This document contains the presentation slides for Ray Williams' talk on managing change to the Canadian Society of Club Managers. The presentation discusses why most change efforts fail, provides insights from brain science about how the brain responds to threats and rewards, and outlines strategies leaders can use to effectively manage change based on these brain-based principles. Specifically, the presentation recommends that leaders 1) involve employees in the vision and plans to reduce threats, 2) consider how changes impact people's status, autonomy, relatedness and fairness, and 3) make an emotional case for change in addition to a logical one.

1. The Need For Change and How
to Manage It
A Presentation to the Canadian Society of Club
Managers’ Western Regional Seminar,
April 7, 2013
By Ray Williams
President, Ray Williams Associates
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2. Ray Williams Associates
Ray Williams, Ph.D.,MCC,CMC
Leadership Training, Executive Coaching,
Speaking
#404-999 Canada Place, Vancouver, V6C 3E2
604-641-1342; 604-259-1564
Website: http://raywilliams.ca
Email: ray@raywillliamsassociates.com
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3. 3
A Tale of Two Leaders

4. 4
The Situation

5. 5
The Conditions

6. 6
Question: If You Were The Team
Leader In One Of Those Camps,
How Would You Help Internees
Adapt To The Sudden Change In
Their Lives?

7. 7
Making Changes Organizationally
and Personally:
What Can These Two Video Clips
Tell You?

8. Making Change: Organizational and
Personal -1
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9. Making Change Organizational and
Personal-3
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10. 10
WHAT IS THE TRACK RECORD ON
CHANGE EFFORTS?

11. Most Change Efforts Fail
Study by McKinsey & Company (2006) cites 70%
Studies by psychologists Robert Kegan and Lisa
Laskow Lahey cite 70-80%
David Rock and Jeffrey Schwartz research on how
brain activity sabotages change efforts-up to
90%
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12. 12
WHY DO MOST CHANGE EFFORTS
BOTH IN
ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS
FAIL?
WHAT DO YOU THINK?

13. Reasons Why Organizational Changes FailResearch
Fear of loss—jobs, status, rewards
Change is mandated—no involvement of others
who have to implement change
Lack of trust in leaders
LACK OF UNDERSTANDING ABOUT HOW
OUR BRAINS WORK!
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14. 14
Communicating Change
Communicating change clearly is
critical –the importance of
communication is what you get back
not what you send out

15. Communicating Change
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16. 16
Brain Science Tells Us Much
About The Motivation To Change

17. 17
Change and Motivation: Daniel Pink

18. What Do We Know About The Brain That
We Can Apply To Making Change
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19. What Do We Know About The Brain That
We Can Apply To Change-1
The brain has an overarching organizing
system to minimize danger/threat (an away
response) and maximize reward (a toward
response)
Your brain’s threat response center (limbic
system) is unconsciously and easily aroused
The threat/away response is stronger, faster and
longer lasting than the toward/reward response
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20. What Do We Know About The Brain That
We Can Apply To Change-2
The threat/away response reduces cognitive
functions; and makes you more defensive and
reactive
Activating the reward/toward system stimulates
the parts of the brain associated with positive
emotions such as compassion, kindness,
cooperation
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21. 21
The Brain’s Threat Response Can Compromise
Cognitive Functions

22. 22

23. 23
SCARF: Status-1
Status is a prime driver of behavior, and even
the smallest increase in status activates the
reward/toward center of the brain
In contrast, even the smallest decrease in status
activates the threat/away from center of the
brain
People will spend a lot of time and energy
protecting their status

24. 24
SCARF: Status-2
When competition for status is encouraged,
positive relationships decline
You can trick yourself into a status reward by
competing against yourself
Leaders reduce status threats in others by
lowering their status through sharing own
humanity and mistakes (humility) and by
focusing on positive feedback not criticism

25. SCARF: Certainty and Autonomy
Autonomy and the feeling of control and
certainty, or the need to predict your future, are
primary rewards and the absence of them are
threats
Reappraisal (acceptance + reframing) is a powerful
strategy to prevent threat based emotional
reactions
Leaders can assist people faced with change by
providing choices, giving a clear picture of the
future and giving autonomy
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26. SCARF: Relatedness
Safe and trusting connections are necessary for
collaboration
People are quickly classified as friend or foe
with foe as the default system in the absence of
positive cues
Leaders need to make personal connections
with employees before trying to make
professional changes
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27. SCARF: Fairness
A sense of fairness can be primary reward and
unfairness a threat
Being open and transparent in dealing with
people triggers fairness/reward response
To accept an unfair situation, you need to go
through a reappraisal process (acceptance+
reframing)
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28. Managing Change-1
Involve employees in your change vision and
plans to reduce threat response
Consider your actions in terms of whether they
have potential to increase threat (away)
response or increase reward (toward) response
Articulate how changes will impact each person
personally
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29. Managing Change-2
Generate short term wins and celebrate those
wins
Focus changes that are linked to the kind of
organizational culture (long term) you want,
not just short term quick fixes (systems,
procedures)
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30. Managing Change-3
Make an emotional case for change, and do not
rely solely on logic/rationality
Example: My case for the Spartan army
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31. Managing Change-3
Make an emotional case for change, and do not
rely solely on logic/rationality
Example: My case for the Spartan army
31

32. Managing Change-3
Make an emotional case for change, and do not
rely solely on logic/rationality
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33. 33
Question: If You Were The Team
Leader In One Of Those Camps,
How Would You Help Internees
Adapt To The Sudden Change In
Their Lives?

34. One Leader’s Approach To Change
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35. One Leader’s Approach To Change
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36. 36
Questions?
Comments?