Instead, focus on root causes of challenges to change.
By Christopher Stevenson
This week at CUES' inaugural Strategic Innovation Institute, hosted at MIT Sloan School of Management, Roberto Fernandez, Ph.D., relayed a story about a colleague who received a call from the Pentagon asking her to travel to Washington, D.C., on an urgent matter. The military had developed a new night-vision scope for helicopter pilots, but there was a problem, explained Fernandez, professor of organization studies. While the improved scope enhanced visibility exceptionally well, pilots using it kept crashing. When Fernandez's colleague arrived in D.C., she immediately identified the problem: The scope was monocular. Visibility was enhanced, but the pilot's depth perception was sacrificed. Fernandez posed the question, "Do you fix the scope or the pilot?" The answer seems obvious: Fix the scope. It's an equipment problem, not a talent problem. All too often though, when organizations are in the midst of challenging change projects, we blame the talent. Instead of focusing on root causes of resistance to change--such as poor communication, ineffective processes, and the like--we assume the problem lies with the staff members who aren't on board. Be careful of this trap. Don't blame the pilot.
Christopher Stevenson is CUES' VP/professional development and innovation. Read another post about innovation from this blog. CUES appreciates the support of Strategic Innovation Institute underwriting sponsors CO-OP Financial Services. CUNA Mutual Group, and MasterCard.
