Hanley Brite, CEO of Authentic Connections is the developer and lead facilitator of FIRE 20/20’s workshop, Mastering Change in The Fire Service Workforce^TM. This workshop is a customized version of his program, Masterful Change Agent^TM. In this article, Hanley shares the three core principles that masters of change adhere to.

Let’s start with introducing three masters of change who embodied the three core change principles in ways that significantly impacted the world in which we live. They are Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton. These might seem like three strange partners as we discover the secrets of successful change in the fire service but each in his own way, demonstrated extraordinary wisdom and courage in understanding and changing the world. And it is from their contributions that the three core principles have been derived that underlie all successful change efforts:

• BE THE CHANGE: You are the most powerful instrument for creating and facilitating change.

• CHANGE WHAT PEOPLE SEE: Nothing changes until there is a perceptual shift.

• GET THE PEOPLE TO MOVE: The system has a powerful will to move in exactly the direction it is going or stay exactly where it is.

In their words and actions, these three masters inform us in a very practical and current way how we need to go about leading the changes that are necessary to meeting our goals and aspirations.

Be The Change…

As you may already know, one of Dr. King's great mentors was Mahatma Gandhi—the person recognized as the pivotal force in gaining India's independence from British rule. It is through Gandhi's teachings “Be the change you want to see in the world” that inspired Dr. King to always be at the front of the line when it came to marching into the forces of great resistance. The applicable lesson that we learn from Dr. King is that we need to be courageous and thoughtful instruments of the changes we are trying to bring about. Masterful Change Agents pick their battles and opportunities. Here are some helpful guidelines to be the best change agent you can be:

• Stay healthy. If you are going to create change in your organization, you need to take good care of yourself. People will look to you to gauge how things are going. If you appear energetic, positive, centered and strong, it strengthens the message. On the other hand, if you are stressed out, tired and unfocused it communicates something entirely different.

• Start where the people are. If you are going to move folks to a different point of view and a different way of acting, you need to understand “where they are coming from” and why they are acting the way they do. Having empathy for the current situation opens opportunities for people to trust, let go of the way things have been and move to something new.

• Don’t fight where you cannot win. Resist pressure to take on the toughest situations first under the assumption that if we can fix that one, the rest will be easier. It’s often better to go for the “low hanging fruit,” build confidence, and learn as you go about what it will take to overcome the big obstacles. Even with the best of research, one can never know all the change issues until they start changing.

• Welcome resistance. I’m talking about the kind of resistance that arises out of healthy skepticism. Listening to the dissenting voices who want to make things right can add significant insight to your plans and eventually strengthen support for the change you are bringing about.

Change What People See…

Albert Einstein said that “No problem was ever solved at the same level of consciousness at which it was created.” What he was telling us is that in order for us to change things we need to be able to first see them differently. This leads us to the second of the three principles which are core to mastering change: Nothing changes until there is a perceptual shift or as a visionary leader once said, “They will see it, when they believe it.”

Getting people to see things differently isn’t easy, but critical to the success of your initiative.  Here is a way to look at shifting the way people act:

The model above shows three forces that work as one:

• Focus of Attention – we tend to give our attention to what matters to us. Be clear about what it is you want people to see as the focus of their attention.
• Energy – our focus is like a magnet, pulling us towards the things that matter the most.
• Behavior – once we are moving in a direction with “our hearts and minds,” we adjust or learn the actions necessary to bring about successful outcomes.

Many change programs focus on behavior at the outset and do not invest enough consideration on what people are seeing in the first place. Successful change agents learn to “be the change” and in doing so, help others to see the change.

Get the People to Move…

Lastly, but certainly not least, we have Sir Isaac Newton who figured out why apples fall from trees and how that fact is what keeps the planets in their orbits. In his famous laws of physics, he posited that objects at rest tend to stay at rest and objects in motion tend to stay in motion in exactly the direction they are moving. What is important for change agents to know is that organizations tend to also obey these laws, which brings us to our third principle: The system has a powerful will to move in exactly the direction it is going or stay exactly where it is.

The system we are talking about here is the complex interrelationships of the individuals and groups making a change happen and who will be affected by the change or who are potential blockers of the change. We are talking about the Stakeholders.

If you get into a helicopter and fly up a couple of thousand feet and look down on a particular organization, you can see how different people and factions are pushing and pulling in lots of different directions. Right in the middle is your change initiative and there you are trying to push and pull it in a very specific direction. It’s not easy. Here is what Sir Isaac had to say about all of the forces: “All the forces acting on a body, no matter what the direction of the force, act as a single force.”

Your job is to get most of the people pushing and pulling in the right direction and convince those who don’t want to push or pull to move aside. Overcoming organizational inertia is about building alignment up and down across the organization. Here are some hints:

• Get very clear on where you cannot comprise and be willing to compromise on everything else. At the heart of every change initiative is a few core operating principles and outcomes that are non-negotiable. A masterful change agent knows exactly what these are and is able to bring diverse interests along while maintaining the essential integrity of the change.

• Transparency reigns. It’s critical that you are giving everybody the same information and erring on the side of openness. Though important in some situations, confidentiality is generally over-used in sensitive change situations. If you are withholding information because it will violate an organizational agreement or the privacy of an individual, you are on solid ground. If you are withholding information because you are in fear that someone will not like what you are saying or you are trying to put a positive spin on things, you do so at risk of raining on your own parade.

• Don’t take “yes” for an answer. Listen to your hunches as to whether an individual or group has really bought into your plan or they are just acquiescing. An ambiguous “yes” is a lot more threatening to your change than a clear and definite “no.”

• Have a good map in your head as to “who influences whom.” You can gain a lot of leverage by knowing who you can rely on to influence people you do not know or cannot seem to connect with.

• Keep track of where people stand and update your information and perceptions on a regular basis. Just because somebody supported your initiative two months ago does not mean they are still on board. Changes in situations impact people’s positions.

Want to learn how to apply these principles to the workforce changes and challenges you face in the fire service? Get more information about the two-day workshop, Mastering Change in The Fire Service Workforce. Contact us at: info@fire2020.org.