When referring to change management and all of the elements of a change management project, tools, models etc are very important, however, equally as important and what will engage a group toward a successful change situation is diversity and our levels of tolerance toward all types of diverse individuals. An organisation will make a decision around the need for change, the benefits for the change, the type of change (which may or may not involve LEAN principlesdepending on the organisation's background) and when the change must happen. Many factors will be taken into account, many meetings, many decisions around the course of action to take and at some point, a detailed assessment of the individuals who will be impacted by the change. One video that brings an incredibly powerful message around the level of diversity that exists within an organisation is called "InclusionstartswithI" ​and without any dialogue throughout the video, it successfully articulates the many diverse backgrounds and personal situations that individuals bring to the workplace.

The differences that individuals bring to the table are the very essence of how successful change and the critical ingredient that will unlock the potential for embracing the impact that change will deliver to the workforce can provide. No doubt that with any change management project irrespective of the change management tools/processes utilised, that within that all key stakeholders are reviewed in terms of their ability to handle the change. Unfortunately for many organisations, the review stops right there. The ability to seek to understand before being understood in some cases is non-existent or believed to be too difficult and time consuming to take the time to deploy. Imagine if the time was taken to not only understand how individuals would handle the change but actually engage with the person to better understand their personal situations and their cultural backgrounds to gauge how the change will not only impact them in the workplace but also the impact to their personal lives. 

So you decide that there is a change situation required for your organisation resulting in you developing the strategic intent that will ultimately deliver the change. A very good start provided that one of the first items on the checklist for the strategic intent other than which of the change models you decide on is to ensure you have a strong grasp of your people's backgrounds and what makes them tick professionally as well as personally. No doubt the change models do encapsulate this to some degree, however, it's up to you as to how far you go with delving deep into your people's very fabric that enables them to do what they do day in day out. Can you imagine the ease with which change would develop and be embraced if you had a culturally diverse group of people who are tolerant of each of their ethnic backgrounds and personal situations. Wouldn't you say that this is the very essence of teamwork? And don't people who work together as a team tend to experience greater success with anything that is thrown at them?​

Leadership obviously plays a key role here and to have an egotistical leader who isn't really authentic enough to care about his/her team really won't deliver a successful change outcome. Not caring about an individual and their personal beliefs or downplaying it's importance prohibits an opportunity to leverage individuals to guide the chnage plan to where you need it to go. 

​Great change leaders take the cultural diversity that exists within their team and leverage it authentically to circumnavigate roadblocks and support each other to realise the benefits of the change. Individuals who feel that their personal needs are not understood or addressed will close up and offer resistance without providing any real reason as to why. Authentic leadership coupled with a skill focussed on seeking to understand before being understood to do the right thing for the long term are vital to strong leadership required to facilitate change which will also include a very strong level of tolerance.
Diversity is not only about gender equality, it really drives home the point about individual's and what their personal lives are all about and how that translates for them in the workplace. 

I recently read "5 Signs That Instantly Identify Someone With Bad Leadership Skills" by Marcel Schwantes. Whilst this piece doesn't directly relate to LEAN methodologies or LEAN principles, having leaders who demonstrate the 5 signs of bad leadership will ultimately stifle any progress on a LEAN journey or a change management project. For businesses who employ such leaders, it makes it more difficult for them to realise improvements as well as difficult for a consultant to partner with them.

Imagine that instead of a "Bad Leader" demonstrating the 5 signs that they could actually substitute these signs with 5 value adding behaviours such as:

• Seeking to understand before being understood
  
• Being Authentic Keeping Promises
  
• Doing the right thing for the long term
  
• Apply disciplined thought & disciplined action
  

Associated with each behaviour comes a set of skilled traits (which I can elaborate on in more detail) and a leader who is skilled in these 5 behaviours coupled with utilising a host of LEAN tools/methodologies can ultimately drive a LEAN journey to great heights enabling their people to achieve great success as a result!

​Personal Circumstances - We each of us lead varying lives and with that comes a whole lot of behaviours/thoughts and personal experiences that occupy the mind during the course of the day. Depending on what sort of life you lead can ultimately dictate how receptive you are to the various levels of communication you receive or even how effective you are in delivering communication in your working environment. The key here is to know your people and what is important to them and what impact if any their level of communication or level of receiving communication has during your interactions with them. Be receptive to the body language during a conversation or presentation, particularly if it isn't consistent with what has been demonstrated in the past. Having an understanding of the people you work with will assist greatly in how effective you communicate with them as well as how effective you receive their communications.

Put Yourself in Someone Else's Shoes - I love this behavioural attribute as it is so simple and yet so complex an attribute for individuals to embrace. Quite often we stereotype individuals and assume they have an ulterior motive when it comes to the way they communicate, particularly if it's via email or social media. If we all had the patience, maturity and not allow our egos to get involved, we could actually put ourselves in the shoes of the person communicating and try to understand the why, how and what of their communication. Applying this skill on a consistent basis would enhance communication skills as well as build great relationships between colleagues within a working environment, not to mention foster strong effective teamwork skills to achieve objectives. This attribute is even more critical these days with organisations espousing a strong desire for a diverse & inclusive work force.

Check For Understanding & Clarity - How often have you either verbally communicated or sent an email to someone with the best intentions only to be horrified that they have been offended or angered by your communication. These days it is a risk to assume that what you are transferring across to another person either verbally or via email will be taken in the context that is intended. You need to take steps in ensuring that what you wish to communicate is delivered with the correct intent and have no room for misinterpretation, especially if it is via email. What has worked for me in the past has been seeking clarity with an individual or individuals post a discussion to ensure that my intent was achieved and that any ambiguity is discussed and fully understood. Where emails are utilised, it's always best to frame a draft email (especially if it's a sensitive subject) and make sure you follow up with the recipients to ensure full comprehension of the subject matter has been successful.

Select The Correct Vehicle For Communicating - As everyone knows there are a myriad of ways to communicate with an individual or individuals, all of which can be successful if used at the appropriate time and for the appropriate purpose. For example, delivering a significant change management initiative for the first time to a key department via social media would be considered to be a massive failure and just wouldn't happen. Success in this instance would be to clarify the change, develop a communication plan which consists of presentations in conjunction with face to face communication involving key stakeholders, allowing them to participate in a Q&A forum to enable them to express their views/concerns then follow up with a further meeting to check for understanding and remove any ambiguities that may have eventuated. Depending on what the subject matter is, you need to allow time for individuals to digest what has been communicated, particularly if it's a change of some description. The above example is just that, an example and I would not even try to advocate how organisations should go about their method of selecting the appropriate vehicles of communication as most if not all organisations have their own intricate processes for communicating change/significant information which I would assume works well for that particular organisation. I would imagine that it would be up to the individual who is tasked to communicate certain key pieces of information to correctly select the appropriate method of communicating the necessary information by utilising their own flair/style that will provide them with success in ensuring the key message is effectively delivered and understood. The same level of responsibility also falls on the recipient of the information to seek clarity in correctly understanding the intent of the communication.

Body Language & Tone Of Communication​ - Individuals have their own style in the way they communicate which can include certain idiosyncrasies that they possess. Some will add humour to a conversation to lighten the mood, others will ultimately present a serious demeanour to a conversation and others will deliver a consistent mono-tone which may put others to sleep regardless of what they are conversing about. Again, it's understanding the individual and their character/behavioural profile, the why, what & how they choose to communicate or like to receive communication as well as the role they have in an organisation. Understanding the various aspects of an individual's make-up can serve you well when it comes down to successful communication and having that emotional intelligence to size up how you will deliver communication or choose to receive communication from another individual based on historical understanding of their behaviours & idiosyncrasies. It's always best that should you not know the individual well that you follow up on what is being said and the intent of the conversation or email either from a communicator perspective or the recipient thereof.

The above 5 contributing factors are but a few that I have identified and are just a guide and examples of how communication can be affected either positively or negatively and we should pay attention to the signals and not take for granted how some attributes influence a successful communicatory outcome. Effective communication is an art and a skill which takes time and effort to develop and like with most developmental outcomes, should never cease to improve. I was once told that feedback regardless of it being constructive or not is a gift and I totally agree with this concept, however, delivery of feedback is absolutely key and gifts with the best intentions can sometimes not be appreciated.