Change is Inevitable: Deal With It

Change is scary!

Humans have a built-in fear of change.  We like everything to be nice and safe and just the way it was yesterday.  This desire for safety and security has been with us for our entire lives, but if we remain in a cocoon of no change, we miss out on the exciting events in life.

Change is All Around Us

If you think about it, everything is constantly changing.  We grow older each day.  Our surroundings change:  the plants sprout, bud, bloom, and wither with the seasons; our lawns grow and need to be mowed; our houses need maintenance to replace, repair or repaint those things that wear out from use or weather.

Look at a sunset.  The sunset will move from a clear or cloudy sky to a sky that is suddenly ablaze with color.  It will then dim to darkness.  If you think about it, that blaze of color only lasts a minute or two before it fades.  We want to hold onto the good times, but they will fade as well.

Change Helps Organizations to Grow

Our organizations change as well.  They change all the time, but we are usually too busy to notice.  People come and people go.  Programs are implemented, and programs are ended.  These are all part of the natural ebb and flow of organizational life.  We all expect these and they are necessary because we know that when a program has served its purpose, there is no reason to keep it going any longer.

These are the changes that help an organization to grow.  It goes through a planned program and budget cycle and learns what works and what doesn’t.  This allows the organization to modify its actions to increase its mission effectiveness and deliver its programs and products with efficiency.

Most people would recognize that these are the types of change that they want to see in their organizations as it is important for its overall health.  What they don’t want to see is wholesale change for the sake of change or changes that are taken too suddenly or that are too large.

Types of Change

There are many types of change.  I’ve just mentioned that normal change that comes from executing your program and budget and tweaking it to ensure your are meeting your mission goals in an efficient and effective manner.  Other types of change include:

• Environmental Change:  This can include everything from moving from one location to another, or dealing with hazardous weather, or dealing with a change in the demographics of your location.  This article will not deal with these types of changes although we might in the future.
• Financial Change:  This is based on a change in operating funds including an increase as well as a decrease in funds.  When you think about a change, you immediately think negative because of the potential loss of operating income would make it more difficult for your organization to function.  A surge in operating funds would also be unsettling if you haven’t planned for a windfall.
• Personnel Change:  Personnel changes are the most unsettling because we get used to working with the people around us and when they leave, we feel loss and must change.  When a new person arrives, we don’t know what to expect or how to act until a sufficient amount of time has passed to allow us to get settled in with them.  There is also an increasing amount of discomfort the higher up the organizational ladder you go with the most angst being felt with the leader leaves.  This makes you feel vulnerable because of the leader’s role in moving the organization forward, but this type of change can be planned for so that the feelings of vulnerability can be mitigated.

This article outline ways to improve how your organization prepares for and execute personnel changes.

Planned Change

Planned changes are what we most expect.  When someone announces their retirement, for example, we have sufficient time to find someone to fill the position as well as train the new person to complete the duties.  There is still a bit of churn when people change because the new person is going to modify the ways the old person performed the tasks.  The basic tasks are still there and being done, we just have to get used to the way a different person performs the task.  This is normal and natural.

You may also be experiencing a period of organizational growth where you are hiring new individuals to become part of your team.  This is exciting, but if you have done your preparation properly, the new person will slide into an organization with a clear sense of expectations and list of duties.

Planned changes allow us to do exactly that — plan.  We can prepare the job descriptions, outline the expectations, clean out and restock the office, and determine how the new situation will develop.  The big problem is when we don’t have time to plan.

Unexpected Change

One of the biggest organizational challenges you will experience is the unexpected change resulting from the unexpected departure of a member of our organization.  This is true from the bottom of the organization as it is for the leader of the organization.  The unexpected departure can occur for many reasons:  the individual may have died, been arrested, been fired, or just quit.  The churn comes from the unexpected nature of the act.  Yes, I’ve seen all of these happen in organizations where I’ve either worked or been a member.

How the governing board deals with this is vital to the health of the organization and its ability to move on and grow from the experience.  The best way to deal with this is to plan for it.  Yes, you can plan for unexpected changes.  These best time to plan for this is before they occur.

Every position in your organization needs a succession plan.  A succession plan is a written (please write it down somewhere) document that will enable someone else in the organization to take over the position until a new person is hired to do it.  This is particularly important for the executive or governing board.  The higher in the organization a position is, the more critical it is to have a good succession plan.

For a board officer, there should be a position designated in the bylaws to take over in the event the incumbent is absent.  The designated position holder should be fully trained by the incumbent in all facets of the job.  In addition, there should be a turnover notebook or pass down guide or desk guide or whatever you want to call it.  This succession document should list everything the incumbent does.  That simple.

Succession Planning Tools

There are no specific tools that are required to create a succession plan.  Look at your bylaws or constitution and see what is required there.  That is your starting point.  Below I list some items to consider:

1. Put it in writing and review it constantly (annually at a bare minimum).  In writing means that it is a document.  I find that Microsoft OneNote is an excellent way to put a notebook together with different pages and sections for different items. It is also available across all your electronic devices and can be shared with others.  Plain paper is fine also, but you’ll need copies at different locations in case your one copy is destroyed.
2. List each duty that the incumbent performs.  There is no detail that is too small for this.  If there is a specific way that the duty must be performed, add that.  “You need to hold onto the vase at 3:15 because it will fall when the train goes by.”  If you work with a specific person or vendor for the task, list the person or vendor along with their contact information (phone, email, snail mail).
3. List specific computer accounts and passwords that the incumbent uses to perform these functions.  You can keep this section encrypted or locked up where others can reach it.  Remember what happened when a Crypto CEO died and only he had the password.  His customers lost approximately $200 million in cryptocurrency.  Leave a way for others to get to your passwords.
4. List people who are capable of performing the function on a temporary or permanent basis.  As soon as a board officer steps into their position, they should be identifying and training their successor.
5. Make sure that other people know what you do and how you do it.  If the tasks are complex, you can prepare a process manual that lists a flow chart for the task and work steps.  This is an excellent way to prepare a desk guide for positions where there is a lot of routine work, or where volunteers fill in.
6. Add the templates for press releases if it is a sudden change.  You can prepare the press releases for each news outlet you use and just leave blank spaces for the details.
7. Add your method of informing your organization members, staff, and volunteers of the changes and include specific ways to help them manage their reactions or grief.

Change Is Inevitable

Even though an unexpected change occurs in your organization, you can manage it effectively if you plan for it.  No, you cannot plan for every contingency, but if you develop the mindset that asks, “What would happen if . . .” you will be able to help your organization minimize its own disruption and grow through the event.

Thank you for reading this article.  Please add to the conversation if I have omitted anything or if there is something that can be added.