas

Heading into Action

• Once key players are on board, the change can finally move forward
• Not everyone will be on board, but with enough influence and support, many will get on board in time
• Vision divides people, separating those who will from those who won't
• Leaders must enlist the committed people to help implement the change

Expecting Problems

• Anytime change is initiated, problems arise
• Problems come from unforeseen difficulties and people's objections
• Anticipate the worst-case scenarios and:
  1. Think the worst first
  2. Speak to the worst first
  3. Answer the worst first
  4. Encourage people through the worst first

Always Pointing to Successes

• Celebrate successes, both large and small, to reinforce the change
• Positive reinforcement validates the changes people make
• Point to the people who made the changes happen

Daily Review of Progress

• Daily review of progress is vital to ensure the change is on track and moving forward
• Continually communicate the message of change to people
• Talk about the change clearly, creatively, and continually### Planning for Change
• Predetermine the change needed and why it is necessary, outlining the steps to achieve it
• Describe the current state and the desired outcome, breaking down the process into logical steps

Prioritizing and Notifying

• Identify and adjust priorities to align the organization and people with the coming change
• Notify key influencers and implementers, creating two lists to categorize stakeholders

Managing the Change Process

• Allow time for people to process and accept the change, using observation and intuition to gauge progress
• Head into action, describing the initial steps and their impact on the team or organization

Anticipating and Overcoming Obstacles

• Identify potential problems that may arise during implementation and plan for them
• Celebrate successes and milestones along the way, recognizing achievements and morale-boosting efforts

Monitoring Progress

• Develop a review process to track progress, using metrics and regular check-ins with stakeholders
• Identify key indicators that signal the successful completion of the change