This week we are going to kick off a series focused on Legos and change management.  By the end of this, we will build concepts that you can leverage to lead change management efforts.  The first entry in this series will be about the importance of knowing what you are building.

Imagine for a minute that I dump a bunch of Legos in front of you and ask you to build something that is faster.  I then tell you that it’s important you get this right.  If you miss there will be negative consequences.  From here, I don’t give you any additional clarity.  How would you feel?  What kind of a thing would you build? 

Now, assume I go back to you and I show you this picture of a rocket house, and say this is what we are trying to create.  Would you have naturally built something like this?  How much rework would you need to do to create something like this rocket house?

Let’s make some connections.  If you were in our Lego situation above, I bet you would have felt frustrated.  You also likely would have wasted a lot of effort creating something that looks nothing like the rocket house.  At the end of the day, one of the most important steps in change management is being able to articulate where you’re going.  If we are unclear on where we are going, we can’t build something to get us there.

Think about your experiences at work.  How often has there been an organizational effort that was unable to paint a clear picture of where the company is trying to go?  The company might use all the right buzzwords.  They might say, “We are transforming.  We are trying to move faster.  We are trying to deliver better experiences.  We are becoming more agile.”  The buzzwords are not the same as clear direction.  As leaders, we need to be able to articulate a clear vision if we want to lead people to new destination.

The challenge- How will you paint a clear picture of where we are trying to go?

Bonus thought

1. For the record, I’m not claiming I’m perfect at change management.  The reflections from this series are reminders for me as much as they are for anyone else.  This stuff is hard and requires intentionality to do it well.
2. If you recognized the rocket house as Emmet’s dream house from The Lego Movies, then you get 579 bonus points.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry