Tipping Points

Although Beckhard's formula provides a useful model for overcoming the resistance to change, do not expect change to occur in a logical, linear fashion. Change spreads more like a social movement than a step-by-step march ”once it catches on, it produces a momentum of its own. There is also a tipping point after which much can happen in a hurry. As a leader, you not only have to be the ambassador that introduces and solicits ideas for change, you have to recognize the flow and encourage it to take hold. In Malcolm Gladwell's excellent book The Tipping Point (2000), he describes the three laws of change movements, as outlined in table 21 and described below. These laws provide you with additional tools to use as an ambassador of a team-based organizational change effort.

TABLE 21: The Tipping Point Laws
The Law of the Few Some people matter more than others do The 80/20 rule (crime and disease spread by the activities of a few; social epidemics the same way) A few exceptional people are more sociable, energetic , knowledgeable, or influential among peers Who should be communicating your change plans and ideas? Who are the connectors, mavens, and salespersons in your organization? The Stickiness Factor Epidemics tip when something happens to transform the epidemic agent itself Stickiness means that a message stays with you; catchy phrases are strong influences Unless you remember what someone tells you, it is unlikely it will change your behavior Messages can become stickier through small changes in the presentation and structuring of information The magic number 7: People don't remember lists of more than seven things. What needs to be communicated, and how? How do you make the messages "sticky," and what distractions need to be removed? The Power of Context Circumstances, conditions, and particulars of the environment influence people's behavior The weather, the number people around, and other contexual factors diffuse the sense of responsibility The rule of 150: When an organization exceeds 150 people, informal means of influence no longer work well What are the contexts/conditions for this change effort, and what do they communicate? What can you do to establish an environment that will send the right message?
source: Adapted form Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point (New York: Little Brown and Co., 2000).

The Law of the Few

The first law states that initially you don't need to have the majority of the people in favor of becoming a team-based organization, but you do need a few special allies . Gladwell identifies "connectors," "mavens," and " salesmen ." You may be one of these types of people and you may also benefit from recruiting a couple of these characters .

True to their name , connectors provide connections between groups and individuals. They don't hang out with the same people every day, but rather interact with several different groups and types of people. They aren't necessarily friends with all these people, but they have no qualms about talking with them even if they are not part of their circle. You might see them talking with union leaders one day, with upper management or with people from different departments the next . They may be freer to talk across racial, gender, and age lines. You need these people to hear about the elements of your organization's team concept early on. If you only present things to your supporters, or you try to rigidly adhere to the chain of command, the word might not spread fast enough to produce momentum. Connectors are your key to word-of-mouth advertising for the need for change and the benefits of a team concept. Who are the natural connectors in your organization?

Mavens love to learn and to use what they learn to solve problems. They are not know-it- alls ; they just like to figure things out. If you were going to buy a new stereo system or computer next week, isn't there someone you would call and ask their opinion about which brand to buy and where to shop? Mavens keep up on things. They enjoy knowing the details. It helps them solve their own problems, but they also welcome requests from others for help. Who are the mavens on your team? If members had questions about how a team concept is supposed to work, whom would they go to? Who do they believe will have examined the fine print and would help them understand the features of the company's team-based approach to change? Make sure your mavens have access to accurate information about your organization's change effort. You don't even have to know it all yourself. You need credible allies that people can go to for answers.

Salesmen ”and saleswomen ”are the closers. They push people past understanding. They get people to decide to buy. Organizational change efforts, especially those that are team based, are bound to have pros and cons associated with their strategies and steps. No change effort is risk free. Even after you get people to agree that there is a need for change and that the overall vision is a good one for their future, you will still have people debating the merits of the effort. Have you been in meetings where people end a discussion with "Let's agree to disagree "? While that is a respectful way to avoid further conflict during that meeting, it doesn't get anybody anywhere . At some point decisions have to be made and actions have to be taken to implement the decisions. Yes, teams are a way of democratizing organizations and encouraging free speech, but that does not mean members vote on every issue or that everyone's vote is equal. Teams within the organization can't be making decisions that contradict each other. They can solicit ideas, as well as discuss and debate them, but at some point they have to close the deal. You need an ally or two who are persuasive. They charm and convince people to take the plunge.

The Stickiness Factor

You and a small group of people can make a big difference in a change effort. However, it is not just a matter of who promotes the change. It's also a matter of what the change effort is about. The message communicated by you and your connectors, mavens, and salespersons must be what Gladwell describes as "sticky." That is, much of the details of a change effort will be forgotten ”or never really listened to ”but some core element must capture people's attention and stick in their mind. Yes, your organization's change effort may be complex, and it might take a day or three to explain it all, but guess what? People are going to leave those long sessions and remember just a few things ”up to seven things on average, according to George A. Miller (1956). Carefully choose what messages you want to stick in team members' mind.

Politicians have learned that consistent, repetitive "sound bites" gain more votes than detailed explanations of their stances on issues. While we may not like this, we must learn from it. If you provide detailed handouts during team training sessions, they probably won't get read by the majority. If you provide bullet points highlighting the key elements, you will probably get more people to pay attention. If the majority can grasp the core principles of the change effort and know whom they can go to (e.g., you or a maven) for advice or more details, you have a better shot of helping the change stick. Remember the old adage concerning training presented earlier: "Tell people what you are going to tell them. Then tell them. And then close by telling them what you told them." Keep it simple, catchy, and consistent.

The Power of Context

According to the third law of tipping points, the environment in which a change effort is introduced has an impact on whether it catches on. People consciously or subconsciously pick up on signs that indicate whether a change effort is for real. If your organization claims to be advocating a team approach to getting work done, there had better be space available for teams to meet and interact. If the change effort emphasizes the need for an orderly and systematic approach to things, the facility ought to be kept clean and orderly.

If your organization has more than 150 people, you need clear rules and policies regarding the use of teams and the conduct of people on those teams. Informal agreements on how members are supposed to behave won't work in larger organizations. If your company is large enough that people don't know each other's names , informal procedures won't be enough. While peer pressure may influence behavior on a team of ten to twelve people, you need more formal mechanisms to ensure consistent behaviors across teams.

Some messages regarding your organization's change effort should be presented to everyone at roughly the same time to help ensure consistency. Perhaps an off-site or an all-employee meeting should be held to announce it. However, if it is a team-based change effort, most of the elements should be presented and discussed in small group settings. If the change is being made to get people involved, don't hold a session that asks people to be passive recipients of information. Break the large group into small groups and have them contribute input on why change is necessary and how teams can help address the need. Upper management (and union leadership in a joint setting) will have to sit in on many small group sessions repeating the message to all. While that may seem inefficient, it shows commitment and provides the context that matches a team-based change effort. By the way, these meetings between upper management and teams cannot be one-time events. Ongoing interactions are needed to sustain the change effort. All channels of communication should be explored. What can be done at your facility to establish communication boards or to establish computer links for easy transmittal of team documentation? Do you have the context to help tip the movement toward a team-based change in your organization?

Team-based change efforts are social movements in an organizational setting. Remember, the three laws described in The Tipping Point can help you become a more effective ambassador for helping your organization spread the change until it becomes a natural way of doing business. Exercise 32 provides a worksheet for you to apply these three laws to serve your organization and team.