PASTFUTURE ORIENTATION AND CHANGE


PAST/FUTURE ORIENTATION AND CHANGE

Roberta believes that personalized customer service, the hallmark of her bank, is only achieved by talking one-on-one with customers. Jamie, however, feels that personalized service can be achieved using many different strategies. Both arguments have merits. The problem with Roberta's point of view is that it's based entirely on previous experience. We must all ask ourselves, How do we move toward the future without becoming trapped in the past?

An orientation toward the past is based on a cognitive brain function called "knowledge transference." From an early age, we learn from experience. If an experience is positive, a positive mental map of the situation is imprinted in our memory. When we run across a similar situation, we react with similar behavior and expect similar positive results. This process works the other way around as well. We remember negative experiences and try not to repeat them—of course with varying degrees of success. Over time, repeated experiences become ingrained beliefs. Roberta believes that a one-on-one customer experience is the only way that her bank can excel in customer service. Period.

However, times change. People change. And ironclad rules can grow squishy over time. It's not that Roberta's point of view is invalid, but it's less valid than it used to be. As we explained to Roberta, "Some people will always want to call and talk to a banker, but others, like us, would prefer to go online. We don't always have time to call during the day, and we like having access to our accounts around the clock, around the country."

Impact on Innovation

The problem is that even good business decisions that provide good results can eventually lead to stagnation. A past orientation among the ranks of leaders is one reason that organizations have difficulty innovating. Roberta's reluctance to support Jamie's online banking concept has an unintended side effect. Everyone in the organization is observing Roberta's reaction to Jamie's initiative. Imagine for a moment how you might feel if you had a revolutionary idea and your boss reacted the way Roberta has. How motivated would you feel to bring the idea forward? Roberta's reaction is the type of subtle message that stifles innovation and maintains the status quo in organizations. If your organization is lacking innovation, it might not be because of a lack of fresh ideas, but rather how poorly new ideas are received.

The irony is that the idea of having a well-staffed call center was once just as radical as Jamie's plan for online banking. Once upon a time, bank managers believed that you could only provide good customer service in the bank lobby. Banking by phone was once thought to be inferior in terms of service to what bank tellers could provide face-to-face. But Jamie knows that you can create a personalized customer experience and build good customer relationships using a technology that is less expensive than a call center. The issue for Jamie, in addition to facing Roberta's past orientation, is her own inability to convince her boss. Jamie assumes that customer needs and technology speak for themselves—which they may—but she also needs to realize that promoting change isn't only about market research data and targeted business results, it's also about the path you take to get there.

Making the Breakthrough

Not surprisingly, pitting the desire for change against a past orientation can create conflict. People who have a past orientation want to maintain the status quo. They resist change and may even sabotage it. Furthermore, those who want to promote change can often become impatient with those who don't see the future as clearly as they do. The only solution is to partner through the change process. To make the transition from a past to a future orientation, people who resist change must learn to be comfortable doing things differently, to challenge their belief system, and to plan for the future. Figure 9 provides a model for achieving these goals.

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Figure 9: Three Phases of Managing Change

Phase 1 is to create a vision statement, a desired future-state on which everyone can agree. Phase 2 is to identify current assumptions, that is, take stock of the beliefs you hold now with an eye toward recognizing those assumptions that may be holding you back. Phase 3 is to develop a transition plan, a set of actions that both parties will take to move the organization toward a future orientation. (Though our example involves only two people, the same rule applies for teams.)

At our request, Roberta and Jamie met with us to work through this model. Together, they created a vision statement of what personalized customer service at the bank should look like. The interesting thing was that when Roberta and Jamie removed their own preconceptions of how customer service would work, both were in complete agreement about what good customer service was. This accord helped them realize that they were clashing over the means but not the ends.

Then, each woman listed her current assumptions about how to achieve quality service. Roberta struggled at first, but eventually acknowledged that she had been defending the call center out of habit more than sound business judgment. Jamie also benefited from this exercise because it forced her to explain how the new technology would work to benefit customers. She realized that for online banking to be as convenient as calling the bank, the Internet banking system would have to have a first-rate design and impeccable security systems in place to instill confidence and trust in customers. Finally, both worked together to develop a plan to meet their mutual vision. What we found most exciting about these sessions was how flexible the formerly resistant Roberta became in the face of Jamie's storm of ideas. "Whoa," Roberta said. "This is great. But let's do this one step at a time." Not too bad for someone who said she wouldn't change.

Viewing Your Environment with a Past or Future Orientation

How do you view your own work environment, your company's culture? Is it oriented toward the past or toward the future? To get a broader view of your corporate culture—and to learn how other people in your company perceive it—share the assessment in Exercise 3 with others in your department or company. The more insights you can get from as many different people as possible, the closer you will get to an accurate view of your culture.

Watch Your Language

Many social scientists and psychologists believe that how people use language helps to shape thoughts, attitudes, and, to some degree, individual personality. Communicating with others in their language can help you to gain insights into how they view the world, their values and cultural assumptions. How you use language—your choice of words and how you structure your thoughts—communicates volumes to them, including your innermost feelings and beliefs. These messages, along with myriad nonverbal clues, are what people grab onto and use to judge the authenticity of your message and thus your trust-worthiness. When a leader talks of the future using language that conveys a past orientation, people receive mixed messages.

EXERCISE 3: Past/Future Orientation Assessment

start example

Ask other members of your team to spend a few moments taking this assessment. Then arrange to meet and talk about the results. Are people ready to partner, or do they need to further develop their partnering skills?

Directions:

Following each description below, assign a number value on the graph provided.

  1. Win-Lose (Past Orientation) vs. Win-Win (Future Orientation)

    A Win-lose conflict resolution style creates losers. Losers are neither happy nor satisfied. They want to get even. A win-win conflict resolution and problem-solving style works toward achieving a mutually agreeable plan. Rate your organization on the graph below.

  2. Individual Performance (Past Orientation) vs. Teamwork (Future Orientation)

    A team spirit requires a certain amount of trust among members. Without trust and openness, teams cannot perform well. Without appreciable teamwork, an organization won't achieve potential synergies, nor will it encourage creativity and innovation. Rate your organization on the graph below.

  3. Stagnation (Past Orientation) vs. Dynamism (Future Orientation)

    Stagnation occurs when an organization or relationship is not receiving new energy. In a closed organization with no partnerships, change is undesirable and suppressed. Dynamism results from the infusion of new energy and ideas, and it is essential if a business is to change successfully with the demands of its customers and markets. Rate your organization on the graph below.

  4. Alienation (Past Orientation) vs. Collaboration (Future Orientation)

    Organizations that isolate themselves cannot form partnerships with others. There is a lack of trust toward people both inside and outside the organization, resulting in alienation. Collaboration, on the other hand, involves the give-and-take of information and a degree of self-disclosure, which results in building trust between people. Rate your organization on the graph below.

  5. Controlling (Past Orientation) vs. Empowering (Future Orientation)

    Forming a partnership requires releasing some control over events. If an organization is intent on controlling every aspect of the partnership, the partnership will fail. Every partnership must be mutually beneficial; therefore, both partners must make sure they both are benefiting. This means empowering others so they can work collaboratively toward a mutually satisfying result, rather than trying to dominate the partnership. Rate your organization on the graph below.

  6. Deciding from Past Experience (Past Orientation) vs. Negotiating Future Outcomes (Future Orientation)

    When organizations continue to make decisions based on past experiences, they limit themselves by not being open to new possibilities. Companies wanting to form partnerships need to be willing to negotiate expectations and then hold people accountable for doing what they say they'll do. If you continue to hear statements such as "They'll never do that" or "That's not possible," you probably work in an organization with a past orientation. Rate your organization on the graph below.

Scoring

Each of the six pairs in this assessment relates to one of the Six Partnering Attributes. Record your rating for each beside the corresponding number below. Then total the numbers at the bottom.

CONTINUUM

PARTNERING ATTRIBUTE

___1. Win-Lose vs. Win-Win

Win-Win Orientation

___2. Individual Performance vs. Teamwork

Ability to Trust

___3. Stagnation vs. Dynamism

Comfort with Change

___4. Alienation vs. Collaboration

Self-Disclosure and Feedback

___5. Controlling vs. Empowering

Comfort with Interdependence

___6. Deciding from Past Experience vs. Negotiating Future Outcomes

Future Orientation

___TOTAL

 

Interpreting the Results

A rating of less than 3 on any pair indicates that your organization is weak in that attribute. If the total of all six ratings is less than 18, your company may have a culture based on a past orientation. A high overall score on this assessment indicates a future orientation and a strong partnering culture.

end example

For example, what does it mean when a leader praises future expectations while in the same breath berating people for past mistakes? We can address past errors, mistakes, and blunders in ways that encourage people to do better, or at least to match expectations more closely, without shattering egos and turning people into cyborgs.

Table 10 compares some examples of past- and future-oriented language. Which column sounds more like your workplace culture? Think about this list for a moment. If you were to hear a steady barrage of statements like those in the left-hand column, how creative and innovative do you think you and your company would be?

Table 10: Past-Oriented vs. Future-Oriented Language

PAST-ORIENTED LANGUAGE

FUTURE-ORIENTED LANGUAGE

"I should've known better than to count on him."

"What do you need to complete the job next time?"

"I should never have expected him to pull through."

"How can I offer clearer instructions next time?"

"I knew she wouldn't meet the deadline."

"What kind of time frame do you need?"

"The boss has never been interested in employee input."

"I know you'll hit the mark this time."

"I can't believe they gave him such an important job."

"It's an important job how can I assist?"

"Typical. I did all that work for nothing!"

"The boss has promised to implement the recommendations or provide feedback on why he didn't."

"I have never been able to do this."

"Great, I've been wanting to learn that"

"I've always done it this way; why should I change now?"

"I know you'll do a great job how can I help?"

"You can't teach an old dog new tricks."

"I can do anything I put my mind to."

Source: Adapted from Stephen M. Dent and Sandra M. Naiman, The Partnering Intelligence Fieldbook: Tools and Techniques for Building Strong Alliances for Your Business (Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black Publishing, 2002).

When using future-oriented language, you must be careful to differentiate the person from the outcome of the past activity. People do fail. They make mistakes and do not live up to expectations. But continuing to focus on errors and not trying to remove obstacles to success is a hallmark of a past orientation. You may find that there are some individuals who simply do not have the skills or natural talents to execute the expected tasks at a high level. Rather than continue to contaminate the culture with negative past-oriented language, it's better to match up individuals with a job that better suits their skills and natural talents.

Language Creates Energy, Resulting in Creativity

In our partner training courses, we conduct an exercise that potently demonstrates how future-oriented language generates energy and vitality—and thus creativity. People have only so much energy to expend at any given time. The more of it your business can capture, direct, and utilize, the more it will benefit.

The exercise goes like this: We put two flip-charts at opposite ends of a room. We title one "Past Orientation" and the other "Future Orientation." We ask people to form a single-file line in front of each flip-chart. The person at the head of the line is given a marker and asked to write a word or phase that comes to mind to represent the title of that flip-chart (either "Past Orientation" or "Future Orientation"). Then, in silence, she or he hands the marker to the next person and moves to the back of the line. This sequence continues until people run out of phrases or words to describe past or future orientation.

We then put the two flip-charts side by side at the front of the room and ask for two volunteers to read the words or phrases out loud to the group, alternating between past and future orientation. Some examples are included in Table 11. Read though the examples in each column. Do you sense different energy levels between the two columns? Try this exercise with your team. Think of the power and impact this simple exercise can have on your business.

Table 11: Flip-Chart Examples of Past Orientation and Future Orientation

PAST ORIENTATION

FUTURE ORIENTATION

Same old same old

Challenging

Been there, done that

Hopeful

Stagnation

Forward looking

Not again

Untried

Rut

Exciting

Bored

Brand-new

Antique

Promising

Tried and true

Groundbreaking

If it isn't broken, don't fix it

Innovative

We've always done it this way

It's possible

Why change, It's good enough

Imagine the possibilities

Some Closing Thoughts on Future Orientation

Living in the future is one of the most difficult behavior changes leaders must undergo if they are to rewire their business cultures for the Dual Age of Information and Connections. Because knowledge transference is such a powerful hard-wired survival strategy for our species, breaking from past experience and reaching out for something new is difficult. The past grounds us in learning, how we communicate, the assumptions we make about life, and the people around us. But rapidly changing environments require radical new strategies for survival, and we are on the cusp of one of humankind's most revolutionary periods. Never before in our history has so much change occurred in such a short period with such profound impacts on who we are and how we define ourselves. Sticking to business models that were developed by nineteenth-century industrialists will relegate your business to history's dustbin, where you can commiserate with fellow travelers from Digital Equipment Corporation, Eastern Airlines, Gulf Oil, NCR, Studebaker, Wang, Westinghouse, and many others.

Our assumptions form the backbone of our orientation. If we continue to make assumptions about people, technology, markets, or anything else based on past experience, beware. Change happens, usually in unexpected ways and at the most inopportune time. As you review your assumptions, be sure you are well grounded in your own values and beliefs, because they will drive your behavior. Check that your values and beliefs are consistent with the values and beliefs you espouse to others. If they are incongruent, others will question your authenticity and trustworthiness.

The world is changing. Keep your mental maps up to date with what is happening in the changing culture both in your own country and around the world. Keep abreast of the latest scientific developments and dare to dream the big dream. Knowledge transference is good up to a point. But to become overly dependent on it without checking out new sources of information is dangerous and could lead down a path of destruction.

Future orientation is learned build a plan for learning it. Most of us are not future oriented. We look to the past for guidance into the future. If you want a future-oriented culture, you will have to educate yourself about your current orientation and make a conscientious effort to change. It will require constant reinforcement and training for your colleagues and staff.

Past orientation can be endemic within organizations. Leadership sets the tone. If you are a past-oriented finger-pointer, don't be surprised if you have an organization full of past-oriented finger-pointers. You get an A for leading by example, but it's the wrong example. To move your business culture from past to future orientation. you must move yourself from a past orientation to a future orientation. This change will be one of life's biggest challenges for you.

Change your language and your attitudes and behaviors will follow. You can start the reorientation of your culture by changing your language. Once you have mastered the change in language, behavioral changes will follow, however slowly. Try not to be impatient. You've had a lifetime to create your past orientation. You won't change it overnight. If you are right-handed, imagine that your life now depended on your becoming left-handed.




Powerhouse Partners. A Blueprint for Building Organizational Culture for Breakaway Results
Powerhouse Partners: A Blueprint for Building Organizational Culture for Breakaway Results
ISBN: 0891061959
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 94

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